Business Continuity Plan during COVID-19

COVID-19 has made it clear to businesses everywhere that your employees, customer experience, and business/financial operations can all be affected without notice. Because of this, business owners are wading through the unknown. It is clear that you need a plan that supports and promotes clarity and confidence across the board (and brand). Therefore, if you are transitioning to a remote workforce, it is essential to have a business continuity plan (BCP).

You must support communications and make sure your team is always connected and operating with best practices. Not to mention, it is easier to follow leadership when they are prepared, honest, and up-front about an employee’s future.

What does a Business Continuity Plan look like?

A good plan starts with relevant questions and truthful answers for the sake of your business. Because of this, our team put together some related items and protocols below to help inform your business. What’s the silver lining? With coronavirus currently attacking our country and shutting down many companies, it’s a lot easier to answer these questions and brainstorm ways to make a difference!

What? systems and processes are affected? What resources (vendors, departments, people) can you rely on at a moment’s notice to ensure you don’t experience a slowdown in production? What can you do differently?

Who? is critical to our recovery? Who must be notified? Who will own these communications?

When? do specific actions need to be taken? And, in order of what priority?

Where? will your business operate? Where should you focus next?

How? will circumstances change the way employees do their work? How will your business finances be managed?

Necessary protocols that guarantee a robust Business Continuity Plan.

A public relations plan (who will speak directly to the media?).
A plan to handle phone calls, website updates, email, and package delivery.
An executive communication plan (who will communicate with your entire business, customer base, vendors, and supply-chains?).
Human resources systems, which will gain increasing importance in the weeks or months it takes for operations to return to normal. Consider using AI-powered HR call-out lines to help automate your systems, make it easier for employee communications, and track essential data points.
Overflow protocols and systems that support an increase in call volumes and COVID related questions (cancellations, hours are changing, delivery options).

Don’t forget to focus on clear and thorough communication.

Be as effective as possible with your plan and communicate clearly with your customers, employees, and vendors.

Run training and Q&A sessions.
Assign a team to handle the immediate response and employee safety.
Regularly update emergency and contact information, so it’s always available.
Offer resources related to public health and safety.
Communicate with state and local officials to understand best practices.

No matter the disruption, remember, you’re not in this alone. Call Experts has been supporting businesses through economic, health, and natural disasters for 40 years. Our team offers services related to overflow, appointment messages, call routing and message taking, mass SMS and email communications, HR management, and more.