Business continuity in an emergency

Business continuity is about making plans to make sure your business can operate, during and after an emergency.

It's about managing your resources - your staff, premises, equipment, information, communications networks, security, supplies and public relations through a crisis. Having a business continuity plan may make the difference between keeping or losing your business in the event of a disaster.

Fill in our survey

If you own or manage a small-to-medium sized business in the Belfast City Council area, please fill in our business continuity survey. It should take around five minutes to complete.

Its purpose is to help Belfast City Council, Belfast City Centre Management and Business in the Community, along with other key partners, to provide advice on Business continuity planning.

Fill in survey

Do small businesses need a business continuity plan?

Small businesses need a business continuity plan because:

they normally only have only one location which houses all their IT hardware and software, stores and records all of which can be lost in a fire or flood or other disaster
usually small businesses don't have the financial resources to survive without an income for months, therefore they need to be up and running as soon as possible to start trading again
a business continuity plan also makes it easier to keep your business running during an emergency.

The impact of emergencies

80 per cent of businesses affected by a disaster close within 18 months, if they had no prior business continuity planning
90 per cent of businesses which lose data because of a disaster are forced to shut within two years
without a continuity plan business owners may be forced to fund the business themselves, for example, by re-mortgaging their homes, in order to continue to trade.

The effects on businesses

Businesses in Belfast could be affected by:

long term absence of staff
loss of premises for a long time
prolonged disruption to transport services
breakdown of communication channels and utilities, such as electricity or gas supplies
lack of IT services
major equipment failure
the public image of your business could be damaged, and
there will be additional risks to your business which you will be aware of.

Business emergency plan

We have worked with Belfast City Centre Management, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Invest NI and local businesses to provide help and advice for small and medium businesses in the Belfast area before an emergency happens.

Here are three simple steps to follow:

Emergency contacts list

Download the Crisis Management Checklist and Business Emergency Contacts List (PDF - 52KB)

Complete the Emergency Contacts Directory section. Keep a copy of it in a prominent place on your premises. Managers and supervisors should keep a copy in a secure place at home, as well.

Emergency grab bag

Make up your own business emergency grab bag. It should hold vital information and items which may be useful in an emergency. It should be stored in a safe and secure place and should be small enough to carry. Make sure everyone knows where to find it. Make up another one and keep it at home.

Download our suggested list of contents for your Emergency Grab Bag (Word - 23KB)

Planning

Adopt business continuity planning into the everyday management of your business.

Download the Business Continuity Plan Template. (Word - 133 KB)

Download the Guidance Notes for completing the template (PDF - 130KB)

Have a look at how VSO completed the plan:

VSO Continuity Plan (Word - 148KB).