Step 7) Recovery & Restoration

Operational recovery, the final phase in business continuity, begins after it's been declared safe for businesses to resume operations. During this phase it's important to remember that electrical, utilities, communications and transportation infrastructure and services may not yet have been completely restored.

Disruptions are handled in three steps: Response, Continuation of Critical Services and Recovery & Restoration.

Tips for Businesses

In the past 3 years, more than 30% of small businesses have been forced to close for at least 24 hours due to a natural disaster; an estimated 25% of those will never reopen.

Response

Incident response involved the deployment of teams, plans, measure and arrangements. The following tasks are accomplished during the response phase.

Incident management includes the following measures:
  • Notifying management, employees and other stakeholders;
  • Assuming control of the situation;
  • Identifying the range and scope of damage;
  • Implementing plans;
  • Identifying infrastructure outages;
  • Coordinating support from internal and external sources.

Communications Management

Communications management is essential to control rumors, maintain contact with the media, emergency services and vendors and assure employees, the public and other affected stakeholders. Communications management requirements may necessitate building redundancies into communications systems and creating a communications plan to adequately address all requirements.

Operations Management

An Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) can be used to manage operations in the event of a disruption. Have a centralized EOC where information and resources can be coordinated, managed and documented helps ensure effective and efficient response.

Continuation

Ensure that all time-sensitive critical services or products are continuously delivered or not disrupted for longer than is permissible.

Recovery and Restoration

The goal of recovery and restoration operations is to, recover the facility or operation and maintain critical service or product delivery. Recovery and restoration includes:

Getting Back to Work


Depending on the damage sustained, your business may need to consider temporarily relocating or allowing employees to work from home or remote locations. Businesses have used modular buildings, trailers and co-working spaces to continue operations while they rebuild or relocate to new premises.

Securing Short-Term Financing


Make sure you understand your short-term working capital needs to maintain critical functions. Many businesses will need to secure short-term financing for working capital, to replace critical equipment and assets, and to secure inventory and supplies while they're settling their insurance claims. You may need to decide whether to repair the facility, relocate to an alternate site or build a new facility.

New Products, Services and Markets


Businesses usually find they need to adjust to new market realities after a disaster has struck. It may be that key suppliers and vendors are no longer operating, or key customers may have turned to new suppliers. Local labour shortages may be compounded as people move away to look for work. Many businesses find they need to develop new products and services or reach new markets as part of their recovery plan.