Protect your business
If you own or are responsible for a business or organisation, have you considered the impact of an emergency on your business?
How would your organisation cope with: - .
- A sudden and significant reduction in staff?
- Denial of access to your building, one of your sites or a whole geographical area?
- Unexpected loss of mains electricity, gas or water?
- Significant disruption to transport?
- Disruption to the availability of fuel?
- Loss of telecommunications or internet?
- Loss or disruption to your computer systems?
- Disruption which affects your key suppliers or partners? What if they go into liquidation?
"Business Continuity is the processes, procedures and plans you put in place to help cope with the impact of an emergency on your business."
Definition of Business Continuity
Business continuity refers to the ability of an organization to maintain or quickly restore its essential functions, operations, and services during and after a disruption. It involves proactive planning, risk management, and recovery strategies to minimize downtime and ensure resilience against unexpected events such as cyberattacks, natural disasters, pandemics, or supply chain failures.
Purpose of Business Continuity
- Minimizes disruption – Ensures critical services continue operating.
- Protects reputation – Maintains public trust and stakeholder confidence.
- Reduces financial impact – Prevents excessive revenue loss and operational costs.
- Ensures legal and regulatory compliance – Meets industry-specific standards and obligations.
Business continuity is essential for resilience in both public and private sectors, including emergency services, local authorities, and businesses
Key Elements of Business Continuity
- Risk Assessment – Identifying potential threats and their impact on operations.
- Business Continuity Plan (BCP) – A documented strategy outlining how an organization will continue operations during a disruption.
- Incident Response & Crisis Management – Procedures for handling immediate threats effectively.
- Disaster Recovery – Strategies for restoring IT systems and infrastructure.
- Training & Testing – Regular exercises and simulations to ensure preparedness.
- Communication Strategy – Clear communication plans for staff, customers, and stakeholders during a crisis.
Business Continuity Management (BCM) is the process of planning to ensure that your business can return back to normal as quickly and easily as possible in the event of an emergency. BCM is simpler than you might think…we’re going to run through a few simple steps, for more detailed information see the Business Continuity Plan in the downloads area.
Did you know…
…80% of businesses affected by a major incident close within 18 months.
…90% of businesses that have business continuity arrangements in place at the time of an incident suffer least.
Whether you are a large ‘corporate’ business or an SME (Small to Medium Sized Enterprise) the ability to respond swiftly and effectively to an emergency has never been more important….why wait for something to happen?
Emergencies can happen anywhere at any time. Even a small disruption such as a power cut can affect normal operation of an organisation. Risks could be from an external source such as those identified in the Essex Community Risk Register like severe weather or from within your organisation such as loss of key staff.
Over the years, threats to businesses have changed, and will continue to do so. It is your responsibility as a business to consider these risks and put in place a plan to help mitigate them.
Cyber Security, Scams & Online Threats
CLICK HERE To be redirected to our Cyber Security Information page
Local authorities
CLICK HERE To be redirected to our Cat 1 Responders - Local Authorities Page
Weather and flooding
To see the latest weather forecast from The Met Office - CLICK HERE
For the Environment Agency Floodline - CLICK HERE
Essex County Council - Check if you’re at risk of flooding
Click on the logo to get further advice & support from these agencies
