Having completed the Business Impact Analysis and Hazard Analysis Table, you now need to develop a generic checklist of actions that may be appropriate when an emergency occurs. The checklist in the plan template is designed so you can adapt it to suit your business. You may wish to add text into the plan to outline any arrangements you already have in place, including any specific actions you would take for specific hazards.
The checklist can be used during an emergency to ensure that no major tasks are forgotten.
Start a log of actions taken
It is essential to keep a log of the actions you have taken and the decisions you have made. Include a time with each entry.
This information will be vital if you have to defend in court any actions you have taken.
Liaise with Emergency Services
If the emergency services are involved in the incident you will need to appoint somebody from your organisation to act as a liaison officer. This person needs to pass information between the Emergency Services response and your Internal Response Team.
Identify any Damage
As soon as possible, and only if safe to do so, an assessment must be made as to the extent of the damage caused by the emergency.
Consider and document the following:
- injury to staff, contractors, public
- damage to building
- damage to plant / equipment / vehicles
- damage to stock
- damage to reputation
Identify Functions Disrupted
Document which functions or areas have been disrupted and the extent of the disruption.
Convene your Business Recovery Team
You need to pre-identify who, within your organisation, will make up the team that will manage the Response and Recovery of the emergency.
If the emergency is such that you need to call the team together you need to do so as soon as possible.
Provide information to staff
It is essential to keep your staff informed regarding the emergency and the response actions being taken.
Staff may be concerned about:
- colleagues who may be injured
- what is expected of them today
- whether they turn up for work tomorrow
- if there will still be a job for them if the building has gone up in smoke, etc
Consider issuing a help-line number for staff to call in on or (depending on the scale and type of emergency) tannoy announcement, email, intranet, poster in a reception area / canteen, local radio or phone call to all staff.
Remember – providing information quickly will stop rumours!
Decide on course of action
Decide what you need to do and produce an Action Plan. Use the Critical Function Priority List and the Business Impact Analysis to assist you.
Communicate decision to staff and business partners
Let staff and business partners know what you have decided to do.
Provide public information to maintain reputation and business
Appoint a member of staff to act as your media representative. This person should be trained in media response techniques and be able to answer questions regarding the emergency and the business in general.
Your media representative should work in collaboration with the emergency services media officer if possible.
A holding statement could be pre-prepared for your business so you just have to ‘fill in the blanks’ at the time.
Arrange a Debrief
After every emergency it is important to hold a debrief so that you can learn from the experience.
Disseminate the lessons learnt to all concerned.
Review Business Continuity Plan
Following an emergency you should review and amend your plan as necessary.
The next stage of the plan will include a Key Contact List.
The list should be adapted to be relevant for your business. Consider including details of key employees, utilities, insurance company, suppliers, customers, key holder, security company, partner organisations, members of your response team, etc.
In line with the Data Protection Act, you need to ensure you have permission to hold personal information such as home contact numbers of your staff.
The final stage of the plan is a Log Sheet to use during an emergency. This will provide necessary information at a later date.