I'm not one for scaring people but one after the other report shows that businesses don't live long after an event. Fires do not have to start in your place, could be the work on the roof next door, could be the paint shop two doors on. What do you do when you receive a text message from security that your office is on fire?
Even of those able to continue after the event still 25% more goes bankrupt in three years.
Do you at those times wonder where that fire engine is going?
Business normally is hard enough, how about without communications, office and server?
Pressure of cutbacks is forcing the issue of security, cleaning out our security that is.
Fire brigade performance is under pressure, the negative effects are clear, both personal and in business.
Are you aware how fast your administration burns? They will not be able to arrive in time.
After 15 minutes most is gone or unusable, discard electronics long before extinguishing starts!
Read more about the run book FAITH below. The way to mitigate this risk!
Do you have everything planned or do you play fast and loose, and in which order, where are the dependencies, what's that contract number again and where are the software licenses? You better take care of this beforehand as if it were not important, less companies would cease to exist after an event like fire breaking out.
How much of an effort do you think it will take to put to paper the most important details to manage an event like a fire and put all this in a run book? Not that much I can promise you, hire me to set this up for you and invest in the existence of your company.
The very chance something happens may appear small but keep an eye on the harsh results... You choose if it's worth the risk. The solution is clear and easy enough:
The result of chaos?
Unexpected situations often run wild. Due preparation for the unexpected is not feasable and prohibiting the occurence of events is beyond difficult. A lack of oversight results in chaos, not the desired state for your business to be in.
Origin."There's nothing to fear but fear itself".This well know quote of Franklin D. Roosevelt is a nice way of describing incidents. The core is plain and simple; allow chaos to exist and more chaos will be the result.
Chaos and order do not mix well, when after identifying an incident you wil want to go back to normal operating mode as quick as possible. All the time you allow chaos to exist, only negative results will be presented to you.
Example. A fire lasting a minute longer because noone starts fighting it, or someone with a heartattack not receiving adequate care as aid is not called upon. Examples enough, you may know some from your experience.
The fire raging on a minute longer, may result in your company having to work weeks longer to recuperate from the resulting damage. Not receiving CPR may have more permanent results. Situations with uncertainty as to who does what, how and when, result in chaos.
Forward. Processes and required assets are to be identified. Priorities, order and dependenciies are outllined. From this a runbook is built, to be used in case of (major) incidents.
Such a runbook describes who is to do what, when, how, who is informed, what is required for the result and so on.
For real: fire breaks out in your warehouse. The fire is out pretty quickly but some products have been lost. What was there in the first place, stock, spares, orders to be shipped? the runbook describes who needs to be contacted and hwo the situation can me remediated.
Preparations. setting up the runbook depends on the complexity of your organisation and to what extent you have information available. Usually the outline can be set up in a matter of weeks.
To obtain the required information to create the runbook FAITH, our consultant will speak with people in your organisation; management, personnel and IT to name a few. Time to set up the runbook depends mainly on the availability of informatio in your organisation and the approach you and HBC have chosen.
Vision. you can prevent chaos with oversight and order. A runbook with procedures to be used when incidents occur will keep things running in order, preventing chaos.
Runbook. the runbook FAITH (First Aid IT Help) describes a numbe of scenarios with ways to remediate events to minimise impact, offering a clear and stuctured approach to normal operating conditions.
In a fire first and formost your personnel needs to be safe, followed immediately by your company. The designated team undertakes the steps outlined in the runbook, reports status, impact and approach chosen. The person accountable decides impact and follow up, as in the runbook scenario.
Demands. Within set boundaries the most important hazards need to be take care of. As stated before the unexpected can and will happen so outlining an approach for each and every situation is not feasable. Taking care of the most probable is the way to go.
Demands of the runbook can and will differ per company and point in time. An accountant has a number of periods a year in which major incidents would prove catastrophic. This has to be incorporated in the runbook scenario's.
Experience. HajoBakker Consultancy has participated in the development of this kind of runbook with DHL, Lucent Technologies and ING bank. In major corporations this process is run by the risk department and is usually named "Business continuity".
Not just multinationals should prepare for these eventualities. Time and time again research reveals companies not overcoming major disruptions. Chamber of commerce research shows that 25% of companies go bus within a year after being hit by IT disruptions lasting three days.
Fire. A fire raging in your office for 10 minutes destroys more then your archive. Your office building and equipment will be unusable as well. If that is the time you start to think about the next step, chances of chaos are large as life, with chaos the result. Fire brigade budgets are being cut everywhere, resulting in larger problems for communities.
Information. Setting up, testing and running through the runbook can be achived in a number of weeks. Do you think you can benefit? Call or mail me.
References: KvK "Eigen Bedrijf" 2010-05, CBS statsline.