The Questions COVID-19 May Be Posing To Corporates

Do you wake up to the necessity of a business continuity plan only when a crisis looms on the horizon? Or, do you have one in place much before a contingency arises?

- Prince Frederick & Liffy Thomas

In 2015, when Chennai “went under” due to an unusual flood situation, many software companies, especially those functioning on its IT Corridor, were scrambling around to make arrangements to ensure that business operations continued without any break.

In most of the cases, the affected company shifted operations to any of other metros where it had an office. The crisis would have driven home to some companies, the importance of having a business continuity plan in place. The December Deluge, as it is remembered in Chennai, was not unusual in delivering this message. Following every crisis that disrupts regular business functions, there is bound to be some introspection, which however proves fruitful only if it translates into efforts to have a business continuity plan. It may be difficult to predict when a crisis will strike, but chalking up a broad spectrum of crises that can be expected and having back-up work plans should not be a challenge.

K.S. Raja Rajasekar, deputy general manager - HR, Kone Elevator, says that companies should have a basic business contingency plan; and during a crisis situation they should only be fine-tuning it, factoring in the unique aspects of the ongoing crisis.

That takes us to the question: What are the salient features of an effective business continuity plan?

Process simplification

Creating a template of regular processes with crisis situations in mind is an essential aspect of such an exercise.

This template simplifies the regular processes so that anybody down the totem pole can perform them, says Raja Rajasekar.

Process simplification, Raja points out, will enable employees of allied departments to perform the functions of a department that may be hard hit by a crisis.

Parallel workforce