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For companies that are completely lacking in a business continuity plan, there is one small step they can take that can significantly improve their operational resilience: creating a continuity crib sheet. By gathering a few pieces of critical information in one place, this short document can go a long way toward helping an organization respond effectively in a time of crisis.
[Related on MHA Consulting: Get Out the Map: Why Your BCM Program Needs a Roadmap]
The Spectrum of Resilience
When it comes operational resilience, many companies fall prey to all-or-nothing thinking. They believe the choice is between having a business continuity program with all the bells or whistles or no protection at all. In fact, preparedness exists on a spectrum and even partial measures can save money, time, and reputation in the event of an outage.
For unprotected organizations that want to begin improving their resilience, there is a well-known slate of activities they can embark on that will help them over a period of time. These activities, which we’ve covered extensively in previous MHA blogs, include such pillars of traditional business continuity methodology as the business impact analysis, risk mitigation strategies, and crisis management plan.
Collectively, the activities of standard BC methodology are the best way for organizations and their stakeholders to achieve comprehensive protection in the face of today’s multi-faceted threats. For many types of organizations, such as those in finance and healthcare, following BC methodology is required by law.
However, not every company has to or wants to (or can afford to) create a BC program that follows every standard or best practice.
If Your Organization Lacks a BC Program
Today’s post is intended for organizations that lack a BC program (or are in the process of developing one). My message to them is: there is an easy, fast, inexpensive step you can take that will significantly improve your resilience, and I strongly urge you to take it.
The step is creating what might, for lack of a better name, be called a continuity crib sheet: a one- or two-page document that gathers a few pieces of important company information that can provide critical, time-saving guidance if and when the organization experiences a disruption (as almost all do at some time or another).
My understanding of the value of the continuity crib sheet came from working with companies who experienced an outage when they were in a completely unprotected state. More often than not, their leaders, in looking back, would tell us how rocky their recoveries had been, adding, “If only we had a few bits of key information ahead of time, things would have gone so much better.”
Their example lights the way for other unprotected organizations, showing the value of putting together a customized BC crib sheet.
What Belongs on a Continuity Crib Sheet?
What information should the crib sheet include? It should cover three items, and the first is the most important by far. In fact, if your sheet includes nothing but the first item, it will already be of tremendous value if your company experiences a disruption.
Time-sensitive business processes and IT applications
The first item is a list of your organization’s five or ten most critically time sensitive business processes and its five or ten most critically time sensitive IT applications. These are the processes and apps whose loss would cause the greatest impact in the hours immediately following the disruption. (If you identify additional processes that must be restored within the first 24 to 48 hours to avoid significant impact to the organization, you could include them as well.)
These lists are typically assembled by consulting the executives and the heads of key departments. Two processes that are almost always on the list are payroll and customer service, with other processes depending on the organization’s industry and mission.
The benefit of having these lists is that it saves you from having to think and consult people at a time when the emergency atmosphere makes thoughtful deliberation very difficult. Knowing your key processes from the jump lets everyone immediately get to work recovering and devising workarounds for them.
Proactively putting together a list of the most critically time sensitive business and IT processes is the single most important step an otherwise unprepared organization can do to position itself to respond at least somewhat effectively to a disruption.
Crisis management team
The second item that should be included on the crib sheet is a list of the names and roles of the people on the crisis management team. This is usually the members of the executive team, but may also include department heads or key decision-makers. It's essential that everyone knows who is responsible for leading the response, making decisions, and coordinating efforts during a disruption. Having this list readily accessible ensures there’s no confusion about leadership during a crisis.
Communication strategy
The third item for the crib sheet is an indication of how the crisis team members and staff will communicate internally and externally. A clear communication strategy should address the tools to be used (whether email, phone, or a dedicated platform like Slack or Microsoft Teams) and who will be responsible for initiating communication. Designating a point of contact and outlining backup methods ensures that team members can quickly connect, preventing unnecessary delays when time is of the essence.
Storing and Accessing the Crib Sheet
Once your continuity crib sheet is complete, it should be stored in a location where it can be easily accessed by all relevant personnel during a crisis. A shared platform, such as SharePoint, Google Drive, or a company-wide intranet, works well for this purpose. Ensure that the crib sheet is prominently placed, and that all staff are informed of its location and purpose.
Regular reminders should be sent to key personnel, reinforcing the existence and importance of the crib sheet. A well-communicated message could be as simple as, “Remember, we have a one-page guide to help in case of an outage.” This ensures that even in a high-stress situation, your crisis management team can act quickly and efficiently to begin restoring your operations, containing the impact of the event.
A Small Step That Makes a Big Difference
For companies without a formal business continuity plan, creating and properly storing a continuity crib sheet is a quick and effective way to improve operational resilience. It’s easy to assemble and access but can provide essential guidance during a disruption, reducing confusion and delays when every minute counts.
While a crib sheet isn’t a replacement for a full BC program, it serves as an immediate safeguard and a foundation for future preparedness efforts. By taking this small step today your organization will be better equipped to protect its operations when the unexpected occurs.
Further Reading
Richard Long
Richard Long is one of MHA’s practice team leaders for Technology and Disaster Recovery related engagements. He has been responsible for the successful execution of MHA business continuity and disaster recovery engagements in industries such as Energy & Utilities, Government Services, Healthcare, Insurance, Risk Management, Travel & Entertainment, Consumer Products, and Education. Prior to joining MHA, Richard held Senior IT Director positions at PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM) and Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT) and has been a senior leader across all disciplines of IT. He has successfully led international and domestic disaster recovery, technology assessment, crisis management and risk mitigation engagements.
