Interview with Ernst&Young's Ryan Pratt on Business Continuity Plans

Narrator: Ryan Pratt, a Senior Manager with Ernst & Young, talks about the importance of business continuity plans and common mistakes businesses make when putting them together.

Ryan Pratt: When you consider a business continuity plan and what really should be in those, the first thing you should do is always protect your people. Have a plan in place to identify a resource where you are going to be able to account for your people; and be able to account for them in several different ways. So, if they are stuck somewhere they can call, they can email, get a hold of the company to let them know they're okay.

Second is protect your valuable resources. And we're talking data, assets. If you are a manufacturing concern, key equipment that you have to have to get back up and running.

And I 'd say lastly you really need to have a short list of resources that are going to allow you to respond quickly. What we saw after Hurricane Katrina and other major losses is that the vendors out there that can help you either restore your business or get your facilities back up and running, these resources tend to get picked up very quickly after these major losses, so you don't want to be at the back of that list. And that goes for restoration companies, contractors and sub-contractors, and even resources like Ernst & Young, that are going to help you with your financial recovery.

Some of the common lapses we see in working with clients when they're putting their business continuity plans together are really related to their reaction after a loss; and having a plan in place to actually put forth their insurance claim and financially recover from their insurance companies. Most companies are very good at planning for the business recovery, getting their operations back up and running, protecting their people, protecting their key assets. But it usually stops there. And part of those plans should include how you're going to recover financially and who the team is, what resources you're going to employ, and the methodology that you're going to undertake to make sure that you have a successful recovery.

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News & Politics

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• business
• canada
• insurance