Presentation on Business Continuity for the Tri-State VOAD Meeting

1. Disaster Preparedness for the VOAD
Bonnie Canal
The Resiliency Institute

2. COOP vs. BCP
• COOP Defined: An effort within individual executive
departments and agencies to ensure that Primary Mission
Essential Functions (PMEFs) continue to be performed
during a wide range of emergencies.
• BCP Defined: The ability of an organization to ensure
continuity of service and support for its customers and to
maintain its viability before, during, and after an event.

3. Some Quick Definitions
• Emergency planning are those procedures and steps
done immediately after an interruption to business.
• Disaster recovery are the steps taken to restore some
functions so that some level of services can be offered.
• Business continuity is restoration planning, completing
the full circle to get your organization back to where it
was before an interruption

4. Organizational Resilience depends
on the resilience of the people you
rely on.
Think about it…

5. Challenges of a VOAD
• You respond when others are in disasters
• Employee burnout
• Others?

6. • Protect people and property
• Resume critical business operations
• Minimize downtime
• Preserve reputation
• Meet obligations
Objectives of Business Continuity
Planning

7. Some Definitions
• Emergency planning are those procedures and steps
done immediately after an interruption to business.
• Disaster recovery are the steps taken to restore some
functions so that some level of services can be offered.
• Business continuity is restoration planning, completing
the full circle to get your organization back to where it
was before an interruption.

8. When is it a Disaster?
• When critical services aren’t happening.
• Can all employees recognize what a disaster
is and what they should do?
• In the event of an emergency, all personnel
should know what their roles are, and where
they should go.

9. In Order to Build Resiliency-
• Build emergency preparedness into the
culture of the organization.
• Orientation sessions for new employees
should include an overview of the contents
and a copy of the preparedness manual.

10. Keep in Mind
• You can’t possibly plan for every scenario; it
would take all of one’s time and the plan would
never get done.
• The goal is not to create a separate plan that
addresses every risk, but to create one plan that
address all risks.
• In other words, you don’t create one plan for a
tornado, one for a flood, and one for a blackout.

11. Primary Questions
• What are the potential identifiable
disasters (internal and external)?
• How would each affect the
organization’s systems and programs?
• Who do we depend on?
• Who depends on us?

12. 10 Steps to Preparedness
1. Assess Your Risk – Both Internally and Externally
2. Know Your Operations
3. Know Your IT Capabilities & Back Up Your Data
4. Prepare Your Supply Chain
5. Prepare Your Employees
6. Create a Crisis Communications Plan
7. Assemble Emergency Supplies
8. Identify an Alternate Location
9. Know Your Insurance Coverage & Finances
10.Test Your Plan

13. Plan for these 4 Things
• Only your local office in the building is unusable. For example, one or
more offices in your space become temporarily unusable because of
a flood. Some contents and material may be recoverable, some may
not be.
• The entire building is gone. For example, a fire destroys the structure
and its contents.
• A temporary disruption of services, such as an electricity outage.
• An impact in the large geographic area, rendering the area
uninhabitable for an unknown amount of time.

14. Factors to Consider
• Historical: What types of emergencies have occurred in
the community, at your facility, or nearby? (for
example, fire, natural disasters, accidents, utility, etc.)
• Geographic: What can happen as a result of your
location? (e.g., proximity to: flood-prone areas;
hazardous material production, storage or use; major
transportation routes; power plants, etc.)

15. Focus on Resilience
• Recognize – government can’t do it all.
• Stress –citizens need to be involved, engaged and prepared
(managed expectations).
• Focus – on community-level efforts to
prepare, protect, respond, and recover.
• Benefit – if done properly can speed up recovery process.
• End Game – lessen the time between response and
recovery.

16. Turn Excuses Into Action
• We thought we had no risk
• It takes too much time
• It takes too much money
• We had more important things to think about
• We thought we were too small to need a plan
• We backed up our computers and thought that
was enough
• We didn’t know where to go for help

17. Resources
Institute for Business and Home Safety
http://www.ibhs.org/
http://www.disastersafety.org/
Red Cross Ready Rating
http://readyrating.org/
Government Sites
http://www.ready.gov/

18. Questions?
Bonnie Canal
Managing Partner
The Resiliency Institute
504-874-5474
bonniecanal@theresiliencyinstitute.com