Covid 19 - Business preparation

Key messages:

Make sure your business has an up to date continuity plan and key members of staff are identified to carry out the measures required
Identify clear ways to communicate with all employees throughout the process – whether in work or at home
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Make sure your business has a plan and is fully prepared
Ensure that any ongoing business activities are following Public Health guidance, including social distancing measures for customers and staff, and any required business closure orders

As the situation in relation to COVID-19 is fast-moving, we recommend you take the following steps in relation to planning for any impact on your business:

Define a lead team who can create and carry out your business preparation planning
Define your business’ critical functions of service that must be maintained at times of disruption
Assess business needs and options to minimise the spread of infection including reviewing face to face contact, travel etc.
Define the impact on service delivery – what needs to happen in 24 hours, first week, first month etc. and what essential resources are required (inc. staff)
Establish list of key stakeholders that will need to be kept up to date
Review staff processes and consider demand on certain areas of the business e.g. HR
Ensure up to date list of all critical documentation and data, and detail on how this is accessed
List and review suppliers and how they will be affected
Detail sequence of tasks and individuals that are needed to provide a basic service while the overall process of full service recovery is being progressed
Detail the sequence of events and individuals required to restore the service to normal – making people aware of their responsibilities
Ensure adequate location and technology to continue activity
Create detailed action plan based on all of this information and keep it regularly up to date