This month, Towergate Insurance Brokers welcomed back their team as they returned to their office in Northampton. The risk management practices frequently discussed with clients had to be put into practice as the team have themselves had to adapt to working in the ‘new normal’.
One of the key aspects that has allowed the smooth transition from office working, to home working and potentially back again, is a tried and tested business continuity plan.
A business continuity plan is a key process that enables a business to meet its critical functions while it is in a state of flux, until normal or new-normal operating conditions can be achieved. The pandemic has made business continuity planning a hot topic but these plans should consider a wide variety of risks beyond the current pandemic including fire, flood, storm, absence of key people, failure of utilities and cyber hacks.
When returning to a workplace, we appreciate there are so many tasks to consider but we recommend that a thorough review of the actions that were taken within the business continuity plan are prioritised.
COVID-19 was an opportunity to decipher what worked well and importantly, what needs to be improved. A reflection on this will allow you to remedy any required actions. Alongside a robust health and safety management system, this should ensure appropriate arrangements are in place to protect employees from foreseeable risks, but also protect your business by planning for all eventualities, especially those that may have a catastrophic impact on business operations.
A business continuity plan is a comprehensive process, but if you’re not sure where to begin, asking yourself ‘what are we going to do and how are we going to achieve this?’ can be a good place to start. As we negotiate the challenges of the next few months, a tried and tested business continuity plan is going to be vital to ensuring your business can deliver high levels of customer service and your key operations.
For further information visit www.towergate.com or contact the Northampton office on 01604 887300.
The information contained in this bulletin is based on sources that we believe are reliable and should be understood as general risk management and insurance information only. It is not intended to be taken as advice with respect to any specific or individual situation and cannot be relied upon as such.
Towergate Insurance Brokers is a trading name of Towergate Underwriting Group Limited. Registered in England No.4043759. Registered Address: 2 Minster Court, Mincing Lane, London EC3R 7PD. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
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