How to Create a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)

Time to read: 4 minutes

What Is a Business Continuity Plan?

A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is a structured document that outlines how an organization will maintain and restore its essential functions during and after a disruption. It covers everything from emergency response procedures to recovery strategies for IT systems, facilities, people, and supply chains.

Unlike a disaster recovery plan (DRP)—which focuses mainly on restoring IT infrastructure—BCPs are broader. They consider all aspects of the business, ensuring continuity of operations and minimising downtime, financial loss, and reputational damage.

Why Every Business Needs a BCP

Many organizations underestimate their risk exposure. According to FEMA, 40% of businesses never reopen after a major disaster, and another 25% fail within the following year. The reasons? Lack of preparation and resilience.

A solid BCP helps you:

• Protect revenue streams: Downtime can cost thousands (or millions) per hour.
• Safeguard brand reputation: Customers expect reliability, even during crises.
• Maintain compliance: Many industries (finance, healthcare, energy) require continuity planning.
• Boost stakeholder confidence: Investors, clients, and partners trust organizations that prepare for uncertainty.
• Enhance agility: BCPs enable faster, more coordinated responses to evolving threats.

Step 1: Gain Executive Buy-In

Before diving into risk assessments or detailed procedures, leadership commitment is crucial. A BCP requires budget, resources, and cross-department collaboration. Without executive support, the plan risks being underfunded or ignored.

How to secure buy-in:

• Present case studies of companies that failed due to lack of preparedness.
• Highlight regulatory or contractual requirements.
• Show the potential financial and reputational impact of downtime.

Step 2: Establish a Business Continuity Team

A BCP cannot be built in isolation. Create a Business Continuity Management (BCM) team representing key areas of the business:

• Executive sponsor: Provides authority and resources.
• Project manager/BCP coordinator: Oversees the plan’s development and maintenance.
• Department representatives: Finance, HR, IT, operations, facilities, communications.
• External advisors: Legal counsel, insurers, emergency services.

This team should meet regularly, document responsibilities, and ensure alignment across departments.

Step 3: Conduct a Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

The Business Impact Analysis identifies which processes are critical, how disruptions affect them, and the acceptable downtime.

Steps in a BIA:

1. List critical functions: Payroll, customer support, order processing, IT systems, etc.
2. Assess dependencies: Suppliers, IT applications, facilities, staff expertise.
3. Estimate impact: Financial loss, reputational damage, legal consequences, customer dissatisfaction.
4. Determine Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs): How quickly each function must be restored.
5. Set Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs): The maximum data loss acceptable (e.g., last 4 hours of transactions).

Output: A prioritised list of critical business functions, with timelines for recovery.

Step 4: Perform a Risk Assessment

Identify threats that could disrupt your critical functions. This includes:

• Natural disasters: Floods, fires, earthquakes, pandemics.
• Technology failures: Server crashes, network outages, data corruption.
• Cybersecurity incidents: Ransomware, phishing, DDoS attacks.
• Human factors: Strikes, theft, errors, loss of key staff.
• Supply chain issues: Delays, bankruptcies, geopolitical conflicts.

For each risk, evaluate:

• Likelihood (how probable it is to occur).
• Impact (the severity of consequences).

This helps prioritise resources for the most significant threats.

Step 5: Develop Recovery Strategies

Based on your BIA and risk assessment, define strategies to maintain or recover operations:

1. Workforce continuity:
   • Remote work arrangements.
   • Cross-training employees for critical roles.
   • Emergency staffing agreements.
2. IT and data continuity:
   • Cloud backups and disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS).
   • Redundant data centers and failover systems.
   • Cybersecurity incident response plans.
3. Facilities continuity:
   • Alternative office locations or hot sites.
   • Agreements with co-working spaces.
   • Safety procedures for evacuation and shelter-in-place.
4. Supply chain continuity:
   • Multiple suppliers for key inputs.
   • Safety stock of critical materials.
   • Contracts with logistics providers.
5. Financial continuity:
   • Access to emergency credit lines.
   • Insurance coverage for business interruption.
   • Pre-approval for temporary cost-cutting measures.

Step 6: Create the Plan Documentation

Your BCP should be clear, accessible, and actionable under pressure. A typical plan includes:

1. Introduction & scope: Purpose, objectives, assumptions.
2. Roles & responsibilities: Contact information for the continuity team.
3. Emergency response procedures: Evacuation, medical emergencies, crisis communication.
4. Continuity strategies: IT recovery, alternate facilities, staffing arrangements.
5. Detailed recovery procedures: Step-by-step instructions for restoring systems and processes.
6. Communication plan: Internal updates, customer notifications, media statements.
7. Contact lists: Employees, vendors, regulators, emergency services.
8. Checklists & quick reference guides: Easy to follow under stress.

Make sure both physical and digital copies are available, and that sensitive data is protected.

Step 7: Train and Test

A BCP is only effective if people know how to use it. Training and testing build confidence and expose gaps.

Training methods:

• Workshops and tabletop exercises.
• E-learning modules.
• New hire onboarding.

Testing approaches:

• Tabletop exercises: Simulated scenarios discussed by teams.
• Walkthroughs: Step-by-step checks of recovery procedures.
• Simulations: Realistic drills, such as power outage or cyberattack response.
• Full interruption tests: Rare but most effective—actually shutting down systems to test recovery.

Document lessons learned, update procedures, and repeat regularly.

Step 8: Maintain and Update the Plan

Business environments evolve—new technologies, staff turnover, supplier changes, and emerging risks. A BCP is not a “set it and forget it” document.

Best practices:

• Review the plan at least annually.
• Update after major business changes (mergers, new IT systems, new regulations).
• Re-train employees after revisions.
• Keep version control and track approvals.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even well-intentioned plans can fall short. Watch out for these pitfalls:

• Too much focus on IT only: Neglecting people, facilities, or supply chains weakens resilience.
• Unclear responsibilities: Ambiguity leads to chaos during crises.
• Overly complex plans: Employees won’t read 200-page documents in an emergency.
• Failure to test: Plans left untested are often useless.
• Ignoring communication: Stakeholders left in the dark lose confidence quickly.

Real-World Example: The Power of Preparation

During the COVID-19 pandemic, companies with robust BCPs adapted swiftly—shifting to remote work, rerouting supply chains, and maintaining customer service. Others scrambled, suffered prolonged downtime, or closed permanently. The difference lay in preparation, planning, and execution.

Conclusion

A Business Continuity Plan is not just a compliance checkbox—it’s a strategic advantage. By systematically assessing risks, prioritizing critical functions, developing recovery strategies, and training employees, your organisation can weather storms and emerge stronger.

Creating a BCP requires effort and commitment, but the cost of inaction is far greater. In a world defined by uncertainty, resilience is not optional—it’s essential.