Contingency Plan

A contingency plan is a plan of action created by your business in response to possible future risks.

The purpose of the plan is to help your business remain proactive, ensuring you are prepared for any unlikely catastrophic events. While your business may not be able to avoid risk, you certainly can effectively plan for it, helping you be ready for action if disaster strikes.

Preparing a thorough contingency plan is the first step to ensuring your business is prepared for a crisis.

Planning is an essential part of operations management, offering a blueprint for how to deal with difficult and trying events before they occur.

1. Identify the areas essential to business operations
   • Go through your company and list essential resources -  teams, tools, facilities, etc.
2. Identify key risks to your business
   • What events could compromise your resources? (Disasters, crises, etc.)
3. Plan for how to deal with risks
   • Write a contingency plan for each risk identified
4. Distribute the plan
   • Give a copy to everyone at your business
5. Periodically revisit the plan
   • Revise and maintain the plan to keep the details up to date