Business Continuity Communication Plan

No matter how smoothly an organization runs day-to-day, surprises and disasters are inevitable. In the case of a problem, it’s important that all employees and associated parties are kept safe and informed.

Developing Your Emergency Communication Plan for Business Continuity

There are many ways to prepare yourself and your staff before an emergency. Many of these small preparations can make use of SMS text message and voice broadcasting to ensure that all involved parties are ready to do their job in case of a problem. Ways to include call and text broadcast as part of your business continuity plan before an incident occurs include:

• Dividing contacts into groups. Not all of your contacts need the same information. Dividing contact lists into smaller groups based on location, function, or some other criteria can make it easier to get the right information to the right people quickly when the time comes.

• Sending out test and reminder messages and calls. You don’t want to find out in the midst of an emergency that your contacts were entered incorrectly or that everyone has gotten rusty on the details of the continuity plan. Sending out messages and calling in advance can serve a dual purpose of reminding people of their roles and checking for working contacts.

Business Continuity Incident Procedure During an Emergency Situation

There are plenty of things to communicate right as an incident is unfolding, too. Mass texts and calls can be used to:

Inform everyone of the situation. This may sound silly, but not everyone will know what’s happening as soon as it’s happened. Employees on the ninth floor may not know about flooding on the ground level, or those on the other side of campus may not be quite sure what that loud noise was or why there are so many sirens. Sending a mass message gets everyone on the same page.

Give instructions. Even those who have been trained in the business continuity plan may panic when the situation is real. Mass messages or calls can be used to ensure that everyone is reminded of what they should do, where they should go, and who they should report to.

Check in. Mass texts and calls can be used to make sure that each employee’s whereabouts are known. By either responding to a text message or dialing in on a phone call, management or administration can make sure that everyone is accounted for.

Business Continuity Disaster Recovery Plan

After the incident has passed, mass text and call broadcast can be used to check in during the aftermath, thank employees for responding quickly or well, and getting feedback on how the event was handled.

This feedback can be taken into account when preparing for future incidents. This helps to refine the process with time.