Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 1: Writing an emergency plan
• Tips

The contingency plan includes a set of actions to be taken in the event of a major incident, such as a server failure or a fire in a building. An emergency plan is a written guide to the actions necessary to prevent the loss of critical information and also to reduce the detrimental impact of an accident on your business. Many organizations and companies that focus on product quality have contingency plans not only for individual systems, but for entire departments.

Steps

Method 1 of 1: Writing an emergency plan

1. 1 Start by creating a contingency planning committee and choose someone to chair the committee. The person in charge of the contingency plan provides the necessary information on skills, tools and basic knowledge so that each department can write its own plan.
2. 2 List each workflow in each department. For example, the payroll department might be included in the HR plan.
3. 3 Gather department heads or senior officials and list all the key assumptions for your contingency plan.
4. 4 Prioritize assumptions and examine the “ifs” and possible negative consequences for your company. Explore what trends, events, or problems could theoretically arise.
5. 5 List the actions that you plan to take in the event of an unforeseen situation. How will you compensate or adjust to these challenges to keep your business profitable?
6. 6 Build your action plan in a positive way. Making a plan is not an easy task, so get the right number of people you need, as it will require a lot of data to be provided.
7. 7 Reread the plan again. Re-reviewing helps you find questions that were missed the first time.
   • You will be able to cope with unforeseen situations in certain departments as soon as you understand the job functions in detail. Sometimes contingencies will arise at the departmental level, at the task level, and also at the process level.
8. 8 Put your contingency plan to the test. You can make this test manageable and cost effective by running the test in 4 steps. If you encounter plan deficiencies or disputes about such plans in other departments, you can amend and retest it.
   • Stage 1 - Review of the management team. Management chooses a date and time to review all proposed action plans and identify people who did a good job.
   • Stage 2 - Interdepartmental review. It involves a process where each department reviews the plans of the other department. This phase allocates resources and identifies disagreements.
   • Stage 3 - Deficiencies in the system. This testing phase can be concentrated within departments. Testing includes modeling the system and / or identifying deficiencies. You can scroll through all sorts of scenarios for the development of events without interrupting or stopping the operation of important equipment or processes.
   • Stage 4 - Test in practice. This is where you will be able to fully test your contingency plan. It includes a short-term real-time work stoppage.

Tips

• Natural disasters (floods, tornadoes, earthquakes) and your business crisis are some of the issues and disasters you should consider when thinking about your contingency plan. These can include fraud, vandalism, server failure, security issues, and legal issues.
• You will encounter some situations in which it is impossible to find an acceptable effective solution. For example, if a power outage occurs and you do not have a backup generator, then you will not be able to continue to operate and you will lose profits.