The on-going wage strike within the mining sector has now entered the 21st week – and the effect of the unrest is doing irreparable harm to the various economic sectors and the country’s GDP (gross domestic product).
This is according to Greg Comline, GM of Global Continuity South Africa, who says it is imperative that an effective business continuity plan is put in place to protect companies from any potential industrial action.
“Planning for the impact of any business disruptions must form part of every company’s business continuity management (BCM) programme, as the chance of business disruption increases during periods of unrest. Effective BC planning should be a top priority for local business leaders in the current environment. This is especially true when you have additional pressure placed on key resources, which can lead to increased risk to systems that are normally stable.”
Comline says the main function of a sound BCM plan is to enable a business to detect, prevent and recover from business interruptions and continue functioning at a sustainable level following a major disruption to critical daily operations.
“This is done through the identification of certain business processes that must be recovered within a certain time frame in order to continue supplying critical products and services during adverse operating conditions, or alternatively to ensure that business processes are not interrupted by disastrous events.”
A key component of BCM is developing a resilient business that is able to effectively handle multiple scenarios. Effective planning involves the development of a range of planned responses to various threats, says Comline.
“One can never determine what or when a disruption to business operations will occur, so it is essential to create key scenarios and develop appropriate responses to ensure the company is fully prepared. It is always best to plan for the worst possible situation occurring at the worst time to ensure the business is resilient where key resources are not available.”
Comline says there are three factors businesses need to consider when planning ahead of strike season, including:
* Alternative routes to the business premises, if the disruption does not allow normal access to the business premises;
* Ensuring the working environment is resilient to physical threats; and
* Creating and communicating a planned response to all employees should the situation arise i.e. delegating certain tasks to certain employees or making arrangements with other companies to use their facilities, should the need arise.
While it is important to plan for disasters, Comline says the BC plan should also be flexible enough to adapt to different situations.
“It should rather read as a check list than a step-by-step plan that is blindly followed. BCP should be easily understood so that there are clear and decisive actions that are well communicated.”
Most importantly, the BCP must be tested as a recovery plan and is only effective if it is certain to work, says Comline. “Testing it is the key activity which determines, firstly whether the implementation of the BCP has been worth the effort and expenditure; and secondly how to address those issues which inhibit effective recovery.
“The repercussions for businesses with no effective BCM solution can range from loss of revenue, assets, clients and staff to litigation, penalties and perhaps even worst of all, reputational damage. There are also personal consequences for the business leaders as they could face Director or Officer liability cases on the basis of negligence or criminal liability, which could even affect their reputation to act as a director in future.”
Comline says some examples of essential services and activities, which are critical to the sustainability of a business, include, but are not limited to: revenue collection; communication with staff, suppliers and clients; service delivery; logistics and procurement. This has to be managed while presenting a clear message to all stake holders.
“In a time when disruptions to business operations can occur at any moment, all businesses have a responsibility to clients, employees and stakeholders to ensure a tested plan is in place which allows the organisation to continue functioning at an operational level even in the event of a disaster. Certainly, without the ability to recover data and services reliably and efficiently, impacts will be much greater,” Comline says.