We all like to think that with our businesses, they will be successful. From the grand opening till the day you retire, you hope for nothing, but success and happiness in your business.
But, that is often not the case. There will be obstacles and problems around every corner. Some will be easier to be seen and dealt with while others will come when you least expect it.
When it comes to disaster at your business, it is up to you, part of/or the leadership itself to have backup plans should things go awry.
This article will help you understand what the key differences are in business continuity vs disaster recovery. Both of these deal in assisting in businesses that are impacted by disaster so that the business can recover and continuing selling their products and services.
What Are They?
Both business continuity and disaster recovery are key to ensuring success to your business.
Business continuity: This model gives out an outline as to how the business will proceed when disaster strikes. For example, it should have an outline of a different location to work if needed and so on. It is also a wise idea to plan when there are smaller emergencies such as power outages that last a while.
Disaster recovery: This plan is for when the business is impacted by a major disaster such as fires, terrorism, active shooters, and natural disasters. This one is super important because it details what needs to be done in the aftermath of such an event and taking the necessary steps to ensure the workplace is a safe and back to normal environment.
Why Are These Important?
Depending on your business, a disaster can quite literally kill your company in seconds. If you don’t have a backup plan, how do you expect to continue your business?
While some events like an act of terrorism are quite low, something like natural disasters is something that needs to be considered. If you live on the coast, you need to worry about hurricanes. In the inland, tornadoes. Even then, you have to consider the seasons with heavy rains, heatwaves, and snowstorms. Not to mention earthquakes can happen as well.
These kinds of events can quite literally tear your business to the ground. Having a plan in place can ensure that you and your employees are not jobless.
The Similarities
While both seem like the same idea, there are key factors that make them similar and different. For similarities:
- They are proactive plans that help a business prepare for disaster. Both take the action to minimize the negative effects of the event before it can occur.
- Both can be used by businesses for a wide-range of disasters from both man and nature.
- The two ideas are required to be updated and reviewed so that the company knows what to do.
The Differences
The differences of the two include:
- Business continuity has a focus on keeping your operation operational during a disaster. The disaster recovery is to recover data and such after the event.
- Disaster recovery can include additional training for workers such as fire drills.
- Both have different goals. Business continuity wants to limit the downtime from the disaster while business recovery wants to limit the problems that the business system is facing.
Leadership During a Crisis
If you are the
leader of your business, then it is up to you to ensure the safety of your employees. Disaster can strike at anytime and in many different ways. Therefore, you need to make quick decisions and analyze the problems to make the best choices.
Of course you can’t do this alone. Luckily, there are many career options that can be apart of a business. These include:
- Emergency Management Director
- Disaster Program Manager
- Geographic Systems Information Coordinator
While getting through a crisis is important, picking up after is equally as important. This can be a traumatizing time for yourself and your employees depending on the disaster and severity of the situation. Sometimes, you can’t just get right back to work. Your mental health is also important. So, when disaster strikes, make sure that you and your employees have access to resources to help cope with the feelings and emotions faced during the disaster.
Conclusion
Business continuity vs disaster recovery. Both are quite similar, and yet so opposite in several key differences.
What is important is that your business has a plan. As a leader, it is your responsibility for the safety of your employees. Ensure that there is a plan in place in case disaster strikes. Constantly update it and review it so that new employees are in on the loop.
With lives being possibly on the line, this is something you cannot afford to mess up.
