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Download the Business Continuity Policy template here.
Price: FREE Download
About this template
- A business continuity policy sets out the intentions and direction of your business continuity programme and communicates the scope and requirements to your employees.
- This helps your employees understand their roles and responsibilities for delivering the programme so they can meet the expectations.
- A policy can also explain the legal and regulatory requirements that need to be met.
- If you include a short statement from your leadership team that explains the importance of the programme to your business, this shows your employees that business continuity is taken seriously and is essential to your organization.
The business continuity policy template will need to be customized to your organization. If you have a business continuity policy in place, you may want to check out my business impact analysis template for the next phase in your business continuity programme.
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Other relevant templates available to download
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Please find below a list of Frequently Asked Questions for the Business Continuity Policy
What is a business continuity policy?
The business continuity policy sets out the intentions and direction for the business continuity programme, and communicates the scope and requirements.
Why do we have a business continuity policy?
The business continuity policy is used to communicate the purpose, scope, framework and requirements of the business continuity programme to interested parties so they understand the expectations and how they contribute to the programme. Without a business continuity policy, staff may be unclear how the business continuity programme is structured and what their responsibilities are.
What is the purpose of a business continuity policy?
The purpose of the business continuity policy is to communicate to interested parties the purpose, scope, framework and requirements of the business continuity programme. This helps to set the context and expectations, including why business continuity is important to the organization.
What should a business continuity policy include?
The contents of the business continuity policy may vary depending on whether you intend to:
- Align with or meet the requirements of ISO 22301;
- Follow the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) Good Practice Guidelines; and/or
- Stay consistent with the structure and approach of other internal policies at your organization.
However, typically a business continuity policy might include:
- A definition of business continuity.
- Defined scope for the business continuity programme.
- A framework for setting business continuity objectives.
- Roles and responsibilities for the business continuity programme.
- References to other relevant internal policies.
- References to standards, and legal and regulatory requirements.
- Methods and frequency for monitoring and review to support continuous improvement.
I have seen other organizations include statements of commitment to business continuity from their CEO, which I was personally impressed with as I feel that sends a positive message throughout the organization that your business continuity programme has strong leadership commitment.
Summary
If you are working towards ISO 22301 then that includes the requirements you would need to meet and similarly the BCI also identify what a business continuity policy should include in their Good Practice Guidelines so depending on your intentions with your business continuity programme, it is best to consult the relevant documentation.
Supporting Information
PURPOSE
The business continuity policy helps you communicate to staff that you are implementing a business continuity programme and provides both direction and requirements.
TOP TIPS
If you have uploaded your business continuity policy to your intranet, we would advise not to assume staff have read it. It needs to be communicated throughout your organization. Our advice would be to liaise with your Communications department and to discuss how best to communicate the business continuity policy. If you have a weekly or fortnightly staff briefing email for example, that could provide one method for communicating your business continuity policy.
For more information on Business Continuity, we very much recommend looking at the Business Continuity Institute’s Good Practice Guidelines.
FACT
Without a business continuity policy, staff may be unaware of the scope of the business continuity programme, their role or even that a business continuity programme exists. This could lead to confusion and cause issues with implementing your business continuity management system.