​Comprehensive Business Continuity Plan Template

We have constructed our Business Continuity Plan Template as a "snap together" toolkit consisting of Excel and Word templates that have been designed to support and accelerate each part of business continuity plan development. Each stage is made as straightforward as possible, facilitating completion effectively and quickly. This also simplifies both maintenance and the utility of each section:

• The Incident Response & Recovery Plan combined with the Communications Plan provides concise, actionable and accessible guidance if the BCP is invoked

• The Risk Assessment & BIA with the Business Continuity Management Framework demonstrate that the business continuity plan has been professionally developed in line with accepted standard and best practice.

• The "snap together" structure accelerates development of business continuity plans avoiding the trip-wires and tarpits associated with trying to wade through a 50+ page Business Continuity Plan document template. 

 

Step 1: Risk Assessment & BIA. 

This is the foundation of your business continuity plan helping you to identify your organisation's operational priorities and recovery targets. This step is supported by a  purpose built Excel spreadsheet template that is easily shareable via OneDrive or SharePoint - enabling several people to work collaboratively to update the spreadsheet and move this step along quickly. 

 

Step 2: Incident Response & Recovery Plan.

A tabular word document template helps you to define and organise responsibilities and steps to be taken when disaster strikes. The template already includes suggested steps for the most common incidents including loss of IT systems & services, physical workplace damage, Supply chain disruption and loss of critical equipment.

 

Step 3: Communication Plan

A tabular word document providing a complete Incident Communications plan to support internal and external communication with affected parties. While  risk assessments and response provide sound basis for recovering from an incident, the Communications Plan ensures everyone in the organisation is aware of "what's going on" while external communications preserves your organisation's reputation with customers and other third parties. This part of the template includes suggested internal and external parties to be considered and  communications channels to be used.

 

Step 4: Plan Maintenance & Management

As well as the plan components mentioned above, any self respecting auditor or assessor will expect to see a management process wrapped around your business continuity plan. The Business Continuity Management Framework template delivers a "Business Continuity Management System" that includes a Business Continuity Policy, Responsibilities Matrix and a business continuity plan testing schedule and is cross-referenced to the ISO 22301 standard for Business Continuity Management. All you need to complete this "proof of process" document is to add names to roles and either accept or change frequencies for business continuity testing and review. This document, together with the Risk Assessment & BIA template, Incidents Response and Recovery Plan template and Communications Plan template gives you a business continuity plan that will fly through any audit.