Covid-19 | Business Resumption Plan Checklist

Why use business resumption plan checklists for reopening?

After a major emergency or business interruption (e.g. disasters and pandemics), a carefully designed plan helps to restore normal operations. A planned approach makes it easier to identify the necessary measures required to revive all key organizational functions and ensure the safe use of the facilities for all employees and customers. In this case, checklists help not to overlook anything and facilitate cooperation within the management team.

Checklists are an essential tool in risk management to analyze and monitor processes and to identify and solve problems as quickly as possible. This approach helps in planning business continuity so that the options available to management during the crisis can be assessed in the best possible way to get back on the right track in business operations. To achieve this, a checklist for business resumption should cover the following points:

1. Call strategies for the fastest possible restoration of business activities.
2. Describe the main resources, equipment and individual responsibilities required for the resumption of operations.
3. Include guidelines for action required to implement the planned measures.
4. Regularly reviewed and updated to assess the effectiveness of the business resumption plan.

This article covers the following topics:

1. The relevance of a checklist for restoring business operations

2. The key elements of an effective resumption of business activity

3. Business resumption plan checklist for implementing control meachanism

4. A digital tool for business resumption planning

The relevance of a checklist for restoring business activity

After the interruption of business operations, it is a top priority for companies to get business back to normal. However, there are lessons to be learned from crises. Therefore, developing a business recovery plan can help companies move forward in the following ways:

1. To better understand the extent of the impact of an event or incident on the company.
2. Identify immediate countermeasures that are required to resolve urgent problems.
3. Better assess the impact on employees and their families and plan possible support.
4. To obtain valuable business data that can be used for similar situations in the future.
5. To create a culture of resilience and growth within the company.

Key elements of an effective resumption of business activity

There are five essential aspects which are of crucial importance in the planning of the restoration of the company's activities so that the plan can be implemented successfully and effectively:

1. Aspect: Analysis of the operational effects of critical processes

It is important first to identify and analyse all critical processes and situations to ensure efficient planning and prioritisation. Failure to do this may result in wasted resources and increased workload, causing further delays in returning to normal operations.

2. Aspect: Customers, business partners and employees

When planning the restoration of a company's business operations, the input, participation and the effects on employees, customers and business partners must be taken into account. An interruption of their working and everyday lives has a direct impact on business-critical processes. It is important to bring these groups on board during business recovery and contingency planning.

3. Aspect: Evaluation of the facilities

Companies that have had to decommission plants and buildings should carry out a condition assessment to ensure that everything is functioning properly. They should also plan safety measures to reduce the risks to employees and business processes.

4. Aspect: Communication and transparency

Communication during the recovery phase must be as comprehensive as possible. In this way companies create a supportive working environment that is understood and understood. From the individual employee to the supplier, everyone involved in the company's activities must be kept informed of developments affecting them. Open channels of communication should be available to enable close cooperation in a difficult situation.

5. Aspect: Knowledge from the crisis

The company management and its employees can learn from every crisis. Much can be learned during the management and recovery phase from an emergency. The documentation of the process of planning processes to restore business operations can be documented in detail to identify the good and bad experiences and use the lessons learned for future crises.

Which control mechanisms can be implemented after a lockdown with the help of a checklist ?

After the lifting of restrictions, the company management and its business has to face difficult challenges. It must plan for the restoration of business activities with shrunken resources and adaptation to a "new normality", ideally to enable all employees to return to their jobs.

Executives must lay the foundations for a recovery of the company so that internal processes can be continuously restarted. To this end, they must ensure that the necessary measures are implemented. A carefully designed business resumption plan and adequate tools such as checklists, training and programs will help them do this. This is the only way to develop strategies and procedures that support the recovery of disrupted processes, maintain critical operations and ensure that employee health is protected.

The following control measures support the company management in resuming business activities:

1. Formation of a special committee

A special committee is intended to assist in the implementation of existing plans for the restoration and resumption of business activities. Members also assess the physical, economic and social impact of the pandemic on the company and make adjustments to the plans if necessary.

2. implementation of appropriate measures to return to work

Every employee should be prepared to return to work by the company. Special attention should be given to risk groups and employees who have been exposed to COVID-19. Guidelines should be established for the entire workforce, which should be followed to help everyone to re-enter the workplace.

3. Social distancing

According to scientific findings, the social dissociation is a helpful measure to push back the pandemic. A measure that will probably accompany us for a long time to come. Companies have a responsibility to implement social distancing at their workplaces.

4. High hygiene standards

The regular cleaning of the workplace during the pandemic should be just as much a part of everyday work as the cleaning and disinfection of highly frequented areas in the company and sanitary facilities. In this way, the health of the employees can be protected and a feeling of security can be conveyed.

5. Restructuring of working methods

The social distance regulations have forced many employees to work from home. For the future, companies must consider restructuring their current work organisation to be prepared for future pandemics.

6. Keep up to date

Not only during a pandemic but also otherwise, it is important for companies to keep abreast of the latest developments in health and safety at work. Instructions and guidelines from local authorities and national organisations are the right tools to strengthen the business recovery plan and occupational health and safety.

Digital tool for the business resumption plan

Step by step, companies resume their business activities after a crisis. Careful planning supports them in this process. This can be implemented with digital tools such as Lumiform. The mobile app and desktop software makes it easier to exchange information and solve problems.

Lumiform helps executives create a business recovery plan that promises efficiency and success. The mobile app offers the advantage that all quality and safety inspections, simply by tablet or smartphone can be performed on-site - online or offline. All data is immediately available to the entire planning team.

With Lumiform, companies can:

• Use the flexible forms toolkit to create customizable checklists for restoring business activity.
• Through the digital platform that enables collaboration with other stakeholders to develop the best strategy.
• Generate real-time data about the implementation of the measures. This makes security measurable, and processes can be continuously optimized based on data.
• Keeping an overview of everything that happens in the company.
• Share automatically generated reports with business partners and save all the time spent on post-processing.

To make planning easier, we have put together some templates that can be used immediately with the Lumiform App. All templates can be easily adapted to meet internal company requirements and regional guidelines of state authorities.