COVID-19: How to Ensure Business Continuity and Manage Risks

How to Quickly Bounce Back?

If the organizations must regroup, they ought to consider certain important aspects that are highlighted below. 

1. Exploration of Options 

The companies must explore opportunities and venture into different sectors to recover their business. The main aim would be to stabilize the business first and examine the financial conditions.

2. Preparing the Turnaround Strategy 

Once the production of goods and service are stabilized, the companies need to frame a strategy which would help them achieve their goals.

3. Considering Recommendations from WHO, CDC 

Even though the companies have a big task at hand, they cannot ignore the protocols laid down by esteemed organizations like WHO, CDC, etc. If the employees are healthy, the recovery process will be swifter. 

4. Implementation 

Only planning will not be enough. The strategy must be properly executed to see significant improvements. Since, the global CEOs are looking at U-shaped recession; the employees must cooperate and ensure that they do not find themselves unemployed. 

With the business continuity planning intact, the companies also must manage operational risks. It will also help companies form the business continuity process strategy.

Management of Risks

If you are working on a ‘business management amid COVID-19’, you should check out the samples section of academic service providers like My assignment help.  They can draft a risk management plan as an assignment. Nevertheless, you will find important pointers below. 

Employee Risks 

Employees are the main driving force of any company. Here, ERP software such as SAP ERP, Microsoft Dynamics, ORACLE Netsuite, will help the supervisors keep a tab on daily activities. They will also be able to check out the important data from the dashboard. Furthermore: 

• Safety of the employees is of the utmost essence; hence, authentic information regarding COVID-19 should be circulated to everyone.
• Proper planning is essential regarding the distribution of tasks in case the rotational shift is made mandatory.
• Motivating the team during this tough situation is especially important. Stress management system, should be ready to take care of the demotivated employees.
• To ensure seamless workflow, hierarchical roles need to be assigned, especially during the rotational shifts.

Coordination is crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the senior management must be patient, and they should lead and guide their employees.

Cyber Risks

Since a lot of the operations are going to be held online, the cyber division must be robust with good compliance methodology.

• Security issues need to be monitored, particularly on Zoom, as there will be a lot of video conferencing.
• Multi-factor authentication should be exercised or biometric signatures like retina scans or fingerprint identification should be implemented.
• Applications should be tested for remote access (virtual computing, VPN, TeamViewer) 
• Antivirus signature updates are crucial, so that it can detect malware, viruses like Ransomware, Trojan horses, etc.  
• Hacking is on the rise amid COVID-19, so remote surveillance and strong firewall are necessary to negate the attacks.
• Identity Access Management (IAM) should be stronger, so that there is no crisis related to identity thefts. 

As a precautionary measure, data should be backed up. In case of any emergency, one can retrieve the data easily. Moreover, companies which have servers with an external-facing IP should conduct frequent checks to prevent third-party exploits. Regular penetration testing should be scheduled.

Infrastructure Risks

Today, most of the businesses require proper IT setup to function properly. They need uninterrupted Internet connectivity, cloud support and data management. 

• Make sure everyone can get access to corporate management software such as Scoro, Qualsys, Bitrix24, etc. 
• One must ensure proper bandwidth allocation in the office premise with the help of Solarwinds Real-Time Monitor, Solarwinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer, PRTG Network Monitor, for example.
• Check whether each employee can get access to the portal, SaaS services, Cloud Collaboration platform, for example. 
• Make sure the IT support team is ready to help so that the business process is not hindered.

In addition to this, IT professionals should be made aware of the IT governance framework. To ensure that the IT systems deliver top-notch performance, draft the possible issues that one might face. Based on the problems, make alternative plans which will act as a fail-safe option.

Business and Operational Risks 

Following the implementation of the turnaround strategy, one should keep an eye out for the business and the operational risk.

• Be ready with the potential issues in the supply chain along with the countermeasures.
• Redefine SLA (Service Level Agreements) and OLA (Operational Level Agreements) for the benefit of the employees. 
• Make a list of the potential issues like technology failure, process malfunction and establish precautionary measures.
• Arrange for work permits, in case the employees require physical access.

In addition to this, business processes must be re-evaluated for the stabilization of the process.

As you can see, the workload is extensive, but it must be enforced in order to achieve fruitful results. It is expected that the lockdown would be lifted in a month or two. And, when that happens, these strategies would enhance the business process, without people having to worry about the spread of the Coronavirus.