Harvest > Contingency and Reliability Reviews

Why

Any company may operate on many external factors that are beyond control, and a disaster could strike at any time. While you cannot control how and when a disaster may happen, you could always control your preparedness and how you react to it.

Most disasters are about surviving a difficult period. The strength of your contingency measures and how well the staff is trained to carry out those contingency measures have a significant impact on your survival. How sturdy your contingency plan is, has a substantial impact on the survival of your business.

How

Consider the following tips to establish a contingency plan:

  • Create a contingency budget for a rainy day. Set aside a small portion of your recurring revenue towards a contingency fund. Do periodic reviews on this and make sure a certain minimum amount is maintained. Alternatively, you could also consider having contingency buffers in your financial calculations.
  • Try to have a good knowledge of market conditions. Invest in market research and maximize your knowledge. This way, you’ll be able to predict any forcible disasters ahead of your competition.
  • Do a self-evaluation and identify critical assets and revenue sources in your company. Create a budget to safeguard those vital interests.
  • Establish a plan with detailed instructions with clear activity owners. Once a plan is created, make sure that this is communicated to all staff, leaving no room for assumptions.
  • Carry our periodic drills to make sure everyone knows their role when disaster strikes.

References