Have a back up plan in case disaster strikes
I have just attended two events that made me think hard about the way I run my business.
One was a crisis management session at Harper Adams University, the other a session led by a local cybercrime expert working with the Regional Crime Squad.
Of course, we’re all aware of threats to our businesses. We dutifully install fire extinguishers and security alarms then pat ourselves on the back and carry on with the day job.
Yet how many of us have a plan in the event of a real crisis?
With our dependency on technology – equipment, vehicles and computers – we are all the more vulnerable in the event of a flood, fire, theft or even physical or cyber attack. It might sound melodramatic but cyber crime is a daily occurrence. It is not a question of if you are targeted, it is a question of when. Unsecured WiFi, weak passwords and sensitive information posted online are like leaving your keys in the Land Rover, and you wouldn’t do that. Would you?
Neither would you buy from an unscrupulous seller who turns up unannounced in the farmyard. So why click on a link in a ‘too good to be true’ email?
Computer crime can destroy a business if you haven’t made adequate plans for what to do if your systems go down.
If your computer is seized by hackers who ask for cash to get your own files back would you pay not knowing if they will honour their side of the deal? Or will you have a backup of all your BPS and RPA files so you don’t actually need to pay a ransom?
The farming industry should be equally aware of being targeted by human activists who consider vandalism and worse justifiable in whatever cause they are seeking to advance. You might deter passing criminals by visible security measures but it won’t stop criminals who have selected you for a particular reason. Ask yourself, what if?
Neither will you stop natural disasters, fires or floods, but you can identify what you need to enable your business to continue after such an event. By protecting that without which you cannot survive, or at least having a back-up, you can save valuable time when you need it most – when disaster strikes. Distasteful as it might seem, you also need to prepare for the sudden death or departure of key staff.
It doesn’t need a massive document but you should take the time to consider all the potential ways in which your business could be hit hard, and have a plan in place, just in case. After all, no-one wants to run out of chicken.
Caroline Bedell BSc Hons MRICS FAAV, Director Midlands, CLA Midlands
