S17 Business Resilience

Help the client identify the risks and potential disruptions most relevant to their business, using national, local and sector risk information

Help the client identify their critical activities, people, suppliers, customers, systems and data, and the impact of losing each of them

Help the client develop a business continuity plan, proportionate to the size of the business, that sets out how they would keep critical activities going and recover, starting simply and building over time

Help the client strengthen their financial resilience, including cash reserves, access to credit, appropriate insurance and reducing dependence on a few customers or suppliers

Help the client strengthen the resilience of their supply chain, including alternative suppliers and stock levels

Help the client put basic cyber security and data backup measures in place, and plan how they would respond to and recover from a cyber incident

Help the client prepare for physical risks, including extreme weather, flooding, fire and the loss of power or premises

Help the client reduce their dependence on key people, including through documented processes, cross-training and succession arrangements

Help the client plan how they would communicate with staff, customers, suppliers and others during a disruption

Encourage the client to test and review their plans regularly and after any incident, and to act on the lessons learned

Help the owner build their personal resilience, including managing pressure, workload and isolation, and direct them to wellbeing support where needed

Help the client recognise early signs of longer-term change in their market or environment, and adapt their business model in response

What business resilience means: the ability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, recover from and adapt to disruption

The main types of risk facing businesses, and sources of risk information, including national risk assessments and sector research

Risk assessment and business impact analysis techniques suitable for small businesses

The principles of business continuity planning, recognised standards and good practice (for example ISO 22301), and how to apply them in proportion to the size of the business

Financial resilience, including cash buffers, credit facilities, insurance (including business interruption cover) and the risks of depending on a few customers

Supply chain risk and how to reduce it

The basic cyber security controls small businesses need (for example backing up data, protecting against malware, keeping devices secure, using strong passwords and recognising phishing) and how to respond to an incident

Physical and climate-related risks, including flood preparedness, and how businesses can adapt to them

Key person risk and succession arrangements

How to communicate during and after a disruption

Personal resilience and wellbeing for business owners, including the effects of pressure, isolation and fear of failure, and the support available

How resilience planning links to support for businesses in difficulty (S11), and when to refer