Will Your Business Contingency Plan Cover Every Eventuality?

Updated on April 30, 2025

Crises have proven that some organizations can handle a major crisis. . . and some cannot. Can your business react to any uncertainty?

Organizations are currently going through difficult times given the ongoing economic uncertainty. However, you should always be prepared to tackle any eventuality. This approach may allow you to lessen the initial impact of a threat on your activities and you will be better equipped to regain control of your organization despite the disruptions.

Proactive organizations prepare for potential risks that could impact their operations. They implement a business continuity plan to mitigate the impact and duration of a crisis that could be caused by any unexpected threat or accident. This plan is supported by tools and training for work teams.

Mitigate the effects of a crisis thanks to an emergency plan

When it comes to disasters that can disrupt an organization’s activities, a few examples immediately come to mind: a fire, earthquake or pandemic like COVID-19.

However, other events such as an Internet outage, environmental disaster, sudden loss of leadership or large-scale fraud can disrupt your operations, with varying degrees of risk.

Think, for example, about what would happen to your business and personal life if you were to go without an Internet service for a few days. You would instantly run out of information, communication methods and, probably, cash.

Organizations, including private enterprises and public institutions, should therefore not neglect preparing for these different types of events.

The purpose of a business continuity plan in the event of a disaster is to:

How can this be accomplished? The short answer: imagine the worst outcome and document the measures you would implement.

Be proactive

Well-prepared organizations have mechanisms in place to respond to a major event by preparing their staff and developing the necessary skills to manage the crises resulting from the various types of catastrophes. Here are a few measures that you could adopt to ensure that:

Organizations often take a superficial approach to such tasks or add them to the following day’s to-do list. However, taking the first step immediately is vital.

Done is better than perfect

You should concentrate on four factors both within your organization and with regard to your business partners. The effects of a crisis may be direct or indirect. Assess the risk to each of the four factors listed below.

Operations

What impacts could a crisis have on your supply chain or production that would disrupt your activities, for example? You should prepare for various scenarios.

Finances

Your clients or suppliers could be financially impacted, which may in turn affect your operations. You should think about how you would manage such a situation.

How would you approach debt recovery and advance payments, for example? You should try to support your business partners without compromising the quality of services or products sold.

This could also be an opportunity to review each service and product that your organization offers and assess their individual profitability.

Compliance

Understanding exactly what the changes involve and which rules (tax rules, for example) you must respect to remain compliant (with regard to tariffs, for example) is important.

You should also take the time to analyze your contracts with your business partners and determine your obligations and leeway.

Strategy

Once you have clearly identified all of these elements, you should consider whether you can change your strategy related to one or more stages of your business activities.

The assistance of a professional firm could help you to accelerate the process and mobilize your organization’s members. Where appropriate, they should help you diagnose your readiness, show rapid results and implement your essential service continuity plan.

Five other key elements for successfully dealing with a crisis

Beyond this preparation, in the turmoil generated by a crisis of any kind, there are five key elements that can contribute to the success of your efforts.

Stay informed

Plan for ways to assess how the situation is progressing every day.

Communicate

Maintain constant, clear lines of communication with the authorities, your teams and clients.

Seize opportunities

Times of crisis can accelerate decision-making and reduce the number of stakeholders and levels of authority. In many organizations, the conditions associated with the pandemic provided the impetus to move forward in a matter of weeks in areas such as telework, that would otherwise have taken years.

Rely on your team members

In times of crisis, your contacts are also affected and will therefore often be unable to support you quickly. You need to find people within your internal resources who make a difference. They exist and will stand out from the crowd. Hierarchical status is no longer important.

Leverage key resources

Crisis management often takes place over a long period of time. After the initial sprint, turn into a marathon runner.

By combining these five key elements with the tools of a good business continuity plan, you will optimize your crisis management.

Analyze your level of preparedness

Even though you learned from the pandemic, are you prepared for the current economic threats and new threats that may be quite different in nature? It’s best to invest time now to prepare for any eventuality.

Not sure where to start? Carry out a review of your contingency plan readiness using a structured tool. You will pinpoint your strengths, weaknesses and, most importantly, the actions that will bring you the fastest results. Our experts can help.