As a business leader, you know that unforeseen events can disrupt your business operations and impact your bottom line. That's why having a solid business continuity plan in place is essential.
But where do you start? That's where we come in. This article provides you with 16 free, customizable business continuity plan templates that are prefilled with examples, making it easy to create a plan that meets your unique needs. Whether you're a small business or a large enterprise, our templates are designed to help you prepare for any contingency.
In addition to the templates, we've included a step-by-step guide on how to create an effective business continuity plan. From identifying risks and critical functions to testing and updating your plan, our guide covers everything you need to know.
General Business Continuity Plan Template
New to business continuity planning? No worries! Our general BCP Template is like a friendly guide—perfect for both newcomers and veterans. Use it to get the ball rolling on your continuity planning initiative and create robust strategies that will keep your business operational in times of crisis.
How to use this template? 👀
1. Sign up to get instant access to your chosen template. (Yes, it’s 100% free.)
2. Customize the template to fit your needs:
- Define your focus areas or strategic priorities
- Set strategic objectives
- Assign KPIs and owners
- Create action plans and projects to achieve your desired outcomes
3. Integrate all business data in one place for a comprehensive view of performance.
4. Use reports and dashboards to monitor progress and identify risks before they escalate.
5. Invite your team members to collaborate and ensure everyone is working toward the same goals.
👉 Click here to get your FREE Business Continuity Plan Template
💡All templates below follow the same structure. The only difference lies in the pre-filled sample data, making them customized for specific industries and use cases.
Industry-Specific Business Continuity Plan Templates
Hospitality BCP Template
Craft a resilience plan for your hospitality business, including hotels, restaurants, or travel services. This BCP template for Hospitality will help you establish measures to handle potential emergency situations and ensure customer satisfaction.
👉Click here to get your FREE Hospitality Continuity Plan Template
Manufacturing BCP Template
Ensure uninterrupted production and operations with this Manufacturing Continuity Plan Template. Use this template to keep your business partner relationships, supply chains, and production lines strong, even when surprises pop up.
👉 Click here to get your FREE Manufacturing Continuity Plan Template
Transportation BCP Template
Need a solid game plan for spotting risks early and building strong strategies to manage disruptions in your transportation business? Create your own with the BCP Template for Transportation to maintain timely deliveries and operations.
👉 Click here to get your FREE Transportation Continuity Plan Template
Healthcare BCP Template
In an industry where lives depend on service reliability, the Healthcare Business Continuity Plan Template helps you build and execute contingency plans to ensure uninterrupted care and handle emergencies effectively.
👉 Click here to get your FREE Healthcare Continuity Plan Template
Retail BCP Template
Strengthen your retail business's resilience to unforeseen events like global pandemics, supply chain disruptions, or surges in demand. With this Retail BCP Template, establish plans for inventory management, customer service, and store operations.
👉 Click here to get your FREE Retail Business Continuity Plan Template
Pharmaceuticals BCP Template
Keep vital manufacturing and supply chain operations running like clockwork with our Pharmaceuticals BCP Template. This template has everything you need to hit the ground running on your continuity planning. Use it to ensure your business doesn’t miss a beat because of trade disputes, regulations, and recalls.
👉 Click here to get your FREE Pharmaceutical Business Continuity Plan Template
Financial Services BCP Template
The BCP Template for Financial Services is designed to assist financial professionals concerned about their continuity and resilience. Use it to identify and plan strategies to keep your business sailing steady and navigate business continuity management like a seasoned professional.
👉 Click here to get your FREE Financial Business Continuity Plan Template
Telecommunications BCP Template
Our Business Continuity Plan Template for Telecommunications is ideal for internet service providers, telcos, and MSPs that want to keep their telecommunication services humming along, no matter what. Use it to outline strategies to reduce the risk of disruptions such as new technology, regulatory changes, and cyber-attacks.
👉 Click here to get your FREE Telecommunications Business Continuity Plan Template
IT BCP Template
Create a comprehensive continuity plan for your information technology business with the IT Business Continuity Plan Template. This template will help you formulate and execute strategies for data center security, network downtime planning, and maintaining service levels.
👉 Click here to get your FREE IT Business Continuity Plan Template
Nonprofits BCP Template
Ensure that your nonprofit's mission endures through unexpected events and map out your organization's preparedness with the Business Continuity Plan Template for Nonprofits. This template guides nonprofits in developing strategies for funding, communication, and service delivery during crises such as natural disasters.
👉 Click here to get your FREE Nonprofit Continuity Plan Template
Small Business BCP Template
Build resilience and safeguard your small business to weather uncertainties with the Small Business Continuity Plan Template. With this prefilled template, you’ll be able to kickstart the strategic planning process to build effective recovery procedures and disaster mitigation strategies.
👉 Click here to get your FREE Small Business Continuity Plan Template
Special Focus Templates
Supply Chain Continuity Template
Strengthen the resilience of your supply chain with this Supply Chain Business Continuity Plan Template. Use it to create and track strategies to mitigate risks such as supplier failures, transportation disruptions, and inventory shortages, ensuring a steady flow of goods and services.
👉 Click here to get your FREE Supply Chain Continuity Plan Template
Operational Continuity Plan Template
Keep your business operations running smoothly, irrespective of unforeseen challenges, with the Operational Continuity Plan Template. With it, you can quickly create an actionable Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) that guarantees your business’s preparedness when disaster strikes.
👉 Click here to get your FREE Operational Continuity Plan Template
Risk Assessment Plan Template
Risk management is at the heart of any successful continuity planning strategy. Why? Because knowing the risks your organization faces is the first step to preparing for, and effectively navigating unforeseen circumstances.
If you're ready to start building your BCP, begin with the Risk Assessment Plan Template. This framework is designed to help you pinpoint potential risks, measure their impact, and craft proactive strategies to dodge business disruptions.
👉 Click here to get your FREE Risk Assessment Plan Template
Crisis Communications Plan Template
Effectively manage internal and external communications during a crisis with this Crisis Communications Plan Template. Ensure the right messages reach your stakeholders, employees, and customers on time. This will contribute to a well-coordinated response and support your human resources team in managing crisis-related communications effectively.
👉 Click here to get your FREE Communications Plan Template
How To Write A Business Continuity Plan
A clear business continuity plan helps teams act quickly and effectively, minimizing disruptions to operations. If you want to build a resilient business continuity plan, here's a true-and-tried approach:
1. Identify critical business processes and types of threats
First, figure out which parts of your business are the most important. Why is this so crucial? When things go wrong, you can't keep every part of your business going—it's just not practical.
But, many senior management teams stumble at this stage because they:
- Take a siloed approach to continuity planning.
- Misidentify the core processes integral to business success.
- Exclude critical stakeholders when trying to understand what drives the business.
- Rely on outdated risk assessments and information for planning.
As PwC puts it, "Businesses struggle to do this well because it’s complex and can involve multiple departments and players. It’s not the usual approach in which business continuity is looked at solely within the siloed functions.”
To build a resilient BCP, thoroughly examine your business, engage all stakeholders, and really understand your key business functions and processes.
2. Perform a risk assessment
Risk assessments help companies understand potential threats, their severity, and their likelihood. This crucial step aids in prioritizing planning, encourages strategic thinking, and empowers problem-solving abilities.
💡 Check out our article Risk Matrix: How To Use It In Strategic Planning for guidance.
3. Conduct a Business Impact Analysis and prioritize strategies
A Business Impact Analysis evaluates the possible consequences of risks on your crucial business operations. It’s vital for gathering information, developing appropriate recovery strategies, and setting strategic priorities.
Consider impact such as:
- Lost or delayed sales and income
- Increased expenses
- Regulatory fines
- Loss of business opportunities
- Operational setbacks
- Reputation damage
- Data loss
- Loss of shareholder confidence
- Supply chain disruption
4. Build your business continuity plan
Finally, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and turn your research, risk assessment, and business impact analysis into a fully-fledged business continuity plan.
Your continuity plan should act as a roadmap. It should outline how your organization will keep the gears turning in the face of disruptions.
Here are the key elements:
- 🎯 Objectives
- ⏳ Timelines
- 📈 KPIs
- 🏆 Priorities
- 💰 Budgets
- 👥 Team members
- 📝 Projects and action plans
If you’re using Cascade strategy templates, you’ll have these vital elements ready and waiting to help you plan faster and better.
💡Don't spend too much time on analysis and planning. There is no such thing as a perfect plan. Instead, focus on the execution and adapt your plan as you go.
Tips For Writing And Executing Your Business Continuity Plan
Want to create a business that can ride the wave of any disruption? You'll need a fresh take on strategic risk management and continuity planning. The real magic happens when you blend centralized observability and fast execution.
Creating your plan shouldn't be a one-and-done deal. You need to keep an eye on things and tweak your strategies as needed. This is where Cascade strategy execution platform shines.
Cascade’s customizable dashboards give you real-time insights into your business operations. See the big picture or drill down to team-specific details, all in one place. This helps in identifying issues early and implementing your continuity plan effectively.
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Time is of the essence when a crisis hits. Decision-makers need information fast. Cascade's Reports lets you create concise strategy reports with up-to-date data and charts with a click. No more wasting time on manual reporting.
Continuity planning is an ongoing, iterative process. Risks change, and your strategies should evolve accordingly. With Cascade, you can continuously monitor performance and make necessary adjustments to your business continuity plan in one place.
“Cascade provides our organization with a level of transparency we've never experienced before. Traditionally siloed teams have insight into what other groups are working on, facilitating a new level of engagement and cross-team collaboration.” - Katie B, G2
📚Recommended reads for more tips and best practices:
6 Steps To Successful Strategy Execution
Strategic Control Simplified: A 6-Step Process And Tools
Get Faster Insights And Make Better Decisions With Cascade 🚀
As the world’s #1 strategy execution platform, Cascade cuts through the chaos of running business operations and paves a clear path forward.
Build continuity plans that are data-driven and aligned with your long-term vision.
Cascade helps you diagnose where you stand today and understand the factors affecting your performance, leading to informed and confident decisions.
What’s more, Cascade centralizes visibility over your execution process. This means you can swiftly identify dependencies and potential risks, and act proactively to mitigate them.
Ready to take control? Sign up for a free forever account today or book a 1:1 product tour with one of Cascade’s in-house strategy execution experts.
Business Continuity FAQs
What are the 4 Ps of business continuity?
The 4 Ps of business continuity is a way of measuring the impact of disruptions on an organization. They stand for People (the impact on the lives of workers), Processes (the effect on operations), Profits (the impact on revenue generation), and Partnerships (the impact on the enabling business environment).
What is the difference between a business continuity plan and a disaster recovery plan?
The main difference between a business continuity plan and a disaster recovery plan is its purpose. A business continuity plan aims to sustain the critical functions of an organization during disruptions, while a disaster recovery plan outlines the strategy for restoring normal business operations after major disruptions.
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