Disaster Recovery Plan
vcedwards
4 Posts
Has anyone been asked to put together a disaster recovery plan? I've
been asked to do this but I'm concerned it's outside my
responsibilities. We're a medium-size company with 200 employees. I've
done an Emergency Action Plan to meet OSHA
requirements, but that's not enough. The task would include steps to
get the company functioning properly after the disaster (hurricane,
prolonged power outage, earthquake at our CA office). Should the HR department take the lead on something like this?
VC
Comments
I have been with some mid-size companies (10K+ EE) and the norm that I have experienced is that IT owns the DRP from a project management objective, with representatives from each business division. However, HR plays a big role in DRP and could easily own it in smaller companies. The goal is to ensure you are prepared to continue to operate if a major disaster occurs, as most companies go out of business if they aren’t able to reopen quickly. As HR, you may want to consider if your records are backed-up, can you access HRIS offsite, do you have a current listing of home/emergency contact info for all EEs, can you re-staff if you lose X% of your population and how, what is the minimum # of EE needed from each area to keep the doors open, and what are your pay practices if you are forced to be closed for X amount of days. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Here is a case study that you may find interesting from SHRM:
http://www.shrm.org/hrresources/casestudies_published/CMS_015996.pdf
Thanks for the case study URL. This will be a
company-wide effort with a strong commitment from our CEO. I, or someone
else, will need authority to get operations information from other departments.
Here's what I've got so far concerning issues that have to be addressed:
Conduct risk assessment--what are the possible disruption events and how
seriously will they disrupt operations
Communications--how notify key people and all employees, coordinate response
and recovery
Human resources--working offsite, closings, absenteeism, layoffs, terminations,
medical leave, pay, etc.
Supplies and equipment (what do we get now and how we'll keep supplies coming
during recovery)
Procedures for handling customers, contractors, and vendors
Information technology procedures (computer shutdown, backup system, priority
systems)
Relocation procedures
Security
Insurance
Damage assessment
Training (who gets disaster training, curriculum, training exercises)
Testing the integrity/effectiveness of the Plan
Yes, this is way beyond the function of one department without full cooperation and
assistance from every department. If I coordinate this effort, I'll have
to form a committee and get the CEO to endorse this as a priority so that other
departments cooperate.