Preparedness

August 29, 2018 - September will be the 14th annual National Preparedness Month. This year's theme is "Disasters Happen. Prepare Now. Learn How." Having a plan for dealing with disasters is the most important thing, and this week's articles can help you focus on ways to prepare your business, your employees and everyone's families for various disasters and situations.

Ready.gov offers suggestions and links to resources to employ before and during the observation of National Preparedness Month. (Item #1)   The EPA offers valuable information on protecting health and the environment. (Item #2)   Smart911 identifies the six most common disasters and how to prepare for them. (Item #3)

Here are a few things your business might consider in order to take advantage of the national focus on preparedness. (Item #4)   Here are 10 ways to champion the value and importance of business continuity planning. (Item #5)   Planning and training for all potential emergencies will help both you and your employees be ready for unexpected situations. (Item #6)


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Reputation Management

August 22, 2018 - I don't think anyone would argue against the fact that reputation matters. But we may not be aware of how much it matters and how important it is to understand and keep control of corporate reputation. A tarnished reputation can make it difficult not just to get clients or customers, but it will make it harder to attract and keep good employees. The bottom line is that a tarnished reputation will impact your bottom line; you need to keep it polished. Read on...

Disengaged employees, or normally engaged employees who feel an air of uncertainty, can damage your reputation from the inside out by engaging in gossip. (Item #1)   Whether applying for a job or attracting business opportunities, a good reputation affects your bottom line. (Item #2)   The value of strong ethical business practices can be found in your business reputation and company brand. (Item #3)

There is a rising interdependence of brand and corporate reputation. (Item #4)   Proactive online reputation management is much better than mere insurance. (Item #5)   As we continue to place more trust in search results, the importance of maintaining and managing our online reputation grows. (Item #6)


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Business Continuity Planning

August 15, 2018 - Most of you are aware that business continuity planning can be the difference between life or death for your company in the event of a serious disruption or disaster. If you have a plan, great; but is it up to date? If you don't have a plan, you need one. These articles can be helpful to you regardless of your situation, giving you help in getting started or causing you to re-think what you're already doing and to consider some things you hadn't thought of.

We rarely get advance notice that a disaster is ready to strike; even with some lead time, though, multiple things can go wrong; every incident is unique and unfolds in unexpected ways. (Item #1)  share seven steps to create a solid business continuity plan. (Item #2)  This study suggests that the 81 percent of organizations with an up-to-date plan are "not only able to handle identified risks, but they are also more resilient when recovering from unplanned events." (Item #3)

What might you have overlooked or underrated in developing your BC plan? (Item #4)  Paying a ransom is not the way to deal with a ransomware attack; instead, comprehensive business continuity and disaster recovery planning provide the best solution says Paul Barber. (Item #5)  Pandemic planning seems to be a low profile area at the moment but if you think your organization is safe from a pandemic, think again. (Item #6)


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Cyber Issues and Business Continuity

August 8, 2018 - According to many experts, it's time to integrate cybersecurity and business continuity. No longer is cybersecurity only the purview of the IT department with the rest of the organization unknowing about how or why it's done. The danger presented by cyber hacking makes it critical that business continuity plans include response to cyber issues. They are a risk to us all, and this week's articles are further proof of that.

Organizations have traditionally treated information security and business continuity management as two separate disciplines. But is the situation changing? (Item #1)  Cyber scenarios have become much more common in business continuity exercises, due to the increasing concern about the impacts of information security threats; here are seven tips for running yours. (Item #2)  It makes sense to integrate cyber security and business continuity so you can respond to attacks and data breaches faster, efficiently, and more effectively. (Item #3)

Cybersecurity is no longer just a technology issue, it's a business one too. (Item #4)  The cybersecurity solution you implement impacts ROI. (Item #5)  The reality is that although the numbers may seem large to the average person, the financial impact of data breaches on large companies is negligible. (Item #6)


For the full issue, click here.