An important step in populating your continuity vault is creating a list of your key contacts – internal, external, and other key business and personal contacts. These are people that are instrumental to the operation of your business and many of them should be notified in the event that your plan is triggered. Take some time to put yourself in the shoes of your emergency partner and consider which of your contacts it would be very important for them to know about.
Ensuring Your Emergency Partner Has Access to the Contacts Your Business Needs to Thrive
The individuals that your partner will need to know about fall into four categories.
Personal Contacts
These include your spouse and other family members. Granted, these people will likely be the first to know, but there may be extended family members that should be included on this list.
Professional Contacts
Your accountant, attorney, bookkeeper, and broker deal or custodian fall into this group. This may include any operational functions that you outsource, such as a CFO. These contacts will generally be instrumental to continuing the technical operations of your business.
Team Contacts
Team contacts include anyone on your operational team, including those not located in your main physical office. These individuals might include your advisor(s), compliance lead, office manager, other owners, personal assistant, and technology lead. This list may also include contract staff or interns.
Key Vendors
This will most likely be the longest list you’ll compile. These individuals include IT Application, IT Networking, landlords, bank contacts, and other service providers. Make sure you include utility providers, software vendors, wholesaler-type contacts, office equipment or lease providers, and even janitorial, water cooler, or plant maintenance folks. You might find it helpful to look through your accounting ledger to make sure you’ve covered all service providers.
Thorough Details are Key to Successful Implementation
When putting this list together, be sure to include all the necessary information – contact individual’s name, company, address, phone number, website, account numbers, and any special notes – to make things as easy as possible for your emergency contacts. Remember, this exercise serves to efficiently carry on the daily operations of your business in case the person who usually handles those responsibilities isn’t available – keep this information as complete and up-to-date as possible.