Get the most out of your credit union’s business continuity plan

By now, every aspect of our personal and professional life has been impacted by COVID-19 in more ways than we can count. This pandemic has changed how we all live, how our members interact with us and how credit unions are operating. As we quickly adapt to navigating our ‘new normal,’ we may have discovered that our business continuity plan didn’t quite prepare us for every curveball we’ve encountered along the way.

While it may seem impossible to plan for the unthinkable, there are steps you can take to get the most out of your BCP and save your credit union time and money should another crisis emerge down the road. By implementing a process to continuously review, test and improve your BCP, it will prove to be one of your greatest assets when facing challenging times in the future.

Not sure if your credit union’s BCP review process is comprehensive enough? Consider the following:

Is the BCP Specific & Reviewed Annually?

Start by assembling a BCP team made up of credit union employees and scheduling an annual review of the plan. The first step for this team is to ensure that the BCP is specific to the needs of your organization. It’s not unusual for BCPs to be built through a cut-and-paste style of policy creation. While this is a good place to start, it is important to customize the BCP specifically to your credit union. Annually, the team should get together to review the BCP and detail any gaps in the plan. Throughout the year, new staff members may have joined, contact information may have changed etc., so it is important to ensure these details are current.

 

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