The audiences for a business continuity plan are as follows: management, employees, key business partners (suppliers, investors, local government agencies the organization gets to interact with), local community members, and customers In basic emergency management, the audiences are as follows: “customers, survivors impacted by the incident and their families, employees and their families, news media, community—especially neighbors living near the facility, company management, directors and investors, government elected officials, regulators and other authorities, and suppliers” .
An evaluation of the audiences for a business continuity plan, vis-à-vis a basic emergency management plan reveals that they share similarities in almost all audiences. The reason for this is that both plans share the same goals. As noted,
“Procedures to protect life, property, the environment, and the continuity of business operations at the university are detailed in the Emergency Management Plan (“EMP”) and the Business Continuity Plan (“BCP”). The EMP is designed to address preparedness and response activities, while the BCP addresses measures for ensuring continuity of operations after emergencies occur” (Univesity of Texas Health Science Center at
Houston, 2014, p. 1).
Overall, the same stakeholders need to be apprised of crucial components of the business continuity plan, as well as the emergency management plan, to ensure that the organization continues operations and performance prior to, during, or after an emergency situation. Thus, aside from the employees and management, the key business partners, local community members, and state or federal agencies that monitor the business’ performance must be duly apprised of emergency and risk planning, reaction, and response. The news media is the only audience left out in business continuity plans for lack of professional interest in the endeavor.
References
Crisis Communications Plan. (2012, November 5). Retrieved from ready.gov: http://www.ready.gov/business/implementation/crisis
Univesity of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. (2014, February). Emergency Management and Business Continuity Plans. Retrieved from uth.edu: https://www.uth.edu/hoop/policy.htm?id=1448130
Yardis, S. (n.d.). Designing a business continuity training program to maximize value. Retrieved from continuitycentral.com: http://www.continuitycentral.com/bctrainingandawareness.pdf
