Personal Contingency plan, just plan it!

Life is unpredictable, we don't even know what could happen in the next 1 second. And while this can be a blessing in our day-to-day lives, it is a risk for a business. And so, every professional organisation has a Contingency Plan to limit the negative consequences of incidents as much as possible. It is not so much about what happens, but about how the organisation deals with it, who does what at what time, what are the alternatives… in short: plan B!

But what does the Contingency Plan include in practice, who writes it, who knows it?
In (medium-sized) large organisations you often see that the Contingency Plan is an extensive document and it contains scenarios for every aspect of every department and process in an organisation, in which the element is described, who does what at what time, by whom and how to communicate, what or who is the alternative, how quickly is it resolved and what is needed for this.
In other words: the “route plans” in case of calamities (such as fire) and failure of processes.
 
A Contingency Plan is usually written by an assigned Manager, who requests input from the other relevant Managers of the Management Team to identify the critical areas in their department and define an alternative. The “what if” is the central question!
In the case of small companies and Freelancers, this Contingency Plan is, as far as I can see, often limited to a “fire drill” and financial risk management in the event of incapacity for work; although there is still plenty to advise on this subject for these groups, in this blog I focus on (medium-sized) large organisations.

How good are the Contingency Plans, is it enough? Was examined what the consequences are of the failure and/or the alternative in one department or process for the other? Has everything been mapped out or is there a gap, for example in between 2 different departments or even in relation to suppliers? What if an analysis can’t be done? What if raw materials can’t be delivered?
And in addition to calamities and equipment failure does it include loss of people? Does the Organisations blueprint match the Contingency Plan?

By the way, you rarely see positive thoughts: what if a new product turns out to be so successful that there is more demand than you can offer? ... but that aside.

And equally importantly, who knows the content of the Contingency Plan?
Not infrequently, a Contingency Plan is written from a Managers point of view: how do I manage the calamity? A Contingency Plan is often written for the people in the workplace, but rarely with! While the majority of the activities where incidents can occur is often right there … Yes, fire drills are held at least once per year, but is that enough? … Yes, a Contingency Plan is reviewed yearly and circulated throughout the organisation, but who really reads that well?

The moment an emergency or Incident occurs, you do not want the employees to first have to read a book to know what to do; then the most urgent thing must be logical and promptly available: “What is important to you personally”, “What can happen to and with you” and “What is important in your work to know what to do in case of…”. Subsequently the less urgent aspects can be looked up, but must be easy to find. By the way, nowadays there are all kinds of easy tools for this, even possible via a smartphone App!

So, what if every employee had their own personal Contingency Plan? What would it say? And what questions would be asked?
… What if there is a fire? What if I get sick? What if I get another job? What if the device I work with every day makes unusual noises? What if I see a colleague doing something that could be risky? What is the minimum I need to know within the company or department or process? Do I know who to contact or inform in case of doubt on the safety and accuracy of the processes? Or are there other questions and does it perhaps provide “Aha” learning moments that can make the Contingency Plan better?

And while you're at it: Have each employee answer the same questions by their colleague outside their own department with whom he or she is most involved.

My stand in this is therefore:
Turn a Business Contingency Plan into a Personal Emergency Plan! ...just plan it!