The service we provide to our clients and associate performance are our top priorities as a company. Our goal is to guarantee the ability to provide clients with outstanding customer service regardless of outside circumstances. The objective for the company in our business continuity plan is to maintain efficient client service through an emergency situation. As time and experience have proven, we are not immune to outside incidents or conditions affecting our business functionality. We have taken action to learn from past experiences and created a Business Continuance Plan to establish guidelines that prepare employees to work through a crisis situation.
Important aspects of our plan include:
Organization
We established a team comprised of members from each department; this team created our introductory Business Continuance plan. Based on experience and research, the team continuously develops the plan design, conducts emergency equipment testing, and communicates changes to associates.
Emergency Contact Groups
The communication among our associates is imperative to the initial stages of our plan. We have established contact groups to guide the communication flow in the event of an emergency situation. The structure of this process not only creates a telephone chain to notify employees that an event has caused a transition into “business continuance” mode, but acts as a backup taking into account that the chain may be broken due to malfunctioning phone lines. The system in place allows associates to call into members of the Business Continuance team to determine their next course of action.
Alternate Work Site
We have arranged for our Happauge, New York facility to act as an alternate work site in the event our Weehawken location is inaccessible. Conversely, the Weehawken facility will act as backup if the Happauge office is unavailable. The alternate Happauge facility contains additional computer and telephone equipment and supplies to accommodate an increased staff. We have also enacted a phone service feature that allows us to automatically roll telephone calls to an alternate number by contacting our vendor service line. Our goal is to have basic functionality at the alternate work site within hours, eventually expanding to full functionality with approximately 72 hours.
Internet Connectivity Backup Plan
Communication is the greatest asset for the success of our Business Continuance Plan; such communications would not be possible without the functionality of our computer systems. We have made preparations for the worst-case scenarios including backup communication lines to ensure Internet connectivity in the event our main office is not operable. We have also established additional email services to assure our clients that their account teams will be accessible in a timely manner.
For additional information on our company’s Business Continuance Plan
Please contact Nicole Jason at 201-865-5800 ext. 2008 or nicoljas@specialistsms.com
