Benefits and limitations of contingency planning

Benefits of contingency planning

1. Reassures staff, customers and local residents that concerns for safety are a priority.

2. Minimizes negative impact on customers and suppliers in the event of a major disaster.

3. Public relations response is much more likely to be speedy and appropriate with senior managers being used to promote what the company intends to do, by when and how.

Limitations of contingency planning

1. Costly and time consuming - not just the planning process but the need to train staff and have practice drills of what to do in the event of fire, IT failure, terrorist attack, accident involving company vehicles and so on.

2. Needs to be constantly updated as the number and range of potential disasters can change over time.

3. Staff training needs to be increased if labor turnover is high.

4. Avoiding disasters is still better than planning for what to do if they occur.