Many businesses and individuals whose livelihood was halted during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order were unable to do anything but shut down. Due to the nature of their product or service, it simply was not possible to cobble something together to avoid shuttering. But some were able to find a way to adapt:

• restaurants offered take-away when their dining areas were closed down
• stores offered online ordering and curbside pickup
• teachers of all levels and subjects learned how to set up video lessons and online classes
• exercise studios ran Zoom and YouTube fitness classes
• distilleries made hand sanitizers

They demonstrated resilience–a quality all organizations, whether shutdown or not, value.

The new 'competitive advantage'

Resilence, says Forrester VP and group director Stephanie Balaouras, "will become a competitive advantage" post-COVID-19 and throughout the 2020s. Balaouras defines business resilience as "the ability to deliver on your mission and vision regardless of any kind of crisis or disruption, be it extreme weather, political upheaval, cyberattack, or the next disease outbreak."

As companies plot how to re-open from the lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic, they might want to take some time to evaluate their resilience. And part of that could include taking the time to analyze and reflect on their business continuity plan.

Scrutinizing a business continuity plan

"What the pandemic has done is laid bare the immaturity of our enterprise risk management programs and our business continuity planning and preparedness," says Balaouras.

You don't have to look far to see the results of the pressure of the pandemic and its economic off-switch. You might already even know the answers to the following questions. But they're still important to ask:

• How did the business function? How did the business continuity plan function? Was it specific to a natural disaster such as hurricanes or was it adaptable to a pandemic?
• Was it pandemic-specific?
• Were employees whose jobs could be done remotely able to pivot seamlessly to remote work? Or were there technology challenges? Was IT able to adapt and find tools to help managers reinforce team connections through video meetings and communications apps?
• Were employees emotionally and intellectually able to transition to remote work, having answers at hand to typical questions they might ask?
• Were they psychologically able to transition to being alone at home or working remotely with children and spouses in close quarters? Was management able to communicate and ease employee fears?
• Was the C-suite able to evaluate and assess actions to cut costs, without harming the business or its employees unduly?

As many in business are starting to realize, if they didn't already, "it takes a village" to ensure the health of a business. And the questions above confirm that: From the C-level to IT to middle management to HR to front-line employees, the success of the business during COVID-19 depended on many people in an organization, with the CEO setting the tone. And the fate of each function or role should be thought about before the continuity of the business is threatened.

No strangers to BCPs

In the financial industry, of course, advisors and broker-dealers are no strangers to business continuity plans (BCPs). In fact, FINRA requires them: "Rule 4370 (Business Continuity Plans and Emergency Contact Information) requires a member firm to create, maintain, review at least annually and update upon any material change, a BCP identifying procedures relating to an emergency or significant business disruption."