The Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Lake County Economic Growth & Redevelopment and Lake County Emergency Management are urging local businesses to sign up for an eight-hour “Business Continuity Planning & Emergency Response” course offered for free on Thursday, July 29, at Lake Technical Center’s Institute of Public Safety, located at 1565 Lane Park Cutoff in Tavares.
The instructor-led course is designed to teach executive-level managers and small-business owners how to develop a comprehensive and effective business continuity program.
Both large- and small-scale emergencies have become increasingly common in a world that is constantly changing due to population growth, climate extremes and civil and political unrest. Since any department in an organization may be affected by emergencies, it is essential that the concept of business continuity planning be adopted by the entire organization, not just as a plan on paper, but as a program that is an all-encompassing solution relevant to the entire organization.
The benefits of having a plan for continuing operations before, during and after emergencies far outweigh the costs. This course will enable participants to fulfill their fiduciary responsibility to protect employees, the community and the environment in the event of an emergency.
During this course, participants will learn about the business continuity process, including identifying key functions necessary to their business operations, assessing the likelihood of potential emergencies in their communities, determining the adequacy of existing resources, and writing a business continuity plan. Participants will then have the opportunity to test their plan in the context of a tabletop exercise.
Upon completion of this seminar, participants will be able to successfully:
· Articulate the importance of business continuity plans (BCP)
· List the costs involved in developing a BCP
· Identify and categorize functions critical to their business operations
· Craft a BCP purpose statement
· Establish a BCP development team and assign responsibilities among key members of the team
· Identify potential hazards and conduct a risk assessment for each
· Determine adequacy of existing resources and capabilities
· Develop activities for each functional area of the BCP
The course is hosted by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and is sponsored through the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. To register for the free course, contact Michelle Day at [email protected] or (606) 274-0262.
