Events that require a business to invoke its Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plans are thankfully few and far between – but in bids you’re often asked to provide examples of when you’ve done just that.

A typical question asked in a tender is: ‘Please explain how you have ensured business and operational continuity and resilience throughout the life of similar contracts, in relation to both external and internal factors’. As with any answer you give in your bid, providing good, relevant examples really strengthens your response.

If you don’t have any examples of occasions when you’ve had to invoke your plan, this can leave you feeling a bit stumped – so a case study captured during events such as we’re currently living through can be an invaluable addition to your knowledge base.

If you’re finding ways to continue to run your business during the current unprecedented situation, then you’re enacting some form of business continuity process – and it’s well worth capturing the finer details while they’re still fresh in your mind.

Some points to think about to help you tell your story:

How was your business affected by COVID-19?
This will of course depend on what your business does. Perhaps you’ve had to cope with a fall in demand for your products or services, or you’ve had to close your building down and ask staff to work from home.

What measures have you put into place?
Detail what you’ve put in place to ensure you continue to meet your client/customers expectations. Again, these measures will be different for everyone; perhaps you’ve had to start using alternative suppliers, or set up a video conferencing account so you can hold your regular client review meetings virtually instead of onsite.

What results have the measures had?
What level of service are you still able to provide to your clients/customers? Have you managed to maintain your agreed SLAs? Try to include specific facts and figures that show the positive impact of the changes you’ve made.

You could also think about including detail on lessons learned; anything that you’ve had to do or put in place that you would use if a similar incident – or at least one that affected your business in a similar way – were to happen in the future.

If you’re keen to capture your case study story but you’d like some help, contact kateg@ontothepage.co.uk.