Business Continuity Planning: Sustaining Operations Amid Disaster
While emergency response planning focuses on immediate life safety, Business Continuity Planning (BCP) looks at the bigger picture: how will your property and the tenant businesses continue or recover operations in the hours, days, and weeks after a crisis?
For property managers, continuity planning means ensuring the building can be brought back online quickly and that you can support tenant needs to resume business. It also means protecting critical data and resources that keep the building running. FEMA defines continuity as the ability to provide uninterrupted critical services and support, while maintaining organizational viability, before, during and after a disruption . In practice, this involves preparing for recovery even as you plan for emergency response.
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Key Elements of Business Continuity Planning
Data Protection and IT Recovery: Property management operations rely on data systems for building access, security cameras, HVAC controls, and tenant information. Ensure that critical data (building plans, tenant contact lists, security system backups) are backed up off-site or in the cloud, safe from onsite damage. If your building systems are managed digitally, have a plan for restoring those systems - for instance, backup copies of control software, and perhaps generators or battery backups to power servers. Cybersecurity also plays a role: a cyber-attack could cripple building systems, so coordinate with IT to include cyber incidents in your continuity plan (CISA's cybersecurity framework for commercial facilities can guide this).
Alternate Facilities and Operations: If a disaster renders the building unusable (for example, a fire, major earthquake, or lengthy utility outage), what is the plan? Property managers should have a relocation or continuity strategy: can critical building management functions be done remotely? Identify an alternate command center location (perhaps another building in your portfolio or a remote office) where management can operate. From the tenant perspective, encourage them to have their own business continuity plans - many companies will have plans for employees to work from home or a secondary site if the office is closed. You might assist by facilitating temporary office space if you manage multiple properties, or by working with local co-working providers. The goal is to minimize downtime for tenants operations.
Emergency Contracts and Key Vendors: Speedy recovery often hinges on having pre-arranged agreements with restoration vendors. Line up contracts or relationships with companies for critical post-disaster services: fire/water damage restoration, structural engineers, electrical contractors (for power restoration), elevator maintenance, and security contractors for guarding a damaged site. After a regional disaster, these services will be in high demand, so having priority agreements in place ensures your building isn't at the back of the line. Also consider memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with nearby facilities for mutual aid - such as an arrangement with a neighboring building to share generator power or space if one building is hit harder.
Insurance Coverage and Financial Continuity: Insurance is a huge factor of business continuity. Review your property insurance policies regularly to make sure they cover the types of emergencies you identified in your risk assessment. Standard property insurance should cover common perils (fire, wind, water damage from burst pipes), but you may need special coverage for floods or earthquakes. Importantly, consider business interruption insurance or loss of rents coverage - this could provide income if tenants can't occupy the building for a period, ensuring you can pay mortgages and expenses while repairs occur. Business interruption insurance helps property managers maintain financial stability during closures by covering lost income and extra expenses. Know the claim procedures and documentation required after an event; part of your plan should be to promptly notify insurers and catalog damage.
Operational Continuity for Building Systems: Identify which building functions are essential to keep running during an emergency and which can tolerate interruption. For instance, life safety systems (fire alarms, sprinklers) and security systems (access control, CCTV) must stay operational if at all possible - they may need backup power. Generators and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) are critical for this; test your emergency generator regularly and ensure fuel supply for at least 24-72 hours of operation. If your building has critical tenants (like a data center or hospital tenant), they may have special continuity needs (priority for power restoration). Engage with major tenants to coordinate plans - their continuity needs (such as keeping server rooms powered) may affect your priorities.
Recovery and Re-entry Plan: Outline the process for inspecting and repairing the facility after an emergency. Who will assess if the building is safe to re-enter (structural engineer, fire marshal sign-off)? Set criteria for re-opening after events like a fire (e.g. alarm system fully functional, debris cleaned, air quality safe). Communicate with tenants about expected downtime and provide updates. A good continuity plan establishes a timeline template for recovery - for example: Day 1, assess damage and secure site; Days 2-3, temporary repairs and cleaning; Day 4, tenants retrieve essential items; Day 5, partial operations resume, etc. Of course actual timelines vary, but having a framework speeds up decision-making under pressure.
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Business Continuity
Integrate with Emergency Response: Ensure your continuity plan dovetails with your emergency response plan. The immediate response team should carry the building through the first hours of a crisis, then smoothly hand off to those managing longer-term recovery. For instance, once life safety issues are addressed, a Business Continuity Team can take over to start implementing relocation or restoration efforts. Some staff will be on both teams. Make sure contact lists include not just emergency responders but also insurance contacts, contractors, and suppliers needed for recovery.
Protect Vital Records: Keep copies (physical or cloud-based) of critical documents: building plans, insurance policies, tenant contact lists, equipment inventories, and maintenance records. These should be accessible even if the building is off-limits. Many managers use secure cloud storage for this purpose. After an incident, having ready access to building blueprints or shut-off valve locations is invaluable.
Test the Plan: Just as you drill emergency responses, test your continuity plan. Conduct tabletop exercises simulating a disaster scenario that takes out part of your building. Walk through the steps of relocating management operations, communicating with tenants, and coordinating repairs. This will highlight weak points in your continuity strategy (perhaps you realize your team doesn't have a way to conference call if the office is down, for example). Revise the plan based on these exercises.
Include Tenants in Continuity Discussions: While each tenant is responsible for their own business continuity, your actions as a property manager significantly impact them. Share your buildings continuity plans and emergency capabilities with tenant companies so they can align their expectations. For example, let them know how long backup power might last, or what priority systems will have power, so they can plan accordingly (maybe a tenant brings in their own UPS for their suite if building generator wont cover it). By working together on continuity planning, you improve overall resilience for the whole building community.
A robust business continuity plan not only helps you keep the lights on(sometimes literally) but also can reduce financial losses and downtime. Studies have shown that having a continuity plan in place speeds up recovery and can even save lives through better crisis communication and coordination. In the end, continuity planning is about more than IT and insurance, its about preserving the livelihoods that depend on your building by enabling businesses to rebound quickly after a disaster.
Do you have a BCP? When was the last table top exercise you conducted?
