Are you ready to face a disaster?

New research from Business Link Sussex has uncovered that only 31 per cent of the region's companies have crisis management plans in place (defined as those employing between one and 249 staff).

According to the findings, contained in the quarterly South East Business Monitor, the most commonly feared threat to a business is loss of information technology (IT), followed by the loss of people and telecommunications.

Other perceived threats include loss of access to business sites, loss of skills, utility outage (such as a power cut), fire and terrorist damage.

Growth-orientated businesses are thought to be at particular risk as they are less likely to have the finances available to deal with a short break in trading, although the research shows that 74 per cent of Sussex businesses feel they have enough cash to cushion the effects of a crisis.

"Every business needs a disaster recovery plan," said Business Link's John Grange.

"One would normally think of large terrorist events, but actually the term 'disaster' refers to anything that would seriously disrupt normal business operations.

"This could include floods, fires, computer viruses, partner insolvency or staff illness. The last could be very serious to a small firm, where certain individuals are crucial to keep the business trading."

"Any business plans should always be kept up to date and are dependent on the persons involved being aware of their duties," continued John.

"Ideally, any contingency plan would be developed by a team representing all functional areas of a business.

"It is not one of those tasks that can be done on the hoof '“ especially for large organisations. You need to send a strong, positive message to both staff and customers that your business is robust enough to deal with disaster, or the knock-on effects might be a problem for years to come."

There is extensive advice available from organisations as diverse as local councils and MI5 to help business prepare for disasters.

Business Link provides a team of highly qualified and trained advisers who can talk you through the available information and advise on how best to asses the risks to your company.

For further information about the issues raised here or to find out more about how a business adviser could take your company forward, contact Business Link on 0845 600 9 006 or visit www.businesslinksussex.co.uk