CHOOSE YOUR DR TEAM

A DR plan is essential in ensuring that a business recovers as quickly as possible from a disaster. However, while drawing up a DR plan, thought must be given when selecting the operational team in charge of formulating the DR and putting it in action.

The team should include:

• Senior Management
• Specialist Staff
• IT & Telecommunications Managers
• Human Resources & PR
• Representatives of Individual Departments

This is an essential mix to ensure that the DR works as intended.

Some of the functions of the DR team are:

Senior Management

The senior management team empowers the formulation of a disaster recovery plan. The senior management team reviews all plans and ensures they fit the strategic goals of the company.   The authority to declare a disaster rest with this group. In some businesses, senior management actually manages disasters hands on, while in others they delegate this function to an incident or disaster commander.

Phases of Recovery

Specialist teams have specific responsibilities in different phases of the recovery process. Initially they will coordinate with the emergency services to bring the situation under control. As the recovery phase begins, tasks are allotted as per the DR plan.

Infrastructure Management

If the infrastructure has been affected by the disaster, then the specialist team with skills and resources to handle the important aspects of the infrastructure will handle this aspect of recovery.

HR Specialists

The HR specialists on the DR team will update all stakeholders at periodic intervals. They will help coordinate allocation of work to different staff as per the DR.

Communications

Since all stakeholders will be anxious about the future of the business, a Public Relations specialist should be tasked with communication with all concerned.

Departments

Depending on how severe the disaster is, all departments could be affected. Representatives from a department can be tasked with some of the recovery activities relating to the department concerned.