PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS

Planning For Business Continuity

By Amy Irvine

I’m sure everyone reading this article pulls their business continuity and disaster recovery “manual” off the shelf for a review at least once a year. And you document your testing, right? Does one of those “tests” relate to the incapacity of the firm owner or leading partner(s)? Is there a letter that would be used to communicate with clients in the event of a disability or death of a key firm member? The “Dear Client” letter I think you should have is the focus of this article.

Five Wishes

My belief in a “Dear Client” letter stems from my work with clients. At Rooted Planning Group, we encourage our clients to complete the Five Wishes document and leave letters of love to their family and friends. If you are not familiar with the Five Wishes, it is a way to document the following:

  1. The person I want to make care decisions for me when I can’t
  2. The kind of medical treatment I want or don’t want
  3. How comfortable I want to be
  4. How I want people to treat me
  5. What I want my loved ones to know

We’ve witnessed families torn apart because their loved ones don’t know the answers to these questions. While some of them resolve themselves, wish No. 5 comes from the heart of the person writing the letter. There is no substitute for communication directly from the departed person.

Annual Business Continuity Testing

At this point, you might be saying to yourself: I thought this article was on business continuity and disaster recovery planning, so why is she writing about Five Wishes? Well, because of what we learned as part of our annual testing process, when we pretend I am incapacitated. (Interpret that how you want!)

Our test is performed when the team picks a day when I am “offline.” Staff members start with last year’s plan and identify any changes to processes, systems, and staff noted in the document. They test various important business continuity points by running a few drills.

The team then reviews any “incidents” that happened in the previous year, if applicable. For example, two years ago, the town I live in during the summer was hit with a freak flood. Power lines, bridges, phone lines, cell towers, etc. were completely wiped out. I had no means of communication and I couldn’t get off my hill to let the team know I was okay. My husband and I got in his Jeep and started circling the top of the hill in search of a minor signal—just to let them know I was safe. We found a place that had one bar, so I was able to get a simple text to the team that I was okay but all systems were down and I couldn’t get off the hill.

Staff members gathered as a team, pulled up our business continuity document, and started walking through it together. They had no idea how long communication would be down, so they started assigning roles. Thankfully, electricity, cell service, and internet were restored by late afternoon. Although all the bridges around me were closed and I couldn’t get off the hill, I was able to work. While the team was  concerned for my safety, they were also relieved we had a plan.

But what if I wasn’t okay? What if I had a medical incident or, worse yet, I died? I know, as planners, we sometimes get a little desensitized to this subject but it is something we need to think about and plan for. We have a duty of care to clients to be prepared for such events. As much as I’d like to believe I’m going to have a long, phased-in retirement, I realize it’s not all in my hands.

So I decided to create my Five Wishes document. I broke wish No. 5 into three categories:

My “Dear Client” Letter

In 2019, I developed my “Dear Client” letter. I hope the team never needs to send this letter and clients never have to receive it but it’s ready and it gets updated every year. Even though I’ve been doing this for four years, every year it brings up some raw emotions and anxiety—but not because I don’t believe the team can continue to run the company. I have absolute faith in that but simply facing the fact that there is that risk every day and on this one day out of the year I have to face it and think about all the lives I’ve had the privilege to touch. 

My letter goes like this:

Dear Client,

As part of our 2023 Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan, it was decided I should write a letter to all of you in the event something should remove me from the day-to-day business operations, either temporarily, long term, or permanently.

This, of course, is a very hard letter to write. No one wants to face the fact that something could happen to them. But I owe you a duty of care and respect that warrants such action. So just like we tell you to write a letter to your loved ones, I am writing a letter to all of you so you know what to expect.

Let me say first, it has been an honor to work with each of you. You all have afforded me the opportunity to serve you AND live my best life and dreams. Your support has also helped me grow an AMAZING team. One my dreams couldn’t even imagine.

I’ve watched each and every one of them develop their own special talents, and the passion they have for helping clients is just as strong as mine.

I am confident the team will continue to offer wonderful service and their leadership will move this company forward.

I ask you to give them a little time to adjust to the situation at hand and understand I trust each of them to take care of my family as much as they will take care of each of you.

With all my heart, love, and appreciation,

If you don’t like our approach, there are a number of other planners out there who can offer you some guidance. Amy Mullen of Money Quotient hosted a great session on this very topic with Fritz Brauner that might interest you too: “Continuity Planning, with Fritz Brauner.”

Have you written your “Dear Client” letter? What communication would go to your clients? I know it’s not easy but I encourage you to write down your wishes so they know in your own words “what you want your loved ones to know.”

Amy Irvine, CFP®, EA, MPAS®, CCFC, CDFA®, CFT-I™, is the founder and CEO of Corning, N.Y.-based Rooted Planning Group. The firm focuses on working with Gen X and Y professional women who seek a financial partner. Reach Amy at amy@rootedpg.com.

 

image credit: istock.com/seb_ra