Oyster Consulting Blog

Oyster Consulting has grown significantly over the past three years — and as a result, we simply ran out of room to fit all of our experienced consultants. So, after months of preparation, we’re moving our headquarters down the street into a bigger Oyster space located at:

4405 Cox Road, Suite 150
Glen Allen, VA 23060

Our new office is large enough to house Oyster’s growing team of consultants who dedicate their time to supporting our clients’ complete financial consulting needs.
The move is mostly taking place on August 17 and 18, and we may experience some disruption in email and phone service Wednesday night and early Thursday. We expect the down time to be limited, however, thanks in large part to Rob Ketch at Comverge and Bret Westphalen at MABC.

Remember our last blog about business continuity planning, and how you never know what challenges your company might face? We prepared for transferring our phones, Internet and servers during the move, but certainly didn’t anticipate a major strike by our service provider in the process. Rob and Bret’s creativity, client focus and problem-solving skills have been critical to ensuring our team is available to clients — even when Verizon is not.

We look forward to using our new office after we complete the inevitable final scramble that comes with moving — and would like to thank our loyal clients, because without you, we would have no space to fill. In appreciation, we plan to host an open house in early October to formally thank our clients, consultants and friends who have supported Oyster Consulting over the years. Additionally, we will hold a CCO roundtable soon to discuss best practices for reporting and resolving issues. Please let me know if you would like to attend.

I also would like to personally thank Lacy Hatton, Cheryl Brown and Gladys Robinson for leading this project and coordinating the move. Oyster is fortunate to have consultants who are experienced transition managers, which has allowed everyone to stay focused on our clients and avoid distractions. We look forward to our next phase of growth and remain dedicated to providing the highest quality advice and support to our clients.

If you have any questions about our new space or Oyster Consulting, call me at 804.965.5403. I might not always be by my phone, but I will always call you back.

 

When was the last time you assessed and tested your business continuity plan? This month? This year? A few years ago? Never?!

You see, unexpected emergencies happen all the time, from headline-grabbing events (the Japanese tsunami) to more localized, personal calamities (a key employee’s death). No matter an emergency’s magnitude, they always disrupt and challenge a company’s ability to survive and serve their clients — and an effective business continuity plan is essential to avoid devastating losses.

In the financial services industry, stakes are higher: Your business protects investors’ financial livelihoods, and failing to thoroughly plan affects much more than the business or employees’ futures. Your clients are relying on you — and compliance regulations demand you deliver the service you promise.

Truly effective Business Continuity Planning (previously known as Disaster Recovery) addresses every aspect of your company and how each department will continue providing critical services to your clients. 
                                                                                                        
To help our clients plan effectively, we engage them in the following steps:

1. Assess the types of risks your company faces, such as:

• Connectivity

• Servers crashing
• Phone system failure
• Power outage
• Weather/natural disaster
• Fire
• Pandemic
• Key person loss

                                                                                                                   
2. Identify how an unexpected emergency could impact every member of your organization, including:

• IT
• Operations
• Trading
• Customer Service
• Sales
• Finance
• Compliance
• Executive Sponsor

3. Build your business continuity plan by prioritizing how each risk could affect your organization and determine:

• Generic scenarios
• Probability of occurrence
• Severity of impact
• Expected duration
• Cost of work around
• Acceptable risks

4. Most importantly, test the plan. Here, the Boy Scouts have some simple advice that we believe every organization should follow: Be prepared. Find out what works and what you still need to address — so you aren’t left scrambling should disaster strike.

Business Continuity Planning takes careful attention and foresight. At Oyster Consulting, we’re lucky to have Barbara Bower, a Certified Business Continuity Planner, on our team helping companies prepare for and protect their futures. If you have any questions about your Business Continuity Plan or Oyster Consulting, call me at 804.965.5403. I might not always be by my phone, but I will always call you back.