Published 31 Jan 2023
What is an ISO 22301 Checklist?
An ISO 22301 checklist is used to ensure business continuity in times of emergencies, issues, and other possible disruptions. The ISO 22301 checklist is applicable for all businesses of all sizes, as it can help with implementing business plans and ensure standardization in quality metrics and regulations.
ISO 22301:2019 Checklist
Use this ISO 22301:2019 checklist template to comply with ISO standards and ensure business continuity. You can also use this template to:
- Report issues and fill in gaps in ISO compliance
- Conduct internal audits on business continuity plans
- Improve leadership and management for optimal business continuity performance
ISO 22301:2019 Checklist Template | SafetyCulture
In this article
- What is ISO 22301 Used For?
- What are the Elements of an ISO 22301 Checklist?
- FAQs about ISO 22301
- Streamline Business Continuity with a Digital Solution
- Related Templates for ISO 22301
What is ISO 22301 Used For?
ISO 22301 details the requirements for implementing, creating, and maintaining a business continuity plan (BCP), a business continuity management system (BCMS), and other related legal and organizational regulations.
While sounding similar, there is a difference between a BCP and a BCM. A BCP is more focused on the scenarios a business should be prepared for. On the other hand, a BCMS aims to help businesses cope with events that affect their processes and activities, such as server issues or facility breakage.
Some aspects of a BCP and a BCMS that ISO 22301 tackles are:
- The importance of understanding the organization’s needs
- The necessity for establishing continuity plans
- The operational processes, capabilities, and response structures that need to be maintained for different situations
- The continuous improvement of business processes based on qualitative and quantitative data
By using and complying with ISO 22301 standards and applying the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle as directed by the document, businesses can reduce their financial losses in case of unexpected events, create a competitive advantage, and protect their people and their environment. Doing so also ensures consistency in business operations and strategies, making it easier to use ISO 22301 with other ISO standards, such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO/IEC 27001.
What are the Elements of an ISO 22301 Checklist?
An ISO 22301 checklist can be used by anyone in an organization. It can be accomplished by business owners from a top-down level in order to implement changes company-wide. It can also be used by managers in the mid or lower levels to create new policies.
A typical ISO 22301 checklist should include the following sections:
- Context of the organization – For understanding the organization, its context, its interested parties, its BCMS, and its legal and regulatory requirements
- Leadership – For analyzing the current leadership policies and practices in place as a whole and in connection to business continuity plans
- Planning – For determining risks to prepare for and the plans to address them
- Support – For the communication tactics to utilize in different situations, documentation processes to implement, and the level of competencies required for different staff
- Operation – For conducting risk assessments, creating business continuity operational plans to follow, and the order in which to do so
- Performance evaluation – For conducting an analysis of the business continuity plans, the BCMS, and other internal auditing tasks
- Improvement – For identifying points for improvement
FAQs about ISO 22301
Both ISO 27001 and ISO 22301 are used for creating and implementing protective strategies in a business environment. However, the difference between them is that ISO 27001 focuses on protecting a business against cyber threats, and ISO 22301 is on ensuring that a business will still operate, regardless of threats, including cyber ones.
ISO itself does not certify businesses. Instead, there are different auditing and accreditation firms that certify businesses for them. To get certified, visit an accredited certifying body near you.
ISO 22301 certification is valid for three years only. If you want to stay certified, you must renew your certification.
Streamline Business Continuity with a Digital Solution
Manage your business continuity plans and comply with ISO 22301 standards with the help of auditing software such as SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor).
SafetyCulture is a mobile-first application that you can use to digitize and streamline processes through its responsive and intelligent digital checklists. Use SafetyCulture to create your own ISO 22301 checklist template from scratch and set responses for different questions as you see fit. You can also choose to add logic fields to prompt a deeper understanding of specific tasks, problems, or findings. After, you can upload your template to the cloud for easy access anytime, anywhere.
Alternatively, you can download ready-made PDF checklist templates from SafetyCulture’s Public Library, all of which can be modified as needed. Download an existing ISO 22301 template for your business continuity needs, and after that, you can supplement it with other ISO checklists for a more holistic business improvement.
You can also use SafetyCulture to:
- Annotate photos to point out problems, great examples, and more
- Empower employees to report Issues in compliance through the checklist itself and assign Actions to address them
- Provide a Heads Up to your team or company regarding compliance issues or issues with planning and implementation
- Spot recurring trends and identify gaps in your BCM implementation using the analytics dashboard
Related Templates for ISO 22301
Business Continuity Plan Template
Prepare for business emergencies with this business continuity plan template. Identify the business functions at risk and outline the roles and responsibilities of key personnel to address them.
PDCA Checklist Template
This template can help you create an action plan using the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) method. This PDCA template contains a general set of details applicable across industries and can be used in different industries and sectors.
SafetyCulture Content Specialist
Roselin Manawis
