Embedding Business Continuity - About
Embedding Business Continuity is the Professional Practice that defines how to integrate business continuity awareness and practice into business-as-usual activities and organisational culture.
Embedding business continuity should be a collaborative approach between related management disciplines to improve overall organisational resilience.
Embedding business continuity includes:
- Raising awareness about business continuity through communication.
- Encouraging buy-in from interested parties.
- Ensuring required competencies and skills are in place.
- Ensuring appropriate training and learning opportunities are provided.
Understanding & Influencing Organisational Culture - General Principles
Successfully embedding business continuity requires a collaborative approach from top management and the business continuity professional.
The goal of embedding business continuity is to ensure that it becomes part of business-as-usual across the organisation.
Embedding business continuity activities should be aligned with the organisation’s strategic goals and culture.
Business continuity should also be considered and integrated into project and change management practices where appropriate.
The skills and competencies required to implement the business continuity policy and programme should include both general management and technical skills.
Understanding & Influencing Organisational Culture - Process
Identify the interested parties within the organisation who require engagement.
Determine how best to engage with these interested parties by understanding their key interests and priorities.
Engage and communicate with the interested parties identified using the most appropriate channels.
Use existing events and communication channels where possible to communicate the benefits and return on investment for business continuity within the organisation.
Understanding & Influencing Organisational Culture - Methods & Technique
Depending on the maturity of the organisation’s business continuity programme, there are several effective embedding methods that, if not already in place, should be considered:
- Changing attitudes and behaviour.
- It can be useful to identify the consequences of action (or inaction) and make it relevant to a person’s short-term business objectives or welfare.
- For example, if an organisation of a similar type in a similar location, has experienced disruption or significant change, and acted in a way that demonstrated a high-level of resilience, lessons can be learned and shared.
- Equally, if an organisation of a similar type in a similar location has failed to act, this can also provide learning opportunities.
- Ensuring that business continuity is considered by top management when the organisation’s strategic plan is being developed or reviewed.
- Including business continuity on relevant meeting agendas.
- Incorporating business continuity plans into standard operating procedures (SOP).
- Including business continuity awareness as part of induction processes.
- Scheduling business continuity exercises to coincide with planned shutdowns or quieter times.
- Ensuring business continuity requirements are considered as part of supply chain management.
- Ensuring any new products or services consider business continuity during the planning stages.
Competencies & Skills - General Principles
The business continuity professional and top management should ensure that all personnel (including any external consultants or other interested parties) who are involved in the business continuity programme have the appropriate level of awareness, education, training, and experience. This may also include key personnel in the supply chain and outsourced service providers.
Competencies & Skills - Process
Define the competencies and skills for all individuals involved in the business continuity programme using new or existing requirements appropriate to the organisation.
Determine the training and awareness needs with learning outcomes for all individuals involved in the business continuity programme (this should involve establishing the current level of awareness or competence).
Design and deliver the appropriate level of training and awareness activities.
Evaluate and report on the effectiveness and continual improvement as part of overall reporting, covered in the Validation stage of the business continuity management lifecycle.
Competencies & Skills - Outcomes
The outcomes of embedding business continuity are:
- An improvement in the level of organisational resilience, measured by a reduction in the impact and frequency of incidents or an overall improvement in response.
- A reduction in costs associated with incidents.
- Feedback from interested parties, especially personnel and customers, indicating greater confidence in the organisation’s ability to handle disruptions effectively.
Outcomes of embedding business continuity can be difficult to quantify. However, it is recommended that performance measures are identified and used.
Examples of performance measures include:
- Percentage of annual review completion.
- Status of BIA review, by department.
- Status of scheduled business continuity plan updates.
- Completion of business continuity plans exercised within set time frames.
