Business Continuity: The Role of Business Management in a Crisis

We would like to welcome our first guest blogger to Cristie Software - Business Disaster Recovery Blog!
Enjoy :)

Blog post written by R.P. Draper FBCI from Pentire Solutions Ltd. 2012
The intellectual rights of the article remain the property of Pentire Solutions Ltd.
---------------------------

Many organisations have a form of business continuity plan, developed to meet various requirements. It may be a “tick in the box” document to enable regulatory compliance, or to meet a customer’s requirements. It should be developed to protect the business and its stakeholders’ interests. 

Delft University (NL) in 2008

But how many business managers actually understand the plan and its processes?  If there were a major disruptive incident, most would need to ask someone what to do. The response would be more effective if we understood, in advance, our role in helping to keep the business operational.

First and foremost, it must be recognised that managers have several roles which are key to business continuity. As part of their “normal” operational function (i.e. prior to any incident occurring), they should be aware of what are their key processes, assets and. Then, during any incident, managers have a key role in leading on both personnel issues (morale and welfare) and organisational ones (business continuity in a more technical sense) for their teams.

Delft University (NL) in 2008

Ahead of any incident: building resilience 

The first decisions during an incident have the most prolonged impact. Therefore it’s important to get initial evaluations right.  Knowing in advance what are the key outputs, and the assets, processes and dependencies necessary for delivering them, helps a quick but accurate evaluation of the likely impact of an incident, and on how unexpected problems can be remedied most effectively and as self-reliantly as possible.
This is true at each successive level up the organisation’s hierarchy, but experience shows that, at higher levels, it becomes harder to know all the factors involved in complex outputs. When dealing with a disruptive incident, senior managers, generally, take better decisions for the organisation if they approach the situation with well-grounded judgements.

Managers should periodically do a reality check on their area’s key outputs, processes, assets and dependencies.  Changes occur at different rates in different ways in different business areas. Managers tend to be aware, at most times, what their key outputs are; but the same may not be true about the key elements that they rely upon.  A regular refresh of knowledge of these will increase confidence in assessment if there were a business continuity incident,

During an incident : providing leadership and support

In an emergency, the managers’ role would probably change. The situation could, unexpectedly and without warning, dictate a dramatic change in prioritisation(s). Managers would have a key role addressing both personnel and organisational issues.  Effective communication is key to both.

Following a disruptive incident, it is important that managers brief staff as soon as possible; everyone will want to know what has happened, what is being done and what to do next.  This may be a leadership challenge, as the organisation will be focused on reacting / adapting, and the amount of information available to work with may be incomplete.  Not all incidents are straightforward; it is usually difficult for a management team to process all the information coming at them, much of which may be incomplete or generated by media or rumour, effectively and quickly. Managers need to brief and lead their staff on the basis of reliable information only: there is a high risk that incorrect information could worsen rather than improve the position.
People will want leadership and support at every stage of the continuity process, especially immediately following an incident, then at each stage of the recovery / continuity process, including the post-incident review.

In worst-case scenarios, where personnel are affected, the organisation should recognise that business managers are, generally, not trained counsellors and that plans should include ready access to a source of counselling skills.

Organisational issues

A severely disruptive incident could make maintaining critical business functionality very difficult. Experience shows that it is nearly impossible to accurately predict what capacity any one individual or team might have during a crisis situation.  This is dependent upon factors that include the nature of the incident, familiarisation with any plans that exist and have been exercised beforehand, back-up systems / processes that can be put in place, and, rather obviously perhaps, the ability to cope and / or manage during the incident.

If there are fewer resources available than needed to carry out tasks to do, decisions may need to be made regarding “pre-determined” priorities. Managers would need to accept this situation, make the decisions and stand by them, especially when under constant pressure. Constant monitoring of the situation, and flexibility of action, will enable correct decisions to be made about capacity allocations.  Managers need to monitor what processes are not recovered, as well as what key outputs are maintained.  Something might not be critical if left for a week, yet become more critical if left longer. Managers need to keep capacity allocation decisions fresh, and signal in turn to senior management how long they consider maintenance of key processes can continue without a return to normal capacity.

The organisation must assign an overall responsibility for re-establishing key contacts, both within the organisation and outside (e.g. suppliers, support agencies, banks and other services). Clients must be made aware of what is happening and their expectations must be managed.  Business managers must be responsible for confirming their area’s ability to meet planned recovery / continuity objectives, or signalling a problem, to more senior management.

Many teams accustomed to working in close proximity might find themselves more dispersed – e.g. some members at recovery location and, increasingly, many at home. A key task for managers is to maintain active and regular communication across that more dispersed network, so that official (properly grounded) communication is not outpaced by the rumour mill, and so that staff morale, welfare and outputs all remain positive.

None of this can be achieved without an effective and exercised continuity plan, one that is not merely a “tick in the box”, but one that reflects the needs of the organisation and all of its stakeholders.

©Pentire Solutions Ltd, 2012

R.P. Draper FBCI
Pentire Solutions Ltd
"The service we provide is built upon quality, reliability and integrity"
4, Queens Crescent,
Burgess Hill, West Sussex, UK RH15 9EU
Tel : +44 (0) 1444 257088
Mobile : +44 (0) 7889 992747
Web Site : www.pentire.co.uk

Pentire Solutions fully supports the aims of STOP THE TRAFFIK, a major global coalition working together to help stop the sale of people, to see the traffickers prosecuted and to protect the victims of human trafficking and those vulnerable to this crime.  For more information, go to http://www.stopthetraffik.org