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Many new business continuity programs start strong then slow to a crawl, sacrificing the benefits of getting up and running quickly. In today’s post, we’ll share some tips on how you can get off the blocks fast and sprint through the finish, getting your program going in twenty-four months or less.
Unfortunately, we see time and time again where BC programs
get off to a strong start, with new people coming in with a lot of enthusiasm.
But then for various reasons, they get bogged down. In such programs, even the
biggest gaps never get covered and life is a never-ending slog.
It’s so much better if a program gets off to a strong start
and then runs swift and true all the way to the finish line—defined as a
program that is comprehensive, executable, and maintainable.
The benefits of this are obvious: Your company is better
protected, sooner. You’re meeting your legal and contractual obligations sooner
rather than later. You’re minimizing the impact of any disruptions to your
shareholders.
Achieving this kind of success also does wonders for the
morale of the people in the BC office and their reputation throughout the
company.
So how can you put your BC program in the fast lane, and
keep it there?
Here are seven tips to help you get your BC program up and
running quickly:
1. Identify the critical path
Many programs grind to a halt because they try to boil the ocean. The swift
implementation of a sound BC program requires focusing on essentials. What is
your organization’s mission? What is the critical path of components needed to
perform that mission? This is what you must identify and protect. Everything
else is extraneous.
2. Determine your framework.
It’s important to choose a suitable BC standard and implement it. The standard is your
cookbook. It provides your recipe for success. For more on standards, check out
this post and also this one.
3. Install the right people.
To succeed, you need the right people, with the right skillsets, doing the right jobs at
the right time. This what we mean we talk about getting people into the right
seats on the bus. For more on building your team, see this recent
post.
4. Get your ducks in a row.
This is about presenting your situation to management. Many programs wither because of lack
of management support. Before you go to management, you should get your ducks
all in a row. Know what you are doing and how to do it. If you do, and you can
convey this to management, you have a better chance of getting them to back you
up. For more, check out this recent post.
5. Be budget savvy.
You need to know how to play the budget game. If you tell your executives that you need the moon and
the stars or the sky is going to fall, they’re likely to tune you out. If you
tell them you will be focusing all your efforts on protecting the critical
path, and that doing so requires X dollars, they are more likely to support
you.
6. Consider hiring a consultant.
Not necessary, but potentially very helpful. Business continuity consultants,
whether from MHA Consulting or another firm, have spent much of their careers
dealing with just the sort of challenge you are now taking up. A good
consultant can potentially save you time, money, and headaches. For more on
hiring a BC consultant, see this recent post
from MHA.
7. Focus on your critical business processes,
not on technology.
Many programs get bogged down because the BC office gets
hung up on issues of technology. BC is about protecting the processes needed so
the business can perform its mission. From a BC point of view, the technology
only matters insofar as it supports those critical processes. You must learn to
differentiate between the tech that matters and that which is secondary and
focus on the former.
Achieving Timely Success
There is no doubt that the challenges of business continuity
have a unique ability to swallow up even our best efforts. Timely success
requires discipline and clear thinking. By following the tips laid out above,
you can increase your chances of getting your program up and running within
twenty-four months or less.
Related on BCMMETRICS: Start Here: The Business Continuity Management Guide for Beginners
Further Reading
For more on this and other hot topics in business continuity
management, check out these recent posts from BCMMETRICS and MHA Consulting:
Michael Herrera
Michael Herrera is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MHA. In his role, Michael provides global leadership to the entire set of industry practices and horizontal capabilities within MHA. Under his leadership, MHA has become a leading provider of Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery services to organizations on a global level. He is also the founder of BCMMETRICS, a leading cloud based tool designed to assess business continuity compliance and residual risk. Michael is a well-known and sought after speaker on Business Continuity issues at local and national contingency planner chapter meetings and conferences. Prior to founding MHA, he was a Regional VP for Bank of America, where he was responsible for Business Continuity across the southwest region.
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