Business continuity must be embedded in an organisation from senior management through to junior level. When it’s part of your processes and your culture, then your business will be the benchmark for others to follow. Business continuity expert Mathilda Jansson explains more and suggests three considerations for embedding business continuity into an organisation.
It’s no secret that the companies that have successfully embedded business continuity into the organisation are better equipped to manage disruptions than those that haven’t. Achieving this across the organisation, however, is easier said than done. Imagine an organisation where business continuity is given the same level of attention as health and safety and staff have the same level of awareness around business continuity as information security. Let’s just say we’re not there yet. But that’s not to say we shouldn’t persevere. There was a time when health and safety and data security were overlooked in organisations.
Business continuity is business critical and, as Business Continuity Management (BCM) experts, we must work towards achievable goals as part of the embedding process. To do this, we have to understand the organisation – its dependencies and critical needs – as well as the current business continuity capabilities. Importantly, we must also accept that embedding business continuity into business-as-usual can only be fully achieved if it’s done on both a practical and a cultural level.
In my role as a consultant, I support many large international organisations headquartered both here in the UK and abroad. Embedding business across an organisation seems to be a recurring challenge, and one that the 4C team is often asked to support clients with. Obviously, there is no silver bullet for this and the ideal method will differ depending on the size, structure and business continuity maturity level of an organisation.
If you can implement these simple but effective guidelines, embedding business continuity will be easier and the benefits greater. Benefits that include fewer escalating incidents and improved responses to disruptions. In turn, this generates cost-savings and improved confidence in the organisation by all stakeholders.
If you want to kickstart business continuity or get support to embed it into your organisation, we can help. Get in touch today to find out more.
