Before I delve further into this contentious topic, let me get some things straight:
1. Yes, Crisis Management and Business Continuity are different disciplines but are also linked
2. This article does not wish to imply that one domain is more important that the other. All it is trying to do is indicate how important Crisis Management is to Business Continuity. Organizations should implement both these programs.
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We have often got requests from organizations to implement Business Continuity Management programs in their organizations. During the process of setting up a Business Continuity Management framework, we reach a stage where the question is asked:
“Who will take the decision to invoke the Business Continuity Plan (BCP)?”
Of course this is a big decision; get it right and you would have saved the organization but if you get it wrong, the organization could suffer damage in financial terms as well as reputation.
Typically the decision to invoke the BCP is taken by a senior person in the business. This person usually heads what is called a “Crisis Management Team”.
However, most of the times it is seen that even large organization do not have a Crisis Management Team in place.
It is puzzling why organizations would not put in place such a vital management process in place.
The reason I use the word “puzzling” is this: Putting in place a Crisis Management Framework is far more easier than actually implementing a complete Business Continuity Management program.
A Crisis Management Framework typically consists of:
1. Crisis Management Team comprising cross functional members, led by a senior person who can take key decisions (think CEO/COO/Owner/Founder)
2. A process to be followed for any Crisis (some standards prefer to call these incidents) for escalation and decision making
3. A place (physical/virtual) where the Crisis Management Team could gather to discuss and take decisions. This is called a “Crisis Command and Control Center” which has all equipment and information required to take and communicate decisions (e.g. TV, radio, BCPs, telephone lines etc.)
[Download the following free Crisis Management resources from our website (Registration required):
1. Sample Crisis Management Team Structure;
2. Checklist of typical equipment needed in a Crisis Command and Control Center]
On the other hand, implementing a BCM program is a humongous task especially in large organizations.
It involves:
1. Completing a Business Impact Analysis (BIA) that takes a huge amount of time
2. Implementing recovery strategies takes a a lot of resources both financial and effort
3. Maintaining and testing the BCP is yet another ongoing process
In short, the organization has to invest a lot to have a functional BCP.
This begs the question: Why not implement a Crisis Management Framework as a starting point point for Business Resiliency?
This approach has several benefits:
1. It is quick and relatively inexpensive
2. It helps the organization deal with all sorts of crisis NOT just catastrophic ones
3. It leads the organization to then build the other response measures required; e.g. BCM, crisis communications etc.
4. Implementing a Crisis Management Framework first demonstrates the value of such frameworks and gets management buy-in for larger initiatives like Business Continuity
In short, organizations that are starting off on the Business Resilience path should put the horse before the cart. It would be prudent to implement a Crisis Management Framework before embarking on the arduous journey to Business Continuity.
(Confidis is an organization that provides services in the domains of Crisis Management, Business Continuity and IT Disaster Management. In case you need assistance in any of these domains, please write to us at: info AT confidis DOT co )