Business Continuity Management (BCM) is a strategic approach designed to ensure that companies can continue their critical business processes in crisis situations. BCM aims to minimize the impact of business disruption by developing strategies, plans and actions to protect business processes and enable alternative operations. In this article, we will look at the steps necessary to implement an effective BCM program.

The short version of business continuity management

The framework is standardized and internationally recognized under ISO 22301, which initially creates an important, fundamental understanding of operational continuity management and can provide support during implementation.

But it is only a framework. A comprehensive business impact analysis must always be carried out. In this way, the risks are analyzed individually and the individual business processes are given a highly individual risk assessment as part of the risk assessment. This is the only way to ensure that the plan fits YOUR company.

Next, it is important to clearly define who is responsible for which tasks in the event of a crisis.

A comprehensive emergency plan is drawn up for known risks. This is reviewed extensively in advance.
And last but not least: regular audits. In this way, new insights are constantly being gained and integrated into the existing BCM. That was the short version. Now let’s go into a little more detail. Because, unfortunately, it’s not quite that quick and easy in reality.

Business continuity management – the structured plan

“The journey is the destination”. This is the motto that will make the project a success!

Why? Only those who work thoroughly when drawing up the plan will have a result that is also useful in an emergency. When a crisis occurs, an endless number of questions arise – from IT, employees, customers and management. It’s good if you’ve thought of everything and can work directly according to plan. This not only spares everyone’s nerves, but also the company’s capital.

So here is a path that leads to the goal:

  • Policy and governance:

    The first step in implementing BCM is to define a policy that describes the objectives and governance of the program. The policy defines who is responsible for the program, what resources are required and how the various phases of the program are to proceed. It is important to ensure that all company stakeholders are involved in the process and that clear roles and responsibilities are defined. This way, everyone knows who has to do what should a crisis occur.

    The first step is to design a hierarchy that takes into account the structure of your team and defines who is responsible. To handle emergency management, you need a team of decision-makers to ensure business continuity.

  • Business Impact Analysis:

    The BIA identifies the critical business processes and assesses their importance for the company. The analysis makes it possible to identify risks and threats that could jeopardize business continuity. The BIA also determines how long the company can manage without the operation of a particular business process before a significant impairment occurs. The results of the BIA serve as the basis for developing a contingency plan.

  • Emergency concept:

    Based on the results of the BIA, emergency concepts must be developed for critical business processes. An emergency concept describes what needs to be done to resume the operation of a critical business process after it has been interrupted. The concepts should describe the necessary resources, procedures and steps required to restore operations.

    Ask yourself: “What is needed to get the business process up and running again as usual?”. This determines which resources are required for the five phases of the “restart”. These phases are called as follows:

    Immediate measures, restarting emergency operation, emergency operation, restoring normal operation and post-processing.

    Based on a classic cost-benefit analysis, contingency plans are then developed for the individual process phases to be safeguarded. These are very individual and must be reassessed and redefined from company to company.

    Define measures and determine how you can ensure the workflow of your employees despite the absence. Prioritize processes and determine who will monitor the process. An emergency plan must be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that it meets the company’s changing conditions and requirements.

  • Crisis management:

    As already mentioned, preventative measures are required in order for a company to survive in the event of a crisis. In addition to the definition of roles and responsibilities in the event of a crisis, this also includes the implementation of alerting channels and crisis communication channels to control and monitor a crisis. Functioning, non-hierarchical internal crisis communication in particular is indispensable!

    In addition to the continuity of business operations, the communication for crisis situations must also be reconsidered. Establish communication chains to ensure a rapid flow of information both internally and externally.

    It is also helpful to create communication documents that can be quickly adapted for different scenarios. This ensures that you can concentrate on the essentials without compromising communication.

  • Testing and training:

    It is important to ensure that employees understand the BCM program and are able to implement it. This can be achieved through training, workshops, seminars and other educational programs.

    It is also important that employees regularly take part in emergency drills to improve their skills and ensure that they can respond correctly in an emergency. These drills should include realistic scenarios and test cases to ensure that the company is prepared for any type of emergency.

  • Continuous improvement:

    The results obtained through regular reviews are incorporated into the existing management system in order to continuously improve it.

    Once you have defined your business continuity plan, you should never wait for an emergency before testing your strategy. Instead, run through simulations in which you test your security concept and evaluate the extent to which the plan preserves your business continuity.

    Carry out additional security training to prepare your employees for an emergency. Educate teams about the relevant IT security protocols and check the level of knowledge in your company with regard to data security. This will ensure that every person in your company knows what to do in the event of a total failure.

  • Review and update:

    A BCM program should be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that it meets current business needs. Changes in business strategy, technology or the supply chain can have an impact on the BCM program and it is important to ensure that the program is up to date.

    The review and update should be carried out regularly and at regular intervals to ensure that the program remains effective and meets current requirements.

Get started with business continuity management now!

In summary, business continuity management is an important process for organizations to ensure that they are able to respond to an emergency and maintain their business activities. By conducting a risk assessment, developing contingency plans, training and awareness, communicating, reviewing and updating, organizations can ensure that they are prepared for all types of emergencies and get back on track quickly.

Pursuing the topic of a business continuity plan and making it a success can be intimidating at first. It’s a big project. But as soon as the emergency strikes, the effort pays off.

Our step-by-step guide will give you a good basis to start with. For everything else, we will be happy to assist you personally! Support for one or more of the points? Or even for the entire project? We are sure that together we can make your plan a success.

Contact us now for a free initial consultation!