The actions of people in the event of a crisis will determine the outcome of any applied Business Continuity Management (BCM) strategy.

This is the view of Dean Horner, CEO at national BCM services company 42 Consulting who says in the event of a crisis, the response from management and reaction of staff are of equal importance in helping to sustain and continue operations.

42 Consulting specialises in solution development and the provision of support services within BCM, as well as related aspects such as crisis management, emergency management, business continuity/ recovery and IT continuity/ recovery.

The company continues to emphasise the need for businesses to lift BCM strategies off what are essentially paper-based plans and develop and practice actions based on specific principles.

The principles referred to include empowering members of staff to effectively play their role as representatives and guardians of the business in order that the business is managed effectively through a crisis - the overall objective being to continue operations.

“This requires significantly more than a draft plan and this is where many companies fall short. They have these elaborate, huge volumes of plans on paper but in a crisis this document will be of little or no practical value, if the users of the plan aren’t familiar with its content. Not only does a crisis immediately lead to a temporary suspension of business, it has the potential to grind all operations to a halt,” he says.

“Often when a crisis occurs the practical knowledge within a plan rests with one or just a handful of people, and this has little or no value. Our aim is to drive home the message that people are the primary asset within any business and the need to communicate all aspects of the crisis, at all relevant stages, is crucial,” Horner adds.

Communication should be one of the top priorities. Horner agrees with the notion that a well trained, well-informed, Communication Coordinator is an asset and can defuse potential problems during a crisis before these become unmanageable.

“A Communications Coordinator is able to inform media, customers, partners and other important stakeholders accurately and effectively. This means communicating consistency in messages and upholding the credibility and image of the company at the same time. The fact is that during a crisis, all aspects of communication are magnified and scrutinised, both internally and externally. What is said is as important as how, when and where it is said. This is a huge responsibility and one that must be followed through by management as diligently and expediently as possible,” Horner adds.

“Defining roles and responsibilities of one’s recovery teams is also of the utmost importance. Often during simulation tests we find that recovery duties are either duplicated or neglected, because no one has been assigned to fulfill that specific function. This can waste critical time in a real life crisis, when time is of the essence,” Horner continues.

So how should companies empower their staff to skillfully guide the company out of deep waters? The answer is simple says Horner: through testing and rehearsing.

“Regular BCM testing is the only mechanism that a company has, to know if its recovery capability is sufficient to cope during a real life crisis. Without a rigorous testing schedule, staff and management may not be rehearsed in their roles and responsibilities and an organisation will not realise that recovery strategies and infrastructure cannot be relied upon, until it is too late.”

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