Business continuity is a constant process of review. The new year is when we often take a step back and evaluate things as a whole, and it’s not a bad time to do the same for our business continuity plans.
As the new year looms, what should business continuity planners look for in their larger review of their programs? Let’s go over a quick checklist.
General Maintenance
Planners never shy away from the need to dust things off and apply a new polish. If a planner is going for a larger review of their program at the start of the new year, why not include the general health check they do throughout the year?
Go to stakeholders and ask them to take a second look through what data they’ve provided. Ask them for updates, especially because a lot can change in the course of a week or month, let alone a year.
Ensure documented interdependencies are still accurate and line up the correct information for those that are inaccurate. Ask if established processes and workflows have changed, what parts of the organization that new infrastructure interacts with, and make sure that those facts find the proverbial paper.
Also make sure your plans have the correct owners of operations listed. Organizations have experienced a lot of turnover in the past two years, and personnel changes at your organizations over the past year may have made plans outdated.
Review the Review Process
After going through the standard review items, it’s time to take the step back that we mentioned and start the larger evaluation process.
First question: Does your program work effectively?
Business continuity programs are most successful when stakeholders throughout an organization pitch in. Are your stakeholders receptive to your planning and maintenance tasks? If they aren’t, how can you re-engage them in the resilience process?
For some organizations, recreating a high-participation environment may be as simple as sending out new communications internally about the effort. Others may need to implement a system with more nudges, possibly regular notifications to stakeholders about their role in the resilience process and their outstanding items in planning and maintenance.
Technology: Boon or Bust?
Once you’ve gotten through the tasks above, turn your attention to the technology that powers your program.
Organizations grow, and their resilience scale alongside them. Your organization may have experienced a lot of growth in the past year, enough to stress what your program already has in place.
Your budget is probably already settled, but start some research on potential technology that could better serve the size of your program. Should the opportunity come up before the year’s budget season, you’ll be ready to take advantage and make a positive change to your business continuity program.
Additionally, see what existing technology would have a place on a nice-to-have list. While your program might not need a particular technology presently, it may make processes more efficient and get ahead of a future need.
The Year in Review
New year, new continuity threats, and new opportunities to make your organization more resilient. As we said, the new year is a reminder to look at your program from a thousand foot perspective. Evaluate everything, shore up any recognized weaknesses, and start asking what meaningful changes you can make to your business continuity program.
