Business continuity still a 'tick the box' exercise

Almost one hundred senior executives from large and international organisations participated in a web seminar on Business Continuity Management – Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximising Value, hosted by Jardine Lloyd Thompson.

A poll during the seminar revealed that a high number of organisations had undertaken the process as a tick box exercise or are failing to embed business continuity into their organisational procedures. Of those surveyed, 42% of companies suggested that senior managers are treating business continuity as a tick box exercise, rather than developing a proper process and one that could add value to their business. The poll also revealed that 84% of the companies are experiencing problems embedding business continuity within their organisational procedures, with a quarter of these suggesting that their programme had stalled. This would, most likely, reduce the effectiveness of these companies’ business continuity plans.

There were four key messages conveyed during the seminar:

1. Focus on a simple structure and “punchy” documentation

2. Aim to build an initial platform from which the programme can be developed further over time

“A business continuity programme is not just about planning. It is about whether a company has the ability to use the plan effectively within an emergency

Chris Rigby Smith, partner of business continuity management at JLT

3. Keep the development process lightly engineered, in particular do not over complicate the process with unnecessary functionality

4. Secure senior management buy-in and support

Chris Rigby Smith, partner of business continuity management at JLT commented on the seminar discussion: “Business Continuity is one of the key risk management issues facing organisations today. Regulatory requirements, such as Sarbanes-Oxley, have made business continuity an operational priority, while the increased risks of threats from pandemics, global terrorism and natural disasters have also placed more focus on companies to manage their exposure.”

“It is clear from the response to this web seminar that the process of developing and embedding a programme within complex organisations remains more of an art than a science. Bringing experience to bear on this process is essential”.

“A business continuity programme is not just about planning. It is about whether a company has the ability to use the plan effectively within an emergency. This can only be achieved by ensuring the plan is properly embedded within an organisation’s procedures.”