Governance? What’s that? Apart from a buzzword that has come into fashion over the last few years, governance simply means the act of governing or how an organization controls its actions. Governance applied to business continuity is related to decision-making and leadership in making sure that a business can continue to function in the face of adversity. As such, it requires understanding about the principles and applications of business continuity, and also being able to communicate that understanding to senior management to get support for business continuity. That is also where good BC training has a key role to play.
Business continuity training is only really effective when it not only trains BC practitioners in how to plan and manage BC, but also gives them the tools to get the CEO or managing director on their side. If business continuity governance is to function correctly, setting the right expectations, empowering and checking performance, it needs support from the top. If senior management is already acquainted with the benefits of business continuity, your job as a BC manager is already made easier. If however, the “top brass” isn’t quite so up to speed on the subject, it will be up to you to help them get BC onto their overall governance agenda.
To do this, good business continuity training provides you with the theory and the practice in a way that you can then use to relate to others. Communication is an essential part of getting a business as a whole into the swing of business continuity, and the content of what you communicate must be simple, clear and interesting. In other words, there is a “train the trainer” dimension that applies to BC training. Unlike a course in accounting, production scheduling or even sales, effective business continuity training also provides attendees the tools to pass on enough of what they learn to get the rest of the organisation on board as well.