Got a great business continuity and disaster recovery plan? Then don’t keep it a secret – at least not from your employees. The effective execution of these plans will depend on people in your organisation knowing what they have to do and under which circumstances. That means communicating information about the plan and providing training, according to the requirements. Typically, there will be two levels of such requirements: one for people with specific responsibilities and roles; and another for overall awareness and action in case of a generalised incident or threat to business continuity.
Your team directly responsible for business continuity and disaster recovery will need the most training. The courses from DRI International address these areas directly. Members of that team may then be involved in follow-on internal training of departmental managers and staff responsible for particular functions such as IT systems operations, production lines or logistics. Remember to also include other groups such as your public relations department, as appropriate. It’s important to be precise about the role of each person or group before, during and after any incident. Practical exercises or simulations are one of the best ways to then make sure that the message has got through.
For the organisation as a whole, put in place an awareness campaign. This lets employees know that a plan for business continuity and disaster recovery exists. It also gives them information about procedures to be followed for incidents like fire, floods and bomb threats. As a bonus, employees see that their wellbeing is being thought about in a careful and coordinated way. Use the awareness campaign as an opportunity to remind staff of the organisation’s business objectives and how these relate to individual job responsibilities. Include information and contact details as well about external agencies that are there to help in emergencies, such as police, fire and ambulance services.