While individual DRI courses may focus on specific areas of business continuity, certain topics come up time and time again. It’s because they are fundamental to any effective BC process; risk management is one such topic. Understanding the possibilities of failure, losses or damage is crucial for putting together a business continuity plan that gives an organisation adequate protection at a reasonable cost. However, risk management has also evolved significantly over the recent past. BC managers must now also integrate the notion of positive risk into their daily activities – that is, risk that represents opportunities, not just threats.
DRI training courses give participants the information and the tools they need to stay up to date in this developing field. Best practices including use of the ISO 31000 standard for risk management are an integral part of DRI training. Specific instances of risk management also feature in courses such as ‘Pandemic Influenza: Building a Continuity Plan’ (BCOE-PF1). Course content also reflects the way that the older style of risk management with its efforts to transfer risk away from the organization is being superseded. A strategic approach can now optimise overall risk, both negative and positive, and build a capability to respond appropriately.
The benefits to organisations, including government agencies and enterprises, are not only improved security and protection, but also a potential for higher efficiency, profitability and competitiveness. Costs can be lowered, for example thanks to reductions in insurance expenses. When better risk management can be demonstrated to insurance companies, lower expected claims allow for cost savings on the premiums. The importance of this risk management/insurance relationship is recognised in a course offered by DRI International on the same subject: ‘Business Continuity Planning for Risk Managers and Insurance Professionals’ (BCP INS).