Business Continuity Is About People, not just IT

Human Resources departments should be increasingly involved in shaping business continuity plans if organisations want to make a speedy and seamless recovery following a crisis – and now is the time to bring plans up to date, according to Adam Continuity.

“Business Continuity is usually handled by IT departments, since IT is so critical to the day to day functioning of many companies,” says Philip Caulfield, managing director of Adam Continuity. “But without the right staff, the best IT in the world cannot rescue a business from a crisis. 

“With 30,000 job losses in the banking and finance sector alone in the last six months, roles are changing rapidly. On top of this, many organisations are giving employees extended unpaid leave to ease financial pressures; and with the gloomiest predictions on the effects of swine flu on the population, roles in the workplace will shift dramatically. 

“HR teams need to build a review of critical personnel into any change management programme,” says Caulfield. “A good HR department might also audit the other skills of their staff: such work can often reveal employees who have worked in the emergency services or with overseas aid agencies.”

 Critical staffing after a disaster: 

• About a third of staff will be needed immediately in most organisations – though this may be a higher proportion for small companies
• The most critical roles will be co-ordinating communication with customers, stakeholders, suppliers and displaced staff; the incident management team and the recovery team, responsible for managing incoming communication, ensuring availability of data and delivering a realistic and acceptable level of service or product
• These staff are likely to have to travel further to the Recovery Centre and to work longer, unsocial hours 
• They may be taking on more responsibility and working outside their normal remit
• They will experience considerable disruption to their out of work life

 Consideration should be given to: 

• A daily subsistence amount when working at the Recovery Centre
• Pre-arranged group travel to the Recovery Centre
• Individual taxis home for any out of normal hours working
• Free catering of a high standard
• Free hotel accommodation near the Recovery Centre
• Free child care to cover out of hours working
• Easy access to advice services, such as employment law, corporate governance and family counselling

 Non-critical roles:

• Roles with a long-term focus – audit, treasury, those in research and development, and strategists – are not normally critical to immediate recovery
• Communication is vital with these people – they can easily become disconnected from the organisation and feel uninformed and marginalised
• Make sure that the Business Continuity Plan evaluates the skills of non-critical staff as they may be able to play a role in supporting the work of the recovery team

 “Forward-thinking organisations plan to create an environment where key staff are minimally inconvenienced when they are most needed to get the company back on its feet, and where all other employees know what’s going on and are motivated to return to work quickly,” says Caulfield. “Business Continuity Planning should be just a piece of paper. It will be the skills, commitment and dedication of your staff that will make it work.”