Business continuity – it’s important to get the right training

Contact Kestrel to find out when the next course is scheduled.

We all think about planning for the ‘big’ events, earthquakes, pandemics, volcanic eruptions, but what happens when the event is only ‘your’ problem? Examples are a major IT failure, the loss of a key building or facility or some other disruptive event resulting in the failure to deliver key services to customers. The focus suddenly becomes very much on you: customers are disgruntled and the government and media are on your doorstep.

My experience with organisations across the country is that where a civil defence plan or crisis plan is in place it is assumed business continuity is covered. Where it has been recognised that business continuity plans are needed, the commitment to implement these has been low.

Where staff are implementing business continuity programmes they are using frameworks and guidelines such as the new British Standard (BS22301:2012). While this is relevant, such guidelines are typically hard to understand and even harder to translate to engagement across the organisation if you haven’t any previous experience with business continuity. It’s easy for management and staff to become frustrated with the process, and even if a plan is developed, it is usually never properly tested or maintained.

Most staff don’t get the right tools or the support to get the job done. One of the reasons for this is the lack of relevant training in New Zealand. We’ve designed a two day business continuity management course to meet this challenge.

“The beauty of going on a training course like this is that you really don’t know what you don’t know. All the other participants with their experience and examples gave you another lens through which to look at your own world. I’d highly recommend this two-day course and say don’t leave it until something happens.”
Jenny Bygrave, Head of Strategic Development, Auckland University of Technology

Is your organisation prepared for the unexpected?