New BCI Report finds the role of the BC manager becoming more strategic
For the first time, according to the new BCI report “The Future of Business Continuity & Resilience”, the role of the Business Continuity (BC) manager has become more ‘strategic’ than ‘operational’ within organizations. Whilst continuity of operations remains the core focus for professionals, senior management have been showcased the knowledge and expertise of BC teams throughout the pandemic and are now seen as the cornerstone to building a more resilient organization post-pandemic.
It is not only BC managers that have gained much more attention, but BC as a discipline is now perceived as a ‘must have’ for most organizations across all industry sectors. The BCI report found that there has been a substantial increase in the appreciation of BC and Resilience within organizations – more so at executive level than amongst staff. This trend was also recently highlighted in an article published on Forbes stating, “In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, organizations, including those in financial services, are thinking hard about business continuity planning. The pandemic is raising awareness and prompting a considerable amount of investment, and while encouraging, there is much more to be done to prevent anticipated or unanticipated events from disrupting what used to be known as “business as usual.”
BC professionals that took part in the BCI research reported that during the pandemic they have earned a ‘spotlight’ and top management have now more appreciation of the knowledge & skills that BC and resilience professionals can provide within the organization. Indeed, many reported that they are now being asked for opinions on whether a new strategic direction would work from a business continuity perspective.
The BCI report also points out that part of this growing appreciation for BC “stems from the use of the word ‘resilience’” - a term which senior management appear to resonate better with rather than BC. On the other hand, the report has also found that staff are more likely to be ‘very’ aware of the role of BC rather than resilience – which suggests that resilience is still primarily a concern of top management. However, the research also found that staff aware of BC is only a small part and that there is still much work to do in getting the large part of employees educated in BC – as this plays a crucial role in the overall resilience of the organization.
The issues encountered during COVID-19 have prompted organizations to think in advance of potential issues and tackle these far enough ahead to prevent problems developing. As we enter the post-pandemic stage, organizations are facing a new wave of challenges and threats – from supply chain disruptions and new cyber threats to fast changing consumer behaviour and growing climate risks. This means that BC managers will need to keep the momentum going by getting involved in strategic decisions, collaborate with other departments (risk management, cyber security, supply chain management etc.), and work to embed BC by training staff & educating staff.
To learn more about the results of the BCI The Future of Business Continuity & Resilience Report, please visit our Knowledge Library or click on the button below to download your copy.
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