When you look at the state of your business continuity program, are you looking at it objectively? Here’s how to honestly judge your BC program compatibility.
We may not want to admit it, but we are a biased species – whether in the positive or negative. I know some beautiful young people who only see their faults and some mature adults who can’t see their faults at all. We become accustomed to the current state. I live in the Phoenix metro area. What friends and family in other parts of the country think is hot is a nice day to me. Temps in the 100s are normal and expected for us in the summer months – we are used to it. Last week it was hot – and not just hot through my Phoenix filter (it was in the 110s, with a high of 117). But, no matter what I am accustomed to, I recognize that a temperature in the 100s is hot, even though those of us in Phoenix look at the low 100s as a cooling trend in June and July.
When it comes to our business continuity programs, we can often get used to the current state and lose our objectivity. When you look at the current state of your business continuity program, are you, your auditors and your management looking at it objectively or with a filter or bias?
Possibly the best tool to use is a set of objective metrics. Identifying and using the proper metrics will assist in keeping the assessment of the BC program in your organization valid. There are commercial tools for doing this – MHA has one that we think is easy and useful (see BCMMetrics). Even basic self-generated spreadsheets can be helpful. The question is, what are the correct metrics to use? Here are a few we think are important.
These metrics can be given values that provide an overall readiness or functional score. With metrics like these, you can generate reports that quickly show the state of the various components of your program.
Good and objective information will:
The reason for business continuity is to reduce risk to the organization. It is wonderful if the program is mature and running optimally. However, if there are issues, it is important to remember that “bad news does not get better with age.” You must have some understanding of what will happen if you actually have to use the plans and strategies during a crisis or emergency event, when BC program compatibility is essential.
Metrics allow you to be confident when communicating the state of your program and to make appropriate plans. For more information and examples of metrics and the use of them in your organization, visit BCMMetrics.