A Business Continuity Risk Assessment (BCRA) is part of Business Continuity Management. A BCRA must be carried out to assess the organization’s vulnerability to threats and establish the organization’s overall risk profile. It demonstrates a qualitative methodology of a Threats & Vulnerability assessment. It prioritizes potential disasters on the basis of their probability and impact. The BCRA is required to be assessed for each location (building/group of buildings) separately.
A BCRA lays, together with a Business Impact Analysis, the foundation for creating a Business Continuity Plan. The BCRA should be revisited every year.
The disruption COVID-19 caused has made businesses more aware of the importance of business continuity planning (BCP) for effective disruption-related preparation, response and recovery.
Although the term “business continuity” is often used as a synonym for IT Disaster recovery (DR), business continuity planning extends well beyond technology-related disruptions.
Businesses that do not effectively prepare for potential business disruptions are exposed to substantial loss of life, assets, revenues and reputation and may even fail to survive the disruption.
It is expected that Pandemics, Fires, Floods, cyber-attacks, IT breakdowns, supply chain issues or loss of key staff are just some of the possible threats to the smooth running of an organization. If not addressed effectively, they can cause disruption or even business failure. Consistent planning for what to do when disaster strikes mean a more effective response and a quicker recovery.
We outline below an overview of best practices steps you need to take in establishing an effective Business Continuity Management Program. Your ability to understand and implement the policies, structure, accountabilities, processes and methodologies provided in your Business Continuity Plan (BCP) can provide many benefits including resilience, sustainability, better performance and your organization can gain stakeholder confidence over time.
Business continuity management (BCM) program, A Proper BCP should incorporate the following Contents:
Overview
• Context
• Key definitions
• Relationship between key business continuity activities
• Business continuity activation and escalation path
• Overall business continuity planning process
1. Initial Preparation
• Key elements
• Business continuity policy inputs and output
2. Business Impact Analysis
• Key steps
• Inputs and outputs
• Identify critical business functions and resources
• Identify critical business functions and dependencies
• Impact of and recovery from a sudden disruption
• Impact of and recovery from a gradual disruption
• Identify impact of disruption on critical business functions over time
• Identify impact of disruption on critical business functions at RTO
• Methods to utilize
3. Continuity Risk Assessment (CRA)
• High level risk management (RA) process
• Inputs and outputs
• Examples of hazards/threats
• High-level process
• Key steps
• Threats before existing mitigation
• Threats after existing mitigation
• Risk likelihood versus impact matrix
• Single dimension likelihood criteria example-
• Single dimension impact criteria example
• Multiple impact criteria example
• Risk rating matrix
• Organizational risk tolerance
4. Business Continuity Strategies
• Risk treatment options
• Common strategy types
• Examples of strategies
• Role of the BIA and CRA
• Immediate mitigation by critical business function/hazard type
• Ongoing mitigation by critical business function/hazard type
5. Plan development
• Multiple coordinated plans
• Emergency response activities over time
• Common Business continuity plan elements
• Example communications plan
6. Awareness and Training
• Examples of awareness mechanisms
• Training audience and topics
7. Exercising and Testing
• Benefits
• Key steps
• Examples of methods
8. Audit and Review
• Aims
• Examples of types
9. Maintenance
• Aims
• Key steps
Next Step !!
Need help in designing and documenting an effective Business Continuity Plan? Dawgen Global Team can help you!
Dawgen Global is an integrated multidisciplinary professional service firm in the Caribbean Region. Dawgen Global offer BIG FIRM Capabilities without a big firm PRICE!
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