A longtime resident of Franklin Lakes, Taylor Hallman serves as a business continuation associate at Prudential Financial in New Jersey. As a certified business continuation professional living in Franklin Lakes, Taylor Hallman is responsible for developing business continuation plans and testing solutions to improve the level of resilience of the business in the event of a disaster.
Business continuity planning, or BCP, is a thorough and time-consuming process. Managers gather a substantial amount of data and engage in extensive deliberations to develop procedures that are both effective and cost-efficient. Each step in the business continuity planning is inter-connected. Therefore, it is important not to make any assumptions or mistakes that could derail the progress of the BCP.
Failing to conduct a business impact analysis (BIA) is a serious oversight and should never happen during a BCP. A business impact analysis is the first step of the process and helps managers identify all areas of the business that are prone to vulnerabilities from internal and external threats.
Another mistake that should be avoided is not getting the support from senior management and employees. Any change, however small, is significant and often requires time, money, and employee participation. It is always helpful to get the approval of the senior management and the full commitment of the employees to carry out their roles and responsibilities.
Moreover, managers should not skip conducting BCP exercises regularly. BCP exercises test the outcomes of the continuity plan and reveal any idle steps or additional gaps that must be corrected. Any changes to the BCP should be retested before they can be operational.
