Business Continuity Training Best Practices

Business continuity training is an essential part of developing a business continuity plan. If you’ve taken the time to develop a business continuity plan, you’re ahead of many businesses. What about your staff? Are they ready as well? Is your staff ready to respond based on planned protocols in case of an emergency? In a recent InformationWeek report, Wendy Schuchart offers five best practices on business continuity training.[1]

1. Train and Test Your Plan with Employees – Many of your employees may have no idea the company even has a business continuity plan. It’s essential to raise awareness of your business continuity policy, including assigned roles in case of an emergency. Run through the plan, so the staff is familiar with the protocols in action.

2. Define Your Terms Like Emergency and Disaster – What constitutes a problem? When should employees respond based on emergency protocols? Make sure the staff understands what type of situations call for a response. In a growing age of cyberattacks and security breaches, staff must be prepared to respond based on company protocols as well as legal compliance. Make sure they understand what is an emergency and how they should respond.

3. Uncover Practices that Risk Security and Backup – Staff may be using non-approved and non-protected methods of backup like using third-party online applications or personal devices. In case of a real emergency or breach, they may unwittingly risk company exposure. Let staff know why it’s important to follow protocols and why you are not prying but trying to protect their data/company data.

4. Understand Staff Roles and Don’t Overlook Them in Continuity Plan – A high level continuity plan may fail to take into account some staff positions that are vital for long-term business success. As the company grows and changes, it is essential to keep reviewing “what-ifs,” business systems and vital roles for the business.

5. Prepare for Disaster Recovery at Home and at Work – In the event of a major disaster, your employees may be facing personal disasters at home. Great companies develop continuity plans that consider the implications of disasters that could impact the business at every level including home emergencies. In case of a major disaster like Hurricane Sandy, it’s important to be ready to recover business systems as well as helping employees with essentials like food and lodging.

[1] Wendy Schuchart. “5 Reasons Employees Don’t Care About Business Continuity.” August 2013, 2.

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