Businesses still failing to contingency plan for disasters

• Too little action: Although a majority of managers (77 per cent) believe business continuity is viewed as important by their senior management teams, less than half (49 per cent) say their organisation has a business continuity plan (BCP) in place. Organisations are also failing to rehearse plans as often as they should - only 37 per cent of those with plans test them at least once a year, compared to 52 per cent in 2005. This is made more worrying by the fact that where rehearsals have taken place, the majority (79 per cent) have revealed shortcomings in their plans.
• Possessions, not people: Inanimate objects still dominate business continuity management (IT is covered by 67 per cent of plans) despite organisations admitting a fear of losing people and skills. For example, almost all (92 per cent) believe they would suffer disruption caused by higher levels of absenteeism and illness in an influenza pandemic, yet the majority (83 per cent) do not have robust plans to cope with this absence.
• Big picture ignored: Less than half (45 per cent) perceive terrorist damage or environmental incidents (42 per cent) as a major threat to business. This is despite one third of organisations experiencing disruption after the London bombings in July 2005, 14 per cent facing problems as a result of the Buncefield oil explosion and some (9 per cent) feeling the impact of the Asian Tsunami.
• Shortcomings in communication: Only 1 in 10 with plans share these with suppliers and shareholders, while just 1 in 5 communicate this information to customers - despite being cited as key drivers for creating BCPs. And only 7 per cent require all suppliers to have a BCP with one third (37 per cent) of organisations requiring only business-critical suppliers to have plans.

Jo Causon, Director, Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Chartered Management Institute, says: “We are now in the seventh year of conducting this research and it is disappointing to see that organisations still fail to manage business continuity effectively. There appears to be a mismatch between perception of the need for business continuity and the reality of little action to prepare and plan. Unless appropriate and effective business continuity processes are thoroughly considered, organisations leave themselves wide open to a variety of threats and potential disruption.”

The research suggests that managers would particularly benefit from guidance on creating a plan, case studies illustrating others’ experiences and guidance on the potential disruptions they face. The Cabinet Office websites, www.pfe.gov.uk and www.ukresilience.info, provide valuable resources for organisations wanting this sort of advice. They also have links to the Government guidance document, ‘Contingency Planning for a Possible Influenza Pandemic’, to help organisations consider the risks and plan more effectively for such an eventuality.

John Sharp, Policy and Development Director, Continuity Forum says: “This research highlights the need for organisations to benchmark and assess their business continuity management processes against nationally-recognised standards and frameworks so that any readjustments can be made and potential room for error is minimised.”