Business Continuity Awareness Week 2019 - Article 2

Business Continuity Awareness Week (BCAW) is an annual global event that is facilitated by the Business Continuity Institute (BCI). BCAW is a key vehicle to raising the awareness of the profession and demonstrating the value effective business continuity management can have to organisations of all types and sizes.

The theme for BCAW 2019 is “Investing in Resilience”. This can take the form of investing in people, training, looking ahead and investing in the future. In this context, ContinuityMauritius, subsidiary of BIRGER., is publishing a series of 5 articles from 13 to 17 May 2019.

The second article is Executive Sponsorship is critical for a successful Business Continuity programme, taking into consideration Top Management Support, Budgeting and Resource Allocation.

The most commonly cited obstacle to Business Continuity programme success is a lack of top management support. Business Continuity requires strong leadership by the board and the executive team. In the end, it is the product of a cultural shift within the organisation, and culture within countries and organisations is inevitably a reflection of the behaviour of leaders. So, while promoting the principles of Business Continuity to employees is critical, they will only take root if the leaders show the way.

Executives need to ensure that management integrates Business Continuity into the overall business strategy as well as Budgeting and Resource Allocation. Strong executive sponsorship is necessary to create a lasting business continuity culture within the organisation.

Executive management and executive steering committees fulfil a myriad of critical roles in supporting the success of an organisation’s BCM programme. Key functions of the senior management sponsor include:

• Selecting/hiring/managing BCM team leadership
• Securing necessary funding to support BCM initiatives
• Leading the BCM steering committee
• Facilitating executive team input on critical decisions
• Request/review key programme metrics
• Drive ongoing communication/visibility of business continuity team activities across the organisation

For more information on the topic and our Resiliency Solutions & Services, please contact us by email resiliency@birger.technology. 

BIRGER.