[BL] [4] [BCS] WSQ Funded BCM Training and Project: Evaluating the Business Continuity Strategy

Business Continuity Strategy

At this stage, you would have completed your RAR and BIA workshops and are about to start the second day of the WSQ BCM workshop organised in-house. This first part of WSQ-BCM-320 Session 1 Blended Learning conducted will focus on the Business Continuity Strategy phase. 

It is useful to note that in the revised ISO22301:2019 standard, this BC Strategies phase is also known as "BC Strategies and Solutions."  There are no major changes in our approach as it emphasized that it should not be a grand strategy but rather on finding solutions to manage the specific risks and impacts.

Once the requirements gathering phases of risk analysis and review, and business impact analysis, are completed, we would have sufficient information to start formulating business continuity strategies (BCS), the precursors of the business continuity plan.

This is the 4th part of the "WSQ Funded BCM Project" series.  This is the reading for participants embarking on a BCM implementation using a combination of training with SkillsFuture (SSG) funding from the Singapore government and consulting to develop, implement and finalize its BCM program for an organisation.

The process of conducting the BCS phase in a WSQ-based BCM Project is as follows:

1.  Workshop [Online]

1. Mitigation strategies
2. Response strategies
3. Recovery strategies

The latest BCS templates with guidance notes (this link is to an earlier ISO22301: 2021 version) are used to facilitate the strategy formulation process. 

What participants should do for the Online Workshop:

1. Participants are encouraged to read the email supplementary materials before the workshop and review the RAR and BIA findings for their business unit.
2. The softcopy templates can be downloaded from the same E-Learning portal used during the Risk Analysis Review phase and Business Impact Analysis phase.
3. Participants should complete the E-Learning Module and begin filling in their templates
4. Participants should then submit their completed templates

Participants should be advised that because the workshop is a 1-time group event, it is important that participants lock this event in their calendars. No repeat workshop will be conducted for absent participants and there is a possibility that SkillsFuture Singapore or SSG will not approve the course subsidy if the participant is absent for more than 75% of the module.

2.  Consultation & Assessment [Online]

A consultation and assessment session (approx. 30 mins) has been arranged for individual departments to go through the templates with the consultants and sit for a simple open-book assessment comprising a few easy-to-answer questions. This assessment is a requirement from SkillsFuture Singapore or SSG to qualify for government funding.

Zoom will be used to facilitate the assessment between consultants and participants.

Refer to answer [3] to [6] provided in "FAQ on WSQ Courses Offered by BCM Institute" to have a better understanding of the expectation of a WSQ assessment.

What should participants do for Online classes:

1. Submit the Business Continuity Strategy template to the E-Learning portal prior to the instructor's session
2. Prior to the consultation/assessment session, comments will be sent over via the E-Learning Portal. Participants are expected to make edits to their BIA template prior to the session
3. Before the consultation & assessment session, review your templates, and quickly read through the course materials
4. Attend the consultation & assessment session at the appointed time (on Zoom)
5. Re-submit the final, revised template to the E-learning Portal

3. Public WSQ Course

Again, the strength of this program is that, should there be any turnover of your business unit BCM coordinator, you can send the incoming designated staff member to the next course. The key is to get the staff member to bring along your current BCM submission and to inform the facilitator in advance that you are using your current template updated by your previous BU BCM coordinator.

If you are attending a public WSQ course, this course is similar to the morning session for the WSQ-BCM-320 (Course code) and it is titled "Developing Business Continuity Strategies and Plans"

Once this session is completed, you are now ready to attend the "Plan Development" workshop to be held in the afternoon session.

Click icon for detailed elaboration of how each phase is conducted
BCM Planning Methodology
Phase 2	Phase 3	Phase 4	Phase 5	Phase 6
Risk Analysis and Review	Business Impact Analysis	Business Continuity Strategy	BC Plan Development	Testing and Exercising
RAR	BIA	BCS	PD	TE
Assessing Risk and Business Impact Requirements		Developing Business Continuity Strategies and Plans		Testing and Exercising Business Continuity Plans
WSQ-BCM-310		WSQ-BCM-320		WSQ-BCM-330