The
This person is appointed to manage the implementation of the BCM plan for the organisation, oversee the management of the program, and maintain the plan upon its implementation.
Typically, in a full-time position in medium—to large organisations, the OBC manages and continually improves the organisation’s BCM program.
It is vital that the OBC has a detailed knowledge of the organization’s operations and critical business functions and is equipped with in-depth BCM knowledge so that he/she can conduct a detailed and thorough review of all BC Plans and formulate organization-specific tests and exercises.
The full range of roles and responsibilities for the Organisation BCM Coordinator (OBC) are appended:
A good BCM program should be well integrated into an organization's daily processes and updated in tandem with changes in business operations. Therefore, the OBC should be fairly experienced in the organization and very aware of the organization's concerns about its operations.
In addition to the specified roles mentioned, the Organisation BCM Coordinator is expected to manage the BCM program specifically in the areas appended.
The OBC should be able to identify the critical business functions in the organization.
The OBC is responsible for ensuring that the organisation's BC Plans contain adequate procedures to confirm that critical business functions can continue functioning within their Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs), which were discussed and agreed upon with the relevant BU BCM Coordinators to prevent significant damage to the organisation.
The OBC monitors and reviews BC Plans across all BU within the organization. This activity focuses on ensuring consistency in procedures that align with the organization’s BC Policy. While the BU BCM Coordinator may manage each BU BCM Plan, the OBC should be aware of and scrutinize the procedures to ensure adequacy.
Where possible, the OBC should liaise with the BU BCM Coordinator and streamline BC procedures to minimise costs, increase efficiency, lower impacts and likelihoods, and, where possible, avoid the risk of a threat altogether. Any findings should then be submitted to management for approval and subsequent implementation.
The organization's BCM Coordinator should also be informed of incoming new staff, as they will need to be briefed on the organization’s BC Policy.
Where required, appointment changes (e.g. BU BCM Coordinator) may require the Organisation BCM Coordinator to conduct workshops and training for these new appointees.
During unique situations (e.g., the possible threat of pandemic), the Organisation's BCM Coordinator should conduct awareness briefings for staff. These briefings remind them of existing organization protocols to safeguard their interests and clarify any concerns that may be raised.
The OBC should manage the organization’s exercise and testing calendar. While the BU BCM Coordinator may conduct BU-level BC activities, the consolidation and tabulation of data for a report to executive management fall under the purview of the OBCr.
It is recommended that the OBC be informed of BU-level BC activities to ensure that the planned activities are suitable and sufficiently test the robustness of BU Plans.
While competency-based courses are mainly short, this does not imply that BC personnel should skip certification programs altogether. Certification programs offer comprehensive coverage of BCM practices and will be able to patch any possible gaps in knowledge for experienced OBCs. Certification training programs also provide the advantage of granting the holder an internationally recognized credential in the relevant areas of BCM.
These recommendations are to assist training managers in mapping the OBC training program; a brief three-year training roadmap is appended below.
Year | Click the icon to find out more | Certification Course | Click the icon to find out more | Competency-based Course |
Business Continuity Management | ||||
1 | ISO 22301 BCMS Expert Implementer (Course Code: BCM-5000) | Assessing BC Requirements (Course Code: BCM-310) | ||
Developing BC Strategies and Plans (Course Code: BCM-320) |
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Testing and Exercising Business Continuity Plans (Course Code: BCM-330) | ||||
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|
Auditing BCM |
||
2 |
|
ISO 22301 BCMS Lead Auditor (Course Code: BCM-8530) |
Not applicable | |
Crisis Management | ||||
2 | Crisis Management Expert Implementer (Course Code: CM-5000) | Implement a CM plan (Course Code: BCM-360) | ||
Manage and Execute a CM plan (Course Code: BCM-460) | ||||
Crisis Communication | ||||
3 | Crisis Communication Expert Implementer (Course Code: CC-5000) | Implement a CC plan (Course Code: BCM-350) | ||
Manage and Execute a CC plan (Course Code: BCM-450) | ||||
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|
IT Disaster Recovery |
||
3 |
|
Disaster Recovery Expert Implementer (Course Code: DRP-5000) |
Not applicable |
BCM Certification and Competency-based Courses for Organisation BCM Coordinators
Before he can embark on his role, the organisation's BCM Coordinator must have sufficient BC knowledge covering a broad range of competencies on various aspects of BCM planning. Therefore, it is recommended that he attend the Expert Implementer certification program.
The advanced level ISO22301 BCMS Expert Implementer course would take the participant from understanding the basics of BCM to the steps and documentation needed to implement, manage, and maintain the program.
This certification program would allow participants to get insights into market best practices that are shared by course facilitators who are industry practitioners.
Public-run courses would also enable participants to gain insights and alternatives from other participants on implementing and managing a BCM plan by different industries and company sizes.
Participants who complete the courses pass the Qualifying Business Continuity Certified Expert (BCCE) examination and meet the prerequisites. They will also be certified by the globally recognized BCCE certificate.
Organisation BCM Coordinators can complete the ISO22301 BCMS Expert Implementer via two instalments, and they are:
ISO 22301 BCMS Implementer |
ISO 22301 BCMS Manager |
ISO 22301 BCMS Expert Implementer |
|
BCM-300 | BCM-400 | BCM-5000 | |
= |
Organisation BCM Coordinators who are progressively upgrading themselves or cannot afford to take four consecutive training days can opt to attend specialised competency-based courses.
Assessing BC Requirements | Developing BC Strategies and Plans | Testing and Exercising Business Continuity Plans |
Course Code: WSQ-BCM-310 | Course Code: WSQ-BCM-320 | Course Code: WSQ- BCM-330 |
For the following year, as OBCs are familiar
The 4.5-day ISO 22301 BCMS Lead Auditor course is the best training for these Organisation BCM Coordinators. The course covers the fundamentals of BCM before going in-depth to learn more about the needs of the ISO 22301 standard and how to conduct an audit.
This course also serves as an excellent platform to understand how external auditors conduct audits on their client company’s BC plan.
There is no competency-based course for ISO 22301 BCMS Lead Auditor.
The recommended training schedule allows participants to go on a step-by-step journey through the process of starting a BCM plan.
It would enable them to understand how to obtain buy-in from management during the different stages of implementation and familiarize themselves with the various templates of a BCM Plan.
Experienced organization BCM coordinators may opt to attend any courses separately depending on their BCM knowledge needs.
As OBCs have gotten themselves well
equipped with the various aspects of their BCM management skills, we recommend they further their competency by training in Crisis Management (CM) and Crisis Communication (CC).
While BC focuses on business continuity, specifically its critical process operations, in times of disaster, crisis management deals with the overall coordination of an organization's response to a crisis in a practical, timely manner. Crisis management and Crisis Communication aim to avoid or minimize damage to the organization's profitability, reputation, or ability to operate.
These four-day or four-module courses with 3.5 hours of examinations each would allow participants to get the globally recognized Crisis Management Certified Expert (CMCE) or Crisis Communication Certified Expert (CCCE), depending on the course they took.
For the third year, refresher courses that are unique to various stages of Crisis Management and Crisis Communication planning may be recommended:
Implement a CM plan | Manage and Execute a CM plan | Implement a CC plan | Manage and Execute a CC plan |
WSQ-BCM-360 |
WSQ-BCM-460 |
WSQ-BCM-350 |
WSQ-BCM-450 |
As OBCs are experienced, most would not want to attend competency-based training.
While the duration of these courses is longer as they require review and assessment of competency, they do allow industry practitioners who are subject matter experts to provide an avenue for discussions and questions and answers during the sessions. These sessions allow for interaction and sharing of best practices.
An organisation's BCM Coordinator can consider three related skill sets. The options include BCM audit, crisis communication, and IT disaster recovery.
Goh, M. H. (2021). A Manager's Guide to Implement Your BCM Training and Learning Roadmap. Business Continuity Management Manager's Guide Series (3rd ed.). Singapore: GMH Pte Ltd.
Extracted from "Chapter 4: Organisation BCM Coordinator"
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