The New BCM Manager: Build Competency

The previous article mentioned one mistake a new BCM manager should avoid. In this blog, I discuss what I feel is a vital yet often neglected success ingredient for new BCM managers—ensuring that this professional and their team of BCM professionals are appropriately equipped with the knowledge and skills to perform their roles.

You As An Organisation or Business Unit BCM Coordinator

As an Organisation BCM Coordinator or BCM manager, in your organisation, you are the go-to person for BCM matters. You and your team must be familiar with standard BCM methodology and good practices, and industry regulations, and also have suitable sensing of the work culture in the organisation.

You are expected to possess reasonably advanced knowledge of BCM concepts, practical skills to design and execute BCM operations, such as risk assessments and business impact analyses, and be able to guide business units in formulating strategies and developing realistic response and recovery plans.

Business Unit (BU) BCM Coordinators or representatives are your extensions into every part of the organisation, and they should have a good understanding of the nuts and bolts of their respective units' operations.

They should also receive training on their BCM roles. For example, Business Unit BCM Coordinators need a working knowledge of basic BCM terminology, the plan development process, and test procedures.

BCM Competency

Given the above, a new BCM manager should look into BCM competency—the team's, business unit coordinators', and general staff's. Competency could be acquired by attending external courses or seminars.

Getting a BCM Certification is one way (but certainly not the only way) to build credibility and recognition of one’s expertise in BCM. Be discerning about the BCM courses you attend, and make sure that you select courses that are structured to meet your needs and objectives.

BCM Institute employs a 3-tier KNOW-DO-MANAGE competency model in the design of its BCM training courses:

• the Organisation BCM Coordinator or BCM Manager and his BCM team would require the highest level of competency (KNOW-DO-MANAGE),
• the Business Unit BCM Coordinators would need sufficient knowledge and skill to carry out business continuity functions for their respective business units (KNOW-DO), and finally,
• the other Staff Members would make do with a brief but concise knowledge of BCM, its importance to the organisation, the governing policy, and key emergency responses (KNOW).

Start asking yourself: "What is My BCM Competency Level?"

BCM Institute’s Competency Model

Training could also be delivered on the job. However, I generally advise the BCM manager and his team to acquire formal training before plunging head-on into the role to avoid significant missteps.

One mode of training that is gaining popularity, especially among busy professionals, is e-learning.

A drawback of e-learning is the lack of interaction and sharing. Despite returning to normal after COVID-19, online learning remains the learning mode.

This challenge to improving learning can be overcome by designing a blended training programme. This programme would use e-learning for knowledge-based learning and an interactive classroom component focusing on knowledge application and skills development.

To explore BCM Institute’s e-learning courses, click Planner Level Certification.

BCM Events and Seminars

Lastly, the BCM manager should try to attend BCM events and seminars to keep up with the relevant issues of the day and explore ways to collaborate with his team. Attending webinars after COVID-19 should not be discounted as it is the only safe way of continuous learning.

In my next article, I will discuss why it is so important to learn and understand your organisation and the encompassing ecosystem in which it operates, as well as some of the ways a new BCM manager can do this.

It is also important to network with other professionals to identify potential threats, their impact on business, and how they may be addressed.

To explore BCM Institute’s events and conferences, click the "Seminar" link above. Webinars continue to be mainstream for seminars and conferences.