[BC] [Homes] Planning Steps for Implementing Business Continuity Management for Children's Home

What are the Key Steps Undertaken to Implement BCM for a Children's Home?

This article guides readers through the key phases of BCM implementation, from risk analysis and review, business impact analysis and BC strategy development to testing and continuous improvement.

Each step aligns with best practices, including the ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) Standard, ensuring the children's home is well-prepared to respond to emergencies and recover swiftly.

This article offers a comprehensive roadmap for safeguarding the continuity of care and protection for children in residential care during natural disasters, health emergencies, or operational failures.

Before starting your Business Continuity Management (BCM) project for your Children's Home, one vital initial step is to "Understand Your Organisation: Children's Home." Click the icon on the left to find out more.

The ISO 22301 BCMS standard requires this so that your planning effort is in the context of business continuity management. 

As mentioned in the article "Understanding Your Organisation", the start of the BCM implementation journey will be a clear understanding of a children's home and its purpose. The next step is determining the most effective "interim" structure to complete this journey.

What is Business Continuity Management?

According to the ISO 22301 BCMS Standard, Business Continuity Management or BCM, is a “Holistic management process that identifies potential threats to an organization and the impacts to business operations. 

Those threats, if realized, might cause, and which provides a framework for building organizational resilience with the capability for an effective response that safeguards the interests of its key stakeholders, reputation, brand and value-creating activities."

Source: ISO 22301:2019 – Societal Security – Business Continuity Management Systems - Requirements - clause 3.4

This definition can be simplified as an organization-wide discipline and a complete set of processes identifying potential impacts that threaten an organization. It provides a capability for an effective response that safeguards the interests of its major stakeholders and reputation.

What is BCM for Children's Homes?

BCM Planning Methodology

Children's Homes are vulnerable to disruptions and threats. Any incident, if not appropriately managed, can become a disaster or crisis or cause significant injuries to employees or even death.

Therefore, Children's Homes should be prepared for an incident before it occurs to minimize its impact should it happen. One such way to prepare is to adopt a BCM Planning Methodology. Click the icon on the right to learn more.

Like any other planning process, the BCM methodology provides a framework for requirements, effort, and deliverables. Each phase leads into the next in an endlessly repeating cycle. The BCM Planning Methodology is divided into various steps. The key is to divide the entire process into manageable steps.  

Risk Analysis and Review [RAR]

Many risks can be identified within a children's home context. One possible risk scenario is the loss of a building or IT system.

The risk rating is determined by multiplying the likelihood and impact. In addition to these factors, controls are often present to reduce risks.

The threats should be reviewed and analysed based on location because the town's facilities can be geographically dispersed over a large area.

Click the icon on the right to view the detailed steps to implement this RAR phase of the BCM Planning methodology. Click the icon on the left to read about the specific implementation relevant to the Children's Home setting.

Business Impact Analysis [BIA]

Business functions, such as cleaning common areas, Children's home services, facility maintenance, and resident care, are analyzed to determine whether they are critical or non-critical to the Children's Homes. A set of criteria is developed to guide this analysis. Business function criticality will determine the priority and urgency with which the disruption is dealt with.

Operating a children's home should include backroom business functions that may not be as obvious besides the direct services or "business functions" mandated as its core responsibilities.

Examples of such business functions should include Administration, Human Resources, and Finance, which are not externally facing. These functions are sometimes centralized or even outsourced; their identification and prioritization should be considered part of the BCM scope.

Click the icon on the right to learn more about the critical business function for Children's homes.

Business Continuity Strategy [BCS]

Once critical business functions are identified, interim recovery guidelines and procedures must be developed to allow the Children's Home's business units to operate between the “time of disaster” and “ready for routine business.” 

There is a need to develop strategies (preventive, response and recovery strategies) to provide alternative facilities and service providers and store backups of vital equipment and records in a safe place.

Plan Development [PD]

The BC plan and associated procedures for recovering the Children's Home after a crisis or disaster are documented in the development phase.

This plan is based on all the critical details from the earlier business impact analysis and business continuity strategy phases.

Testing and Exercising [TE]

Once the BC plan is documented, tests and exercises are conducted to ensure its effectiveness and validity.

The plan from the plan development phase is run through simulations and ultimately graded based on criteria.

If a test or exercise's results are deemed unsatisfactory, any error or omission it might have will need to be corrected.

Program Management

Finally, once the Children's Home management team has approved the BC plan and the rest of the documentation, the assigned team must update and maintain the plan periodically to reflect organisational changes in the Children's Home and prevailing environmental threats.

Next ... How Do I Start ... Follow the BCM Planning Methodology

Business Continuity Planning Methodology

This blog will provide the "Planning Steps for Implementing BCM for Children's Home"—click the icon to read more. It will give you a good overview of the steps to be taken.

Lastly, what competency should you have with funding from the Singapore government?

How To Be BCM Competent and Where Do I Start?

Are you the Designated Team Leader for this BCM Project or Program?

If you are the appointed executive to implement, update or manage this business continuity initiative, you may want to consider attending this course. This is the BCM Expert Implementer course.

It is the most comprehensive course to kick-start your knowledge, and there is no pre-requisite to participate in it. If you are a Singaporean or Permanent Resident, you will receive funding from SkillsFuture Singapore.

Do you want to train your team and implement or update your Home's BC plan concurrently?

BCM Institute is an authorised Training Institute (ATO). We have broken a training course into modules to train and guide your team to complete the requirements of the BC program aligned to the ISO 22301 BCMS standard.

As this blog is set in the context of a typical Singapore Children's Home, there is a provision for training aligned to the planning methodology and approved as one of the key Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) and SkillFuture Funding.

Contact us if you would like to know more.