[BCM] [Damanat] [E1] [C3] Establishing Organisational Goals

Establishing Organisational Goals

 

 

Introduction

Before developing detailed Business Continuity Management (BCM) plans, an organisation must first establish clear strategic goals that define what the BCM programme is intended to achieve.

These goals provide the direction for the programme, guide management decisions, support resource allocation, and establish a common understanding of the desired continuity outcomes across the organisation.

For the Saudi Mortgage Guarantees Services Company (Damanat), BCM goals should be closely aligned with the organisation's strategic mandate, governance responsibilities, and operational priorities.

As an organisation supporting Saudi Arabia's housing finance ecosystem, Damanat must ensure that its mortgage guarantee services remain available during disruptive incidents while continuing to meet regulatory expectations, protect sensitive information, and maintain stakeholder confidence.

Unlike operational performance targets, BCM goals are strategic in nature. They describe the long-term resilience outcomes that the organisation intends to achieve rather than the specific activities undertaken during implementation.

These goals subsequently guide the development of measurable Business Continuity (BC) objectives, recovery strategies, Business Impact Analyses (BIAs), recovery plans, testing programmes, and continual improvement initiatives.

A clearly defined set of BCM goals also helps senior management demonstrate leadership commitment and governance oversight.

By approving strategic continuity goals, executive management establishes the organisational priorities that will influence recovery decisions, investment in resilience capabilities, and acceptance of residual risks.

Distinguishing BCM Goals from Related Concepts

One of the most common sources of confusion during BCM implementation is the distinction between organisational goals, BCM goals, Business Continuity objectives, recovery targets, and project deliverables.

Although these concepts are related, they serve different purposes within the BCM programme.

Organisational Goals

Organisational goals define the strategic mission and long-term direction of Damanat.

They focus on achieving business outcomes such as supporting housing finance, strengthening financial sector confidence, enhancing operational excellence, and fulfilling regulatory obligations.

These goals are established by executive management and are not specific to BCM.

BCM Goals

BCM goals describe the resilience outcomes that the BCM programme seeks to achieve in support of the organisation's broader strategic objectives.

Examples include:

• Maintaining continuity of critical mortgage guarantee services.
• Protecting people, information, and organisational assets.
• Strengthening organisational preparedness.
• Supporting timely recovery following disruption.
• Preserving stakeholder confidence.

BCM goals remain relatively stable over time and guide the overall direction of the BCM programme.

Business Continuity Objectives

Business Continuity objectives translate the strategic BCM goals into measurable implementation activities.

Examples include:

• Complete the Business Impact Analysis.
• Develop Business Continuity Plans.
• Conduct annual continuity exercises.
• Train all Critical Business Function Owners.
• Maintain current contact lists.

Unlike BCM goals, BC objectives are specific, measurable, and subject to periodic review.

Recovery Targets

Recovery targets define the acceptable timeframe or level of service that should be restored following disruption.

Examples include:

• Recovery Time Objective (RTO).
• Recovery Point Objective (RPO).
• Minimum Business Continuity Objective (MBCO).
• Minimum staffing levels.
• Minimum service levels.

Recovery targets are determined during the Business Impact Analysis rather than during goal setting.

Project Deliverables

Project deliverables are the tangible outputs produced during the implementation of the BCM programme.

Typical deliverables include:

• BCM Policy.
• BCM Framework.
• Risk Analysis and Review (RAR).
• Business Impact Analysis Report.
• Business Continuity Strategies.
• Business Continuity Plans.
• Exercise Reports.
• Management Review Reports.

Deliverables represent completed work products rather than strategic outcomes.

Relationship Among BCM Planning Elements

The relationship among these concepts can be summarised as follows:

Organisational Strategy

↓

BCM Goals

↓

Business Continuity Objectives

↓

Implementation Activities

↓

Project Deliverables

↓

Recovery Capability

↓

Organisational Resilience

This hierarchy ensures that every BCM activity contributes directly to Damanat's strategic resilience objectives.

Strategic BCM Goals for Damanat

The following strategic BCM goals are proposed to support Damanat's operational resilience and continuity requirements. These goals are indicative and should be reviewed and formally approved by Senior Management before implementation.

Goal 1 – Protect Life, Safety and Welfare

Ensure that the health, safety, and welfare of employees, contractors, visitors, and other stakeholders remain the highest priority throughout all phases of disruptive incidents.

 

Goal 2 – Maintain Critical Mortgage Guarantee Services

Ensure that critical mortgage guarantee services continue to operate within acceptable levels during disruptive events to minimise impacts on financial institutions, customers, and government stakeholders.

Goal 3 – Protect Stakeholder Interests

Safeguard the interests of customers, financial institutions, regulators, government agencies, and other stakeholders by maintaining continuity of essential services and communications.

Goal 4 – Preserve Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Support continued compliance with applicable regulatory, contractual, and statutory obligations during disruptive incidents.

Goal 5 – Protect Information and Critical Records

Ensure the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and recoverability of information required to support business operations and regulatory responsibilities.

Goal 6 – Enable Effective Crisis Decision-Making

Provide executive management with reliable information, structured governance, and coordinated decision-making processes during major disruptions.

Goal 7 – Reduce the Impact of Operational Disruption

Identify operational risks and implement resilience measures that minimise the likelihood, duration, and consequences of disruptive incidents.

Goal 8 – Support Coordinated Recovery

Restore Critical Business Functions in a structured, prioritised, and coordinated manner that aligns with business priorities and stakeholder expectations.

Goal 9 – Maintain Stakeholder Confidence

Preserve confidence among regulators, financial institutions, government agencies, customers, and employees through effective preparedness, response, and recovery.

Goal 10 – Promote Continual Improvement

Maintain an ongoing BCM programme that incorporates lessons learned, exercises, audits, management reviews, and continual enhancement of organisational resilience capabilities.

Table 1.3: Proposed BCM Goals for The Saudi Mortgage Guarantees Services Company (Damanat)

Goal Code	BCM Goal	Strategic Rationale	Expected Outcome	Proposed Owner	Validation Status
BG-01	Protect Life, Safety and Welfare	People are Damanat's most valuable asset	Safe personnel during disruptions	Chief Executive Officer	Validation Required
BG-02	Maintain Critical Mortgage Guarantee Services	Support continuity of essential services	Reduced service interruption	Chief Operating Officer	Validation Required
BG-03	Protect Stakeholder Interests	Maintain confidence among customers, financial institutions and regulators	Continued stakeholder trust	Executive Management	Validation Required
BG-04	Preserve Legal and Regulatory Compliance	Meet statutory and regulatory obligations during disruption	Continued regulatory compliance	Compliance Department	Validation Required
BG-05	Protect Information and Critical Records	Ensure availability and integrity of critical information assets	Reliable access to essential business information	Chief Information Officer	Validation Required
BG-06	Enable Effective Crisis Decision-Making	Improve executive coordination during incidents	Timely and informed management decisions	Crisis Management Team Leader	Validation Required
BG-07	Reduce Operational Disruption	Strengthen resilience against internal and external threats	Lower operational impact and faster recovery	BCM Programme Manager	Validation Required
BG-08	Support Coordinated Recovery	Restore Critical Business Functions efficiently	Controlled and prioritised recovery	Business Unit Heads	Validation Required
BG-09	Maintain Stakeholder Confidence	Demonstrate organisational preparedness and resilience	Sustained confidence among regulators, partners and customers	Corporate Communications & Senior Management	Validation Required
BG-10	Promote Continual Improvement	Enhance BCM capability through regular review and learning	Progressive improvement of organisational resilience	BCM Steering Committee	Validation Required

 

Alignment of BCM Goals with the BCM Lifecycle

The proposed BCM goals collectively support the entire Business Continuity lifecycle. Goals relating to governance, preparedness, and risk reduction guide the planning phase; goals concerning service continuity, crisis decision-making, and coordinated recovery support response and recovery activities; while the commitment to continual improvement ensures that the BCM programme evolves in response to organisational changes, emerging threats, and lessons learned.

These strategic goals also provide the foundation for the measurable Business Continuity objectives presented in the next section of this chapter.

Each objective should directly contribute to one or more BCM goals, ensuring that implementation activities remain aligned with Damanat's long-term resilience aspirations.

Validation Note

The BCM goals presented in this section are indicative and have been developed using recognised Business Continuity Management good practices together with reasonable assumptions regarding Damanat's role within Saudi Arabia's housing finance sector.

They should be reviewed, refined, and formally approved by Damanat's Senior Management and BCM Steering Committee before they are adopted as part of the organisation's Business Continuity Management programme.

 

Business Continuity Goals define the strategic direction of Damanat's BCM programme by describing the long-term outcomes that the organisation seeks to achieve through continuity planning.

These goals align BCM with organisational strategy, regulatory obligations, stakeholder expectations, and the protection of critical mortgage guarantee services.

Having established these strategic goals, the next step is to translate them into measurable Business Continuity Objectives that guide implementation activities.

These objectives provide the practical foundation for planning, measuring progress, and evaluating the effectiveness of the BCM programme.

eBook 1: Understanding Your Organisation
C1	C2	C3	C4	C5	C6
C7	C8	C9	C10	C11	C12

More Information About Business Continuity Management Courses