[CM] Step 2: Research Your Work

Step 2: Research and Benchmarking 

In this step, the Organisation CM Coordinator and CM project team members will embark on the following:

Conduct Industry Research

• Research industry best practices in crisis management to inform the project strategy.

Benchmarking against Similar Organisations

• Identify and analyse crisis management frameworks implemented by organisations with similar structures or operating environments.

Legal and Regulatory Compliance Review

• Engage legal advisors to review and ensure alignment with relevant crisis management laws and regulations.

Useful Resources and Websites

Whether you have some CM background or are a newcomer, many websites will quickly get you up to speed.

In my view, the most useful are the sites for the few most widely used publications in the field,

• Disaster Recovery Journal
  • www.drj.com 
• Continuity Insights
  • www.continuityinsights.com 

The Disaster Recovery Journal website contains articles explicitly designed to help Organisation CM Coordinators learn the fundamental principles of business continuity and crisis management planning.

There are many organisations, ranging from international to local, where you can network with your peers. Look for their websites, including chat rooms, using search engines with keywords such as BC or DR.

These knowledge-based sites contain many articles, profiles and case histories of plans and CMP products, services, and resources.

Learn to Speak the CM Planning Language

BCMPedia www.bcmpedia.org is the most commonly used one.

Do Your Research

I have often found that an Organisation CM Coordinator need not be an expert in CM planning.

However, he or she must have strong project management skills, a working knowledge of all the disciplines involved in the CMP project, and the ability to communicate effectively with each CMP team member and direct their efforts.

There is no magic solution to this requirement: it is simply a matter of doing your homework. Each discipline must be researched and studied sufficiently to become comfortable dealing with each CMP team member.

Do Not Reinvent the Wheel!

 There is no requirement for you to build a CM plan from scratch. Many established CM plan models have been built and are available for study and use as the foundation for your CM plan.

Alternatively, you can purchase a CMP writing software package and use it to develop your CM plan. Pick the one that most closely matches your needs.

This will help you ensure your CM plan is consistent with current practices and that you do not omit essential parts.

I am a strong advocate of using CM Planning software.

However, I am concerned about organisations opting for software as a panacea for successfully implementing their CM plans.

Before purchasing such software, it is essential to do the necessary research and homework.

Approaches to CMP

Speakers at CM conferences and seminars often criticise traditional approaches to CM as technologically directed because they emphasise only the need to recover the organisation's technological and communications platforms, such as the mainframes, data communications, and networks.

The “right” approach is to have corporate-wide CM strategies driven by the need to ensure continued support for the organisation's critical business functions, rather than being technology-directed.

There are significant discrepancies in the implementation of CM Planning worldwide. For example, the Executive Management of some Asian organisations still insists on the traditional technology-directed approach. The regulators' requirements further worsen the situation.

My caution to Organisation CM Coordinators is that your approach will be viewed as being wrong if it differs from the expectations of your Executive Management.

The key is to educate them and get them to agree with your CMP methodology before the CM project starts.

CM Project Management Steps Click to find out more about the detailed requirements for each step
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Goh, M. H. (2016). A Manager’s Guide to Implement Your Crisis Management Plan. Business Continuity Management Specialist Series (1st ed., p. 192). Singapore: GMH Pte Ltd.

 

 

Find out more about Blended Learning CM-300 [CM-3] & CM-5000 [CM-5]

To learn more about the course and schedule, click the buttons below for the CM-3 Blended Learning or CM-300 Crisis Management Implementer course and the CM-5 Blended Learning or CM-5000 Crisis Management Expert Implementer course.

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