Operational Resilience: Categorizing "Level of Harm" for Impact Tolerance

Categorizing "Level of Harm" for Impact Tolerance

Operational resilience is the ability of an organization to adapt to and recover from disruptions to its critical business services.

One important aspect of operational resilience is understanding the impact or level of harm to the customer when the organization providing critical business services is disrupted.

To categorize the level of harm, there are three levels:

intolerable harm
harm
inconvenience.

OR Levels of Harm_bcmlogo

Description of the Three "Level of Harm"

Intolerable Harm

Intolerable harm is "harm" that would severely impact the client, possibly leading to loss of life, serious financial loss, or damage to the customer's reputation or the organization providing critical business services.

This level of harm requires immediate attention, and the organization should have plans and procedures to mitigate the risk of intolerable harm.

For example, in the case of a bank, disruption to its critical business services that would result in customers losing access to their accounts or funds would be classified as intolerable harm.

Harm

Harm refers to a level of harm that would cause significant disruption to the customer, potentially leading to financial loss or damage to the customer's reputation or the organization providing the critical business services.

This level of harm also requires attention, and the organization should have plans and procedures to manage the risk of harm.

For example, in the case of an e-commerce website, disruption to its critical business services that would prevent customers from placing orders or accessing their order history would be classified as "harm."

Inconvenience

Inconvenience refers to a "level of harm" that would cause a minor customer disruption, such as temporary inconvenience or delay.

Still, it would not cause significant financial loss or damage to the customer's reputation or the organization providing critical business services.

This level of harm is less critical, but the organization should still have plans and procedures to manage the risk of inconvenience.

For example, in the case of a transportation company, a disruption to its critical business services that would cause a delay in the arrival of a package would be classified as "inconvenience."

Finally ...

In conclusion, understanding the levels of harm is crucial in operational resilience planning. Organizations should have plans and procedures to manage the risks associated with intolerable harm, harm, and inconvenience. By doing so, the organization can ensure the continuity of critical business services and maintain the trust of its clients.

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