Business continuity awareness is central to the BS25999 requirements of embedding BCM into the organisations culture.

Awareness Builds Resilience 

BS25999.COM have created a number of resources to assist with both a one off BC Awareness Week campaign and the ongoing requirement of embedding BCM into the organisations culture.

Training and Awareness are one of the most time consuming elements of implementing an effective business continuity management programme and subsequently can often be quite low on the list of priorities but this is a fundamental mistake. A resilient organisation comprises not just of plans and processes but the people to implement them.

Time and time again it has been proven that a well trained work force will consistently outperform lesser trained ones when a disruptive event is experienced. Awareness builds confidence, competency and capability.

Training and Awareness is also an area of the standard that will come under scrutiny in an assessment visit and is a soft target.

DOH!

The Means

Training is generally defined as a single exercise that sets out to impart a specific message. Awareness is a process that is designed to impart knowledge indirectly. Training might involve an instructor led session, awareness might involve a poster or screen saver. There are many methods of delivering both training and awareness capabilities. Using the methods described below should allow a BCM manager to match the audience and message to the best method of delivery. This is not an exhaustive list but covers most of the basic types.

Instructor Led Training - In Person

The most costly in terms of time and resources but arguably one of the most effective. There are many courses available for practitioners but for creating an awareness campaign a short 20-30 minute course delivered by members of the business continuity management team can be very effective at raising and maintaining awarness because the course would be delivered at a local and relevant level. It would take a considerable effort to deliver a course to all employees in a sizeable organisation.

Instructor Led Training - Web Based

If your organisation is spread out across a large geographic area a web based training session may be appropriate. These can be live or archived for later retrieval. They are usually based on web casting a PowerPoint presentation with interactivity and some audio features built in.

Suppliers include;

GoToWebinar

Webex

E-Learning

E learning can be extremely effective and economical. It allows a short course to be delivered through a web browser meaning that most in the organisation can be easily reached. Once created, content can be viewed on a planned or ad hoc basis and if integrated into an online learning management system documentary evidence of both participation and the degree to which the subject has been understood can be obtained.

Posters

By far the most effective information and awareness campaign on a similar subject the author has ever seen was used to raise awareness of information security in a financial services call centre. Information security, much like business continuity, is a difficult subject for non practitioners to get interested in, however vital it is.

The campaign involved simple A4 posters being posted above urinals and on the inside of toilet cubicle doors. Not only did it get peoples undivided attention for at least a minute or two but it created a talking point that raised people's awareness of the subject.

We have created a series of 20 posters to simply print out and stick up. Whilst we are not suggesting that the toilet is the best place for business continuity awareness materials but it will be guaranteed to get people talking about the subject!

The posters are available as PDF downloads from the business continuity section of the file library but please preview the thumbnails to see which ones you want.

Give All Your Staff an Online Backup Account

To get your members of staff in the 'backup mood' give them a free online backup account.

Sample email message

Fridge Magnets, Stickers and other Giveaways

Putting relevant information such as information line telephone numbers of the wide range of promotional items available from a variety of suppliers is a god method of improving awareness of key items of information. Anything from pens to fridge magnets can be used in imaginative ways.  

Suppliers include

Vista Print 

Moo

Text Messages

SImple text messages to members of staff can be used for a weekly or monthly awareness message. SMS credits are now very cheap and messages can be easily sent from desktop or web based applications. There are many providers but one I have used is Clickatell, link below

Clickatel

Messages have to be limited to 160 characters but for short updates this should not be problematical. 

One of the benefits of using a text message system for awareness in calmer times is that for real time incident communications the same familiar system can be used for important information, incident updates and instructions etc. If both senders and recipients are used to the system this familiarity will mean that during an incident it will both be trusted and easier to use. 

Email

A simple weekly or monthly email to everyone in the organisation is an effective way of keeping the subject fresh in their minds. Progress reports or reminders of where documentation is etc are good subjects. Another option is an emailed podcast.

For Business Continuity Awareness Week a daily message can be used

Documentation

Simply putting the business continuity management system documentation on the company intranet or parts of it on notice boards, reception areas can improve awareness of the subject.

Print Some Maps of the Local Area 

A small map of the local area marked with assembly points, exits and the nearest Starbucks can be a useful giveaway or put on notice boards etc. Relevant information such as dark web site addresses and staff information line numbers can be printed on the map.

Make them yourself or use a professional map publisher

Maps International

Get Mapping

Wallet Cards

There are a number of organisations that can print excellent pre-folded wallet cards. Because these are pre printed the data on them cannot be often changed.

A couple of suppliers are

Z Card

Curve Ball Printing 

Using the Pocket Mod system business continuity managers can quickly and easily create wallet sized cards. These will not have the same quality as pre printed cards but are low cost and easily changed. Information on the Pocket Mod system can be found here

Other Company Cards

Most organisations have a wide variety of ID and access control cards. Create stickers that cover the various key elements of an awareness campaign but check with security or facilities first! 

Exercise and Rehearsals

One of the most effective methods of learning something is to experience it. Exercise and Rehearsal is a fundamental element of BS25999 and are used to not only measure the capabilities of the BCMS but also to provide a basis for improvement. A significant fringe benefit of an exercise and rehearsal programme is that simultaneously it delivers a practical and extremely effective means of training and awareness.

Company Induction

Most organisations now have an induction process for new employee's. Create a section on business continuity that can be delivered by members of the HR team.

Others

Most organisations have a range of methods used for internal marketing communication ranging from wall boards to newsletters. Use these to get the message/s out

The Message

It is important not to come over all doom and gloom, do not focus on just the large scale events because people can quite easily get disaster fatigue. The message should be that risk comes from all directions and ultimately it is everyones responsibility.

An awareness programme is a long term one, putting up a couple of posters and sending an email will make no difference at all.

Be prepared for incoming, an organisation wide programme will likely create a range of feedback. Embed within the programme a feedback mechanism and be sure to incorporate any specific lessons in following rounds.

Measuring Effectiveness 

Don't fall into the trap of worrying too much about devising complex means of measuring effectiveness that will delay the start of actually doing something. Awareness is a very difficult thing to measure but one thing is for sure, doing comes before measuring.

More formal training and Elearning can be integrated into measurement systems and have the means of determining understanding built in. For example, a short quiz built into an Elearning module can test not only understanding of the topic but also the effectiveness of that module.

There are many methods available to improve awareness of the general subject and impart specific knowledge as required. Use the methods most appropriate to the organisation and resources available.

Methods to measure effectiveness will be different for all organisations and depend largely on its size. 

If you can get people talking the campaign is going in the right direction.

Document Author: Harvey Fawcett

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