Monday 18 – Friday 22 May saw the 25th edition of Business Continuity & Resilience Awareness Week (BCAW+R). Led by The Business Continuity Institute, this annual campaign encourages organisations to review and challenge their resilience and continuity practices.
Throughout the week, our resilience team at RAB explored the campaign’s daily themes and what they mean for organisations.
While each day focussed on a different area of resilience, we were keen to reinforce one clear message: resilience is everyone’s business.
Monday: “You think you are safe from modern threats? Think again”
The week started with a focus on modern operational threats such as cyber-attacks, severe weather and infrastructure failures and the importance of being prepared to respond quickly should an incident occur.
For organisations, resilience relies on more than formal plans alone. Small actions can make a big difference such as clear escalation routes, effective incident reporting, staff awareness and practical continuity arrangements. All play a key role in reducing disruption when incidents occur.
The key takeaway was that resilience is built through everyday awareness and practical preparation.
Tuesday: “Think your crisis drills make you ready? Think again”
The next day explored the risks of false confidence and how organisations can combat complacency in business continuity planning.
The discussions highlighted the importance of honesty, dynamic decision making, stress testing and building muscle memory through exercises and scenario discussions. Rather than trying to create procedures for every scenario, an organisation’s effective continuity plan should provide flexible guidance that supports decision-making during uncertainty.
The day concluded that resilience is not about being able to predict every disruption, it’s about being adaptable when disruption does happen.
Wednesday: “Think you’ve planned for climate risk? Think again”
Midweek discussions turned to how climate change is increasingly affecting daily operations.
Organisations need to look at where the effects of climate change can disrupt or have an impact, including site, school and supplier closures, utilities and infrastructure outages, as well as staff wellbeing and productivity in the instance of extremely hot temperatures.
The key takeaway was that climate risk is no longer an out-of-sight-out-of-mind issue. It is a genuine operational challenge that organisations need to consider within planning, project delivery and contingency arrangements.
Thursday: “Think external shocks stay external? Think again”
Thursday’s theme centred around how external events can quickly create more localised impacts.
Discussions explored how global events can escalate and create wider operational disruption. We used the example of the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz and its wider impacts, for our internal session. Organisations should always consider their own systems, suppliers, utilities and processes and identify where hidden dependencies may exist.
This reinforced the importance of understanding operational dependencies and ensuring practical and realistic contingency plans are in place.
Friday: “Think your leadership culture can handle crisis? Think again”
The final day concluded with a focus on resilient leadership.
Key characteristics of a resilient leader include adaptability, clear communication, accountability, calm decision making and a strong people focus. Resilience is shaped just as much by people, culture and everyday behaviours as it is by formal plans and processes.
Importantly, the final day circled back to the message that resilience is not owned by one department or team. It is a collective effort across the entire organisation.
At RAB, we work with organisations to strengthen resilience through practical, effective business continuity and incident response capabilities. If you would like to discuss how your organisation can improve resilience and preparedness, contact the team today.