Employees within the financial services sector are better prepared and are more knowledgeable about their companies’ business continuity plans than employees in other sectors, according to a study commissioned by BT Global Services.
In a survey conducted by YouGov, 50% more employees in the financial services sector understood their organisation’s business continuity plans than in the next nearest sector – professional services.
The research suggests that the financial services sector excels at business continuity planning and communicating its plans effectively to employees. 91% of employees in the financial services sector are aware of their companies’ business continuity plan compared with a cross-industry average of 64%.
“Failure to adequately prepare not only puts a business’s operations at risk, but also the reputation of the company. With an ever increasing regulatory environment, operational risk and business continuity planning must extend to every employee, business process and ICT asset,” says Andy Nicholson, managing director, Finance Industry Sector, BT Global Services UK.
The research found that employees in the financial services sector were the most conscientious, with 72% saying that they felt a responsibility to help the company to get up and running after a disaster. 78% also said they would want to return to work as soon as possible after an unplanned event, such as flooding, fire or IT failure.
“The key to coping with unplanned systems downtime is a robust business continuity plan that is well communicated to employees, enabling them to react quickly and effectively. The research shows that the financial services industry is better than any other at communicating its business continuity plans,” adds Nicholson.