Almost one hundred senior executives from large and international organisations participated in yesterday’s web seminar on Business Continuity Management – Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximising Value, hosted by Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT).
A poll during the seminar revealed that 42 per cent of companies suggested that senior managers are treating business continuity as a tick box exercise. The poll also revealed that 84 per cent of the companies are experiencing problems embedding business continuity within their organisational procedures, with a quarter of these suggesting that their programme had stalled.
The web seminar was designed to help organisations address some of the major problems they come up against in developing a viable business continuity management programme. JLT’s Business Continuity experts believe that the first fundamental step is to distinguish between emergency response, crisis management and business recovery. Once this has been established companies can then structure their plans, teams and responsibilities appropriately.
“Business Continuity is one of the key risk management issues facing organisations today.” says Chris Rigby Smith, Partner of Business Continuity Management at JLT. “A business continuity programme is not just about planning. It is about whether a company has the ability to use the plan effectively within an emergency. This can only be achieved by ensuring the plan is properly embedded within an organisation’s procedures.”