05/05/2008 - Headlines - Continuity
Continuity plans no good if staff ill-informed!
Too many staff don't know what to do in the event of a disaster and are oblivious to their employers business continuity plans, according to new research. The study by BT Global Services showed that as many as three quarters of workers either did not understand, had never read, or were not even aware of the existence of their company's business continuity plan.
According to the research, rather than developing and properly communicating plans to employees, businesses appeared to be relying instead on "team spirit".
Tim Smart, chief executive of BT Global Services UK claimed the study highlighted "an alarming lack of understanding among UK employees when it comes to how they and their organisation can best cope with a disaster."
Over a third of the employees surveyed did not know if their company had a business continuity plan, with a further 41% not understanding or reading the plans they were provided with.
Tim Smart said: "Senior management teams need to communicate comprehensive business continuity plans and their associated risks to staff far more effectively to ensure minimum impact on the business should such an event arise."
'Seriously worrying'
Ragnar Lofstedt, Professor of Risk Management at King's College London, who worked with BT on the study, added: "Corporations understand the threats, but they need to communicate them better to their staff.
"The fact that so many employees either cannot be bothered or cannot comprehend their company’s business continuity plans is seriously worrying."
On a positive note, the research revealed a "resilient bulldog spirit" among employees. Over three quarters said they would want to return to work as soon as possible following a disaster such as flooding, fire or IT failure, while 61% of workers felt responsible for helping to get things up and running again.
Ragnar Lofstedt commented: "The spirit or resilience is clearly alive and well, showing that employees of UK firms are prepared to battle on in adversity."
However he went on to say: "Organisations must realise that this resilient spirit is not enough and ensure that all the checks and fail safes of risk management are firmly in place."