Situation
A leading financial services provider was assessing the viability of its business continuity planning (BCP) program. Despite its existing business continuity governance structure and policy, it needed a clearer understanding of roles, responsibilities, and authority distinctions. The client sought to help create an educational experience for senior management focused on command center purpose and objective role/responsibility awareness through a mini drill/tabletop exercise. The drill would create a means for testing whether or not the leadership team members were adequately positioned to embrace their command and control roles and be able to execute their authority during a time of crisis. The goal was to clarify BCP governance roles, test the decision-making and escalation processes, and practice informed decision-making
Satori Solution
We outlined a new approach designed to deliver immediate business value while focusing on the ongoing BCP education and testing program development and delivery effort. Our team reviewed existing business continuity plans, prior testing criteria and results, and communication materials to baseline the testing approach and understand the business continuity environment. We identified and documented gaps, developed mitigation recommendations, substantiated the efficacy of the existing program, and customized a drill that highlighted how effective delineation of roles and responsibilities streamlines an effective crisis response. Finally, we facilitated a business continuity drill engaging the firm’s senior leadership that made the leadership team realize that much work needed to be done toward developing command, control and response capabilities to ensure a 48-hour recovery.
Results
Our analysis identified and documented a number of positive points and uncovered important deficiencies. We developed recommendations for each of the identified gaps that not only informed the client but also provided an action plan for taking steps to enhance their understanding and capability in each impacted area.