S 6.115 Integration of the employees in the business continuity management process

Initiation responsibility: Emergency Officer

Implementation responsibility: Emergency Officer, Personnel Department, Supervisor

Business continuity management affects all employees. Every employee must avoid causing damage by acting responsibly. For this reason, training and sensitisation measures must be implemented in order to integrate the employees into the business continuity management process; a task that must accompany the entire business continuity management process.

The company or government agency should therefore establish a process for the training and sensitisation programme, within the framework of which a training and sensitisation concept on the subject of business continuity management is drawn up, training measures are organised, and their effectiveness and sustainability are checked. The concept should built on the knowledge employees already have in their area of business continuity management. Due to the close interaction between business continuity management and security management, it also makes sense for these management teams to cooperate in the training and sensitisation measures.

The employees must be informed of the goals of business continuity management and why it is necessary. They must be familiar with and understand the contents of the business continuity management policy, as well as the goals and tasks of business continuity management. Every employee should be informed of their role in business continuity management in such a way that they base their actions on the basic principles of business continuity management. The awareness for the subject of business continuity management and the necessary emergency measures must be created, maintained, and continuously increased for all employees through regular sensitisation measures.

This also includes involving the employees early on in the planning of emergency measures and the design of organisational rules. The goal of the sensitisation measures should be to inform the employees of what role they play in business continuity management and how they can contribute to reaching the goals of business continuity management through their actions.

Employees who have assumed a role in contingency planning or emergency response must be trained regularly. It must be ensured that they possess the knowledge, authority, and capabilities required to be able to fulfil their current and future tasks in business continuity management.

For this reason, a training programme must be developed:

• analysing the existing knowledge of the employees on business continuity management,
• developing a corresponding training concept,
• organising or providing the necessary training measures,
• regularly monitoring the success of the measures, and
• correcting the programme and adapting it to new requirements, if necessary.

The steps and measures taken in the training and sensitisation programme for business continuity management must be documented in writing to enable regular examination of the programme and regular monitoring of its success.

Review questions:

• Are all employees regularly sensitised to the issue of business continuity management?
• Is there a training and sensitisation concept for business continuity management?
• Are the employees in the business continuity management team trained regularly according to the required skills and knowledge?