Training for Your Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan
There are four basic ways to train staff regarding BC/DR plan, which also test the plan at the same time.
- Paper walk-throughs (or tabletop exercise)
- Functional exercises
- Field exercises
- Full interruptions
Specific elements of all plans need training. For example, Team Leaders need to know how and when to activate the plan as well as how to notify, assemble, and manage their teams. Specifically, they need to know how to:
- Use the plan effectively
- Understand their individual and team roles and responsibilities
- Notify, assemble, and manage their team members
- Operate as a cross-functional team member
- Communicate effectively across organizational boundaries in a stressful situation, often without the aid of common communication tools such as phones, e-mail, or other devices
Training should address both the BC/DR process and the specific skills needed by team members in order for everyone to be effective in their designated roles. Everyone involved with the BC/DR implementation needs to understand their specific roles and responsibilities when the plan is activated.
Michael Herrera
Michael Herrera is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MHA. In his role, Michael provides global leadership to the entire set of industry practices and horizontal capabilities within MHA. Under his leadership, MHA has become a leading provider of Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery services to organizations on a global level. He is also the founder of BCMMETRICS, a leading cloud based tool designed to assess business continuity compliance and residual risk. Michael is a well-known and sought after speaker on Business Continuity issues at local and national contingency planner chapter meetings and conferences. Prior to founding MHA, he was a Regional VP for Bank of America, where he was responsible for Business Continuity across the southwest region.
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