An embedded business continuity practitioner rationalised a major energy company’s fragmented continuity program, introducing an action-focused plan template and impact assessment and aligning continuity with emergency management and IT disaster recovery.
THE CHALLENGE
A major integrated energy company supplies wholesale energy to the Australian market, so its ability to withstand and recover from disruption is a core business requirement. Its business continuity management (BCM) program had become fragmented and difficult to manage. A large number of separate business continuity plans had been developed around individual business processes rather than a coherent, central strategy, which made it hard to know which plans to activate in a real crisis. Many plans were long and impractical, with content that could not be acted on, and stakeholders found them difficult to use. The program was also disconnected from the company’s emergency management and IT disaster recovery functions, leaving gaps in its overall resilience.
OUR APPROACH
Agilient provided an experienced business continuity practitioner who was embedded within the company to lead a rationalisation and improvement project. The work began with a detailed review of the entire BCM document set and extensive engagement with stakeholders to understand the history and context of existing arrangements. From this analysis, Agilient developed a revised strategy focused on simplification and consolidation. A new, streamlined plan template focused on actionable recovery steps was designed and endorsed internally. To ground the plans in evidence, Agilient created a purpose-designed business impact assessment and facilitated hands-on workshops to test business requirements and populate the new plans. Consolidation began with a pilot at one office to create a repeatable model for the rest of the enterprise. Agilient also integrated the revised framework with the emergency management structure and opened dialogue with the IT disaster recovery team to align technical and business recovery requirements.
THE OUTCOME
The company moved from a fragmented set of plans towards a coherent, practical and sustainable business continuity program.
- A clear consolidation strategy, with a repeatable pilot model for reducing the number of plans
- An action-focused plan template and business impact assessment process that raised the standard of continuity planning
- A debrief report and roadmap, including a testing template and a proposed schedule of reviews and exercises
Related services: business continuity consulting, crisis management consultants. Sector experience: critical infrastructure security consultant. To discuss a similar project, contact Agilient.