Creating meaningful business continuity management programme metrics

Brian Strong, Business Continuity Planning Consultant, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida

Abstract
The popular axiom, ‘what gets measured gets done’, is often applied in the quality management and continuous improvement disciplines. This truism is also useful to business continuity practitioners as they continually strive to prove the value of their organisation’s investment in a business continuity management (BCM) programme. BCM practitioners must also remain relevant to their organisations as executives focus on the bottom line and maintaining stakeholder confidence. It seems that executives always find a way, whether in a hallway or elevator, to ask BCM professionals about the company’s level of readiness. When asked, they must be ready with an informed response. The establishment of a process to measure business continuity programme performance and organisational readiness has emerged as a key component of US Department of Homeland Security ‘Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness (PS-Prep) Program’ standards where the overarching goal is to improve private sector preparedness for disasters and emergencies. The purpose of this paper is two-fold: to introduce continuity professionals to best practices that should be considered when developing a BCM metrics programme as well as providing a case study of how a large health insurance company researched, developed and implemented a process to measure BCM programme performance and company readiness.

Keywords
PS-Prep, metrics, measurement, readiness, business continuity management system (BCMS)

Brian Strong is the Business Continuity Planning Consultant for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida. Mr Strong is a certified business continuity professional, certified business resilience auditor and certified protection professional. He is a member of the Association of Contingency Planners, Disaster Recovery Institute International and the American Society for Industrial Security. He currently serves as Director of Chapter Services for the board of the Association of Contingency Planners with responsibility for developing new chapters and supporting existing chapters across North America. He is also a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 1600) Technical Committee on Emergency Management and Business Continuity. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Jacksonville University.

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