Process Frameworks – the answer or the question?

Structure is important in all organisations but, for BC, there is an inherent need for flexibility in a process which needs to respond to different external factors, a complex internal operational structure and the ever-changing human factor.

Historically there has been a state of flux. A drive to embed due process followed by the recognition that more flexibility is required. The pendulum then swings back to formal standards and effective governance despite the practical pressures of ensuring that the whole BCM process does not become an administrative burden that deters effective engagement in the business.

Why Frameworks?

Now we have the rise of process once more as many organisations are adopting formal process frameworks. There are many good reasons to introduce such frameworks in an organisation in support of the BCM programme:

* It ensures consistency. Processes can be defined at corporate level and then applied throughout the organisation. No spurious processes appearing in BIAs or contradictory/conflicting processes in different operating businesses.

* It enables central BC teams to plan more effectively – BIAs can be pre-populated and this in turn enables business owners to complete the information gathering process for BIA/Plan development stages quickly and efficiently. There is a clear halo effect here as plan owners find that the whole process becomes more simple and easy to manage.

* Consistency in process means inter-dependencies and linkages can be established more accurately. Process A has fixed structures with BIA owners having the ability, for example, to change labels (people, equipment locations etc), but not functional dependencies etc. This means that dependency mapping, amongst many other things, is a much more robust process.

* Changes in recovery capability (for example RTC’s of key resources) can be applied centrally and impact assessed accurately before the event. This applies to a whole range of governance and control areas where proposed changes can be assessed and tested across the organisation, before being implemented centrally.

 So, why are we not seeing a headlong rush into Process Frameworks?

* Inertia – it requires potentially significant planning. For more complex organisations the wins are greatest, but the planning and implementation is likewise thorough.

* If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Something of a corporate mindset here for businesses that struggle to move forward and keep up with the pace of change in the industry.

* ‘Our sheer complexity and divergence in processes will lead to modest benefits.’ Agreed that in a truly diverse organisation, the wins will be less than businesses where there are large numbers of homogeneous units with consistent processes.

* Our BC programme is not yet at a level of maturity to cope with this. Maybe … but the world is changing fast.

 The Role of Software

Any core data management issue will rely on a smart way to manage information and, inevitably, technology has a role to play. For BCM software such as ClearView, we have actively engaged with this process in developing functionality to meet the needs of organisations who are following this path i.e.

* A Process Framework function which allows businesses to select processes from a corporate list but apply their own terminology/naming conventions (or not as the case may be – all controlled by administrators). Thus, all key corporate attributes such as RTO/RTC can be applied but in a way that provides familiarity at end plan owner level.

* Dependency mapping and other reports can be generated and viewed at all levels of hierarchy in the knowledge that the data underpinning the outputs is robust.

* ClearView has Parent-child functionality which allows BIA/Risk/Plan/Exercise templates to be maintained and managed at a high level and then distributed to children. All core attributes can then be managed in one place rather than many and aligned to the formal process framework.

* Future proofing and scenario planning through reports such as What If? analysis becomes easier to achieve.

* Rapid deployment is a key outcome as end users have pre-populated BIA/Plans which simply require individual data to be added (e.g. people and other local information).

Our process framework function is presently being rolled out to all clients as part of our version upgrade to 7.1. if you want to know more, check out our web site or message me direct.