ROI of Business Continuity? Let’s talk about value instead!
Regina Phelps
Crisis Management, Exercise Design, Resiliency & Pandemic Planning. Consultant, Author & Speaker @reginaphelps.bsky.social Respect Science - Respect Nature - Respect Each Other
You often hear phrases like “return on investment†(ROI) or “value proposition†when groups or organizations attempt to demonstrate the value of a particular activity. “Is it good for us?†“Is it worth the investment?†and “Should we continue to fund the endeavor?†are all valid and important questions.
The challenge, then, for business continuity professionals is to deeply ask the question, “What is the ROI of business continuity?†In the “olden days,†colleagues would point to their business impact analysis (BIA), with pie charts and bar graphs showing the cost of business downtime. They’d sit back and say, “See? We provide ROI!†Not so fast… Is that really the best that continuity professionals can do?
This talk peels back the question of ROI and attempts to answer the value proposition question of business continuity. The goal is to broaden the conversation. Instead of talking about how much money business continuity efforts will save the company, we will focus on why the Bad Thing happened. By clearly understanding the whys of business continuity, you can make your organization more resilient and truly demonstrate value.
Topics Covered
- Defining value.
- Identify your top 7 values.
- The art of framing the ROI question.
Developing your value “elevator speech.â€
This talk peels back the question of ROI and attempts to answer the value proposition question of business continuity. The goal of this presentation is to broaden the conversation.
Download the slides to enter this critical conversation. https://ems-solutionsinc.com/resources/conference-materials/
Project Management | Business Continuity | Cybersecurity | Full Stack Development || PMP
8 å¹´This is a very good topic for conversation, and starts us down a line of reflection on the actual purpose of our profession. I might suggest that "ROI" is not the best way to frame the conversation in the first place. It might turn out that, despite best efforts, a BCM program does not actually produce a measurable ROI over and above the actual cost of the program unless a disaster actually strikes. Perhaps the BCM practitioner needs to reframe the entire conversation: "Would it be beneficial for this organization to improve its ability to recover from significant incidents?" If the answer is "No" (even after proper discussion and consideration), then I think there is no move to ROI that will set the BC practitioner up for success. If the answer is "Yes", then the BC practitioner is good to go, making sure to measure the improvements that s/he has helped the organization make, thus providing quantitative evidence of personal value.