ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tracey (Wilder) Mayer, CBCV, CPCP, is the associate managing director for Witt O’Brien’s, one of the leading emergency management and disaster response consultancies in the US. A business continuity and crisis leader with more than 20 years of industry experience, Mayer began her career at GE Capital in Canada where her understanding of DR/IT backup strategies and interest in business led to a career transition to business continuity and crisis management. Over the years, Mayer has supported clients through 9/11, the 2005 Hurricane Season, Hurricane Sandy, as well various other human-error events. Mayer led the implementation of workplace violence training for GE Capital, conducted BIAs, and wrote and maintained plans for organizations to meet FFIEC and NFPA certification requirements. At Witt O’Brien’s, Mayer has been instrumental in establishing policy and procedures related to evaluating external and internal suppliers and their ability to support their clients in the event of an incident. Mayer holds a bachelor’s degree with honors and two certifications in business continuity.
Service consistency and quality is an expectation of all stakeholders at all times. The people depending on you want peace of mind and no unpleasant surprises. Providing consistent services implies achieving sameness, uniformity, and fairness in the delivery or execution of all service attributes, regardless of time, place, occasion, and provider. The lack of consistent service by the business continuity management (BCM) team is one of the main reasons management and stakeholders get a sour taste in their mouth about business continuity. BCM practitioners must strive to provide a service environment that makes its stakeholders happy and supportive of the need for business continuity.
Develop a Catalog of Services
The first step in providing consistent, quality service is for your office to decide which services it provides and which it doesn’t. Have you identified and cataloged the services your team offers? The following services are among those commonly provided by enterprise BCM offices:
