If your experience of engaging senior and executive management feels like a constant struggle to sustain momentum or defend investment, then you should take 15 minutes to look at the C-Suite Engagement Toolkit from the Business Continuity Institute (BCI).
In 2011, the BCI published its report on membersâ experience of board-level engagement, and some of the comments are repeated in the latest version here:
The board has implemented a corporate BC plan but the momentum isnât there any more
No sustained interest shown, despite a variety of constructive efforts
The board received papers on BCM at its last two meetings but time and discussion were limited.
BC resourcing is under increasing pressure in all areas of the company
There was great interest in 2006 but less since the auditorsâ requirements were met
We are still working on board buy-in
Some projects were approved by the board but I do not have access to what is discussed on BCM
The interest in BCM goes in peaks and troughs dependent on what current risks are high profile
Itâs important to counter-balance these comments with some different experiences:
The board has an understanding of what BCM has to offer and is beginning to understand that it protects the organizationâs assets and reputation during an incident or crisis
BCM is an advisor in many decisions, adding to the information available to senior management to support informed decisions regarding risk, resilience and continuity
BC is playing an ever increasing role within the procurement process and is changing the way the tender process is approached
Our senior management team is very supportive and committed, if it is presented and implemented well
The toolkit was developed to help address this disparity of experience by trying to understand what can be done to build and sustain engagement. In short, if you want to have more of the latter experiences than the former, then it is worth thinking about developing a structured approach to executive engagement.
Even if you do not have an incident or a near miss, your organization will have key projects and programmes with related risks and key performance indicators. These risks and indicators are likely to be assigned to key executives. One of the key benefits of business continuity is its value in better understanding critical processes and vulnerabilities and providing valuable information for decision makers.
How Does the Toolkit Help?
The development of the C-Suite Engagement Toolkit has been practitioner-led from the start. The toolkit sets out a framework for achieving sustained board and senior management engagement by drawing upon insights and expertise from disciplines such as sales, third party research into executive interests, and the world of psychology and soft skills.
The first part of the toolkit contains profiles on common C-Suite, or senior management roles from chief executive officers to chief financial officers and their equivalents in IT, marketing, operations, HR and many more. These profiles include suggestions on their areas of interest where business continuity has a contribution to make. Naturally, exercising is a proven way of engaging executives, so ideas for shaping the exercise to fit the interests of the C-Suite executive are provided as well.
The second part of the toolkit asks you to think more closely about your existing program and the information it delivers and how this can provide the facts and evidence to build a compelling story to support executive engagement based around the interests identified in part one of the toolkit.
The third part of the toolkit takes the facts from the second part and the broad understanding of functional interests from the first and asks whether this is sufficient for successful and repeatable engagement. Through a series of videos, you are taken into a scenario where it becomes evident that a key element is still missing. This element is sometimes called soft skill; other terms may include building rapport, or simply communicating effectively. Through the scenario, you are introduced to the value of understanding personality types, and how soft skills such as speed reading can improve the likelihood of success. In other words, all three elements of the toolkit need to be understood and applied if we are to expect more consistent results from engagement with executives.
In addition to the videos and information provided on the website, worksheets are provided for each section of the toolkit, to help plan your own engagement approach. Links are also provided to third-party and BCI resources. For those who are keen to develop their understanding of different personality types, including their own, reference is made to available models. And for those looking to revamp their executive-level communication skills, a master class training course has been specifically designed to support you. So now over to you!
The Business Continuity Institute (BCI) is the worldâs preeminent business continuity membership organization. Established in 1994, the BCI focuses on enabling practitioners in the emerging discipline of business continuity management to obtain guidance and support from their fellow practitioners, as well as to offer professional training and certification programs to disseminate and validate the highest standards of competence and ethics. The BCI is a membership organization â owned by the members and run for their professional benefit â with more than 7,300 members worldwide in more than 100 countries.
