These tips are universal in value but may be especially helpful if you are new to the organization or initiating the business resilience program. I remember how those first few days can be long and stressful.
Remember, your goal is to implement great continuity plus added value through a holistic resilience program. Everything you hear and do day-by-day should be positive steps in that direction.
Perhaps some of these ideas will help you as much as they have helped me:
Tip – Settle in and learn about the organization. Learn about the culture. It is critical that you adapt and ‘fit in’.
Tip – Request an organizational (org) chart. Get your arms around the scope of your business continuity program and what lies ahead.
Tip – Order your business cards and when you get them hand them out liberally. Perhaps add a helpful tip or two to the back your cards. I have done that and people appreciate it.
Tip – Make lots of friends. You are in a people business so get out there and meet people on all levels. Hand out your business cards and encourage people to reach out to you anytime – 24×7.
Tip – Use your ‘it’s about you’ elevator pitch – more about that later in the book.
Tip – If you support multiple sites, cities, states or countries obtain lists of managers and all other key contacts at each location. Those contacts will be critical as you build your program.
Tip – If you are responsible for multiple locations buy a wall map and ‘pin’ the various locations. Identify geographic patterns and distances. This will be critical when you begin designing resilient, cost-effective recovery strategies. Management loves in-house solutions and you will too.
Tip – Obtain a webinar account. When you can’t be there, webinars are the next best thing AND often they are better than being there when you consider the time and hassle of traveling and the personal cost of being away from your family and friends. I have probably hosted more webinars than there are grains of sand on the beach.
Tip – Obtain a smartphone. Did I really say that in our mobile world?
Tip – Obtain a satellite phone.
Tip – Obtain a laptop and a backup laptop.
Tip – Obtain a tablet – if budget permits. Idea: if they give you a hard time about getting a tablet and you are responsible for supporting mass notification activation’s, that may help you justify the expense.
Tip – Make detailed notes and stay organized. Your notes will be so valuable as you build your program.
Tip – Build a tracking spreadsheet. It will be used to track successes (for reports and yearly reviews) and challenges/issues that must be escalated to management. In the book, I list the type of data that should be captured.
Be organized and track everything important. It is too easy to forget things and let them ‘fall through the cracks’. Those are the ones that come back to bite you.