A4: From Terrorism to Twitter and Beyond: The New Era of Emergency Management
Suzanne Bernier, SB Crisis Consulting
With so many varied and emerging threats we must continue to focus on and plan for, including terrorism, domestic terrorism, cybersecurity, active intruder incidents, and infectious diseases, the evolution of social media in disasters, and the ever-increasing importance of effective crisis communications both before, during, and after any emergency situation is critical. The learning objectives will cover: 1) What new threats must we all plan for, perhaps many of which didn’t exist 15-20 years ago; 2) Understanding the evolution of social media in disasters, and how to harness the power of social media before, during, and after a disaster; 3) Reviewing your existing plans and providing tips on what to include to ensure they are properly prepared for these new and emerging risks.
B4: How to Balance Depth and Business Practicality When Developing Your BC Program
Grace Burley and Tracey Wilder, Witt O’Brien’s
Do you ever feel like Goldilocks in the Three Bears when it comes to developing your Business Continuity Program? When the traditional approach to BC is too big, but new alternative approaches might be too small, what should you do? The presenters will share their decades of experience in developing and implementing innovative approaches to business continuity. In this presentation, the team will provide overviews of multiple non-traditional approaches that have been successfully implemented in various business environments. From global social media giants to manufacturing to shipping and beyond, they have experience solving unique BC challenges. This presentation will outline multiple reasons for the need for innovation as well as various approaches to the solutions. The truth is, business leaders have been searching for years for a practical approach to BC to make their organizations more resilient. One size does not fit all.
C11: Seamlessly Integrate BCM and ITDR to Minimize Risk
Bill DiMartini, Avalution Consulting
The real issue isn’t about deciding whether business continuity or IT disaster recovery comes first; it’s all about designing a process where both business and technology work together to minimize risk and improve resilience. Simulating a game of ping-pong, this presentation will show how business continuity and IT disaster recovery planners can work together to create a dynamic, iterative process that considers strategic guidance from leadership, establishes shared response and recovery requirements, highlights capability gaps and strategy options, and presents a consolidated view of key decisions and recovery limitations. By setting up an interactive “back and forth” between business continuity and technology, planners on both sides can build an enduring process that addresses organizational needs and leads to the development of strategies, plans, and procedures on both sides that contribute to improved resiliency.
C12: Seven Ways to Increase Senior Leadership Buy-in
Phil Lambert, Ripcord Solutions
Getting people on board and participating in activities is a constant hurdle. Oftentimes, we continue to try the same things over and over again, or ignore the problem and hope that eventually it will go away, or we constantly attempt new things until something works. In order to achieve the organizational participation that you are looking for, this session will share some thoughtful strategies to gain senior leadership buy-in and ownership. Here are the seven steps we will learn:
- How Do You Know When You Have Buy-in
- Gaining Trust & Cooperation
- Shifting Mindsets
- Align with What Really Matters to Senior Leadership
- Getting to Yes
- Working with Difficult Stakeholders
- Turn Managers into Ambassadors
E4: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Mark Armour, Brink’s Inc. and Joel Navarro, Mary Kay Inc.
Business Continuity is not easy. And being successful in this discipline takes a lot of courage and hard work. Oftentimes, it means taking steps or stepping into roles for which we feel unprepared or are uncomfortable performing in. During this interactive session, you’ll be challenged to think of some of the things that may be holding you back while learning some tips and tricks for overcoming them. We’re all capable of much more than we believe we are. By stepping out of our comfort zone, we demonstrate our ability to rise above, not just to others but to ourselves.
E5: Managing the Human Element from Disruption Through Return to Work (RTW)
Jeff Gorter, R3 Continuum
Daily organizational resilience is being tested both physically and emotionally, but have we stopped to look at the organizational human impact that occurs from the point-of-disruption through return to work (RTW)? The presenters will focus on understanding the management cause and effect relationships throughout the lifecycle of a disruptive event. This includes an understanding of specific timeframes related to the recovery process and the benefits of managing holistically and what it means for RTW. Drawing on extensive experience from both the behavioral health and business continuity perspectives, this presentation will explore in detail the intersection between corporate and humanitarian concerns, recognizing that both are essential in facilitating resilience. Outcomes will be highlighted through real-world case examples and from experience of responding to over 1,500 crisis events each month.
