The ‘art’ of business continuity – BC recruiting

Andrew B. McCrackan

Hiring business continuity managers can be a tricky business. As with any recruiting exercise, there is much at stake and many factors to consider. However, given that a business continuity manager will have access across the length and breadth of an organisation, there is a great deal of damage that can be done if the wrong person is chosen.

Some executive managers believe that the current business continuity professionals don’t have what it takes to effect the associated cultural change necessary for implementing a successful business continuity programme. There is a growing practice of hiring management staff with no direct experience in the business continuity field and asking them to apply there business skills to implementing or operating business continuity capabilities and plans. The cause of this seems to be twofold; firstly, some view charisma and presence as marginally more important than previous business continuity experience, the second can be to do with protecting established methodologies or personal legacies which a person with business continuity experience may attempt to change.

Business continuity, being about continuing business operations, requires knowledge routed in strong business management. The view that anyone with good business management skills may apply these to a business continuity role is quite valid, but not ideal. Most would agree that it is better to have a business continuity manager with both general management and business continuity skills. It does need to be emphasised though, as I have done before, that BCM is a perpetual exercise in cultural change management. To effect fundamental changes, particularly in large organisations, a manager with personality and powerful communication skills is essential.

I was recently present at a Continuity Forum event in Sydney, Australia, where it was commented by one speaker that there was an ‘art’ to business continuity management. I believe that this is very true. As with any art there is the perennial question of what is good art and what is bad. Most would say that it depends entirely on what you like, and that probably sums it up pretty well. In recruiting a business continuity manager you should be looking for an artist, as opposed to a simple painter. It can be difficult to tell the professional painter from the true artist though. It can also be tempting to take on an artist from a different genre, which I think describes quite nicely the current observed trend.

Referring again to the need for powerful communication skills, many translate this requirement into the need for an extraverted ‘personality’. This could not be further from the truth. The ability to communicate powerfully is just as much about listening as it is about speaking. The most valuable asset of a good business continuity manager is the ability to listen. The way to influence executive managers is rarely through overpowering tactics. Rather, it is through listening intently to opinions and concerns so as to formulate a watertight argument for your cause, which is in their language and addresses their specific concerns and fears.

So what is the prospective employer looking for? I believe employers are looking for, or should be looking for, the following key attributes when recruiting senior business continuity staff:
* Real world business experience at a senior level. The business continuity manager needs to be a pier to executive management in the organisation. Preferably the candidate should have experience in the employer’s industry sector.
* Project management experience, as this will ensure a focus on delivery and should mean that the candidate has both stakeholder management, negotiation and governance capabilities. A good project manager is not afraid to change the plan in midstream and can adapt quickly to meet changes in business objectives. This is a foundation skill for crisis management.
* Specific business continuity experience. There are many ways of going about business continuity implementation and operation that will need to be explored to determine what is appropriate for any given organisation. It may be that a combination approach is needed. This can only be determined by someone with substantial previous experience. Others may attempt to apply their business experience and common sense and may form an appropriate strategy, but the likelihood is low and consequence of failure is high, which is not an overly good risk position.
* Artistic flair. To effect change, organisations need someone with a style that will work within their cultural setting. The candidate needs to be believable, credible and articulate. A business continuity manager needs to be as good at listening as he or she is at talking. The candidate must be able to be seen as a practicing expert in the field of business continuity. Without general regard in the BCM field, business managers that are self-proclaimed experts may overpower the business continuity manager.

So where are business continuity professionals going wrong in securing high-level permanent business continuity roles? Firstly, many organisations still see business continuity as a project that needs to be executed, with low-level business-as-usual capability at best. Organisations that have this view will not be in the market for a senior practitioner in a permanent capacity. For other organisations, the senior role will be given to a trusted executive from within the organisation and affected through the use of more junior ‘planning’ staff and specialist consultants. Hence the plethora of middle management and junior business continuity positions in the market at present, worldwide.

Securing employment is an exercise in self-marketing. Marketing ones self is a skill like any other; some people are good at it and some are not. Professionals must be sure to demonstrate skills in the areas discussed above but above all to convey their particular artistic style. A skilled employer may spend only moments establishing if you have the credentials to do the job, the rest of the interview process will be about whether they like your style of business continuity ‘art’ or not. This will come down to an assessment of personality, previous achievements, personal strengths and organisational fit. It’s something that is relatively impossible to prepare for so my best advice is to be yourself, it will either work out or not. The biggest mistake candidates make is to try and guess what the interviewer is looking for. The result can be that the candidate comes off as somewhat of a forgery, rather than a unique business continuity artist.

Andrew McCrackan is the author of a Practical Guide to Business Continuity Assurance, Artech House, Boston, 2004.

andrew.mccrackan@continuityassurance.com

•Date: 21st Dec 2004 •Region: World •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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