How do you involve your customers in your business continuity planning?

I agree but would add: Knowing your customer, the value they receive and how they use your product or service is only part of the equation. I would want to know what would be important to them in a crisis or period of disruption. How long could they tolerate not having access to said product or service. What would they want to know and when? Could a goodwill gesture appease them and help retain their custom?

Understanding customers' needs and expectations is important and collecting information on their pain points can also identify areas where resilience may be necessary. How customers use our service and areas where they may be frustrated can help to inform a business continuity plan.

Informing customers about your business continuity strategies demonstrates transparency, which helps build trust. Customers feel more secure when they know you have plans to maintain service even during disruptions, and this trust can translate to loyalty and long-term relationships. By involving customers, you can set realistic expectations about service levels and response times in case of an incident. Customers who understand the potential impacts and your mitigation plans are likely to be more understanding and prepared if disruptions do occur. Customers, especially large or key accounts, may have unique needs or expectations that can influence your business continuity planning.

While I agree with this idea, organizations must be careful with how much information they share. In the past, I have developed an overview document that speaks to the high level objectives of the BCP and how communication with customers will be executed. This way we were able to provide a level of confidence in our program without compromising information security.

Successful customer participation really depends on the type(s) of customers. In the past I have executed exercises that included B2B types of customers where our organization was part of the supply chain. I would not include end consumers as part of the testing process due to the need for confidentiality and the stringent testing requirements.

I agree. It brings a more immersive experience which enables a true likening to real-life. Curious as to how much an organisation would be willing to share with their customer base, but definitely a bonus to add them to the experience even if only partially, to understand the impact on them and how to improve going forward.

Incluir seus clientes nos testes e avaliações do Plano de Continuidade de Negócios (BCP) é uma estratégia valiosa para garantir que as expectativas e necessidades de todos os stakeholders sejam atendidas. Ao convidar clientes para participar de simulações de crise ou testes de recuperação, você não só demonstra comprometimento com a transparência e confiança, mas também coleta feedback essencial sobre como sua organização pode melhorar suas respostas a interrupções. Essa abordagem colaborativa não apenas fortalece o relacionamento com os clientes, mas também enriquece o planejamento. Ao final, todos sairão mais preparados para enfrentar possíveis crises.

I think that BCPs can be useful in any perspective and the customers side is not the exception, actually is good if the customers know and understand how we you treat and manage the confidential information, of course by example not revealing it and it brings you value because to involve them they understand how resilient you are and it brings you a very powerful tool to absorb clients. So they have to know, knowing that you only can show how your management system works and if something happens you have the tools and the strategy to handle it.

My suggestion is that BCPs can be useful in any perspective and the customers side is not the exception, actually is good if the customers know and understand how we you treat and manage the confidential information, of course by example not revealing it and it brings you value because to involve them they understand how resilient you are and it brings you a very powerful tool to absorb clients. So they have to know, knowing that you only can show how your management system works and if something happens you have the tools and the strategy to handle it.

I can certainly see the positives in this. But playing devil’s advocate, if the organisation was one of many supplying the same product or service, what’s to say the customer doesn’t go elsewhere, where the service is better and BCM is stronger etc?

O envolvimento contínuo dos clientes na melhoria e aprendizado do BCP é crucial para a evolução do plano. Após testes e avaliações, criar canais de feedback onde os clientes possam compartilhar suas experiências e sugestões é fundamental. Isso pode incluir pesquisas, entrevistas ou até workshops colaborativos. A partir desse diálogo, sua organização pode adaptar e aprimorar suas estratégias, garantindo que o BCP não só responda às suas necessidades internas, mas também às expectativas do cliente. Em um mundo em constante mudança, essa adaptabilidade é a chave para garantir a robustez do seu plano de continuidade.

I think this is a positive step. Dubious about sharing lessons learned unless you share key themes. Again just with a security hat on, right information in the wrong hands opens up threats.

Agree with this. This is of mutual benefit and would enhance the quality of the customer’s relationship with the organisation and vice versa.

Before you involve your customers (I am taking this as your relevant 'interested parties'), you need to know who they are (most companies do not attempt this seriously to know all relevant interested parties). After that, involve them in your BC tests and get involved in their BC tests, share with them and learn from them, keep communicating with them, develop your success stories and share with them, write joint papers, research articles, blogs etc.

Customer journey mapping from an Operational Resilience perspective is a key element that is missing in my opinion. Whilst I liked the article, I think it should include this element to complete it.

I'm much more likely to want to ask my _vendors_ to participate than my customers. We rely on our vendors' ability to supply us with the necessary services and/or materials to maintain operations during an incident. If we need raw unobtainium rerouted to Factory II during an incident on short notice, can they do that? If we need the data sent in .odt format rather than .xlsx, is that something they can do, or do we need to do that conversion ourselves? Our customers rely on us, and we rely on our vendors. The customers largely just want to know we can keep providing the goods / services they pay for; they neither want nor need to know how the sausage is made.