Dennis Thomas, comments: “The outcomes of business continuity invocations can be seriously affected by the actions of individuals. It is absolutely crucial that the business continuity team tests plans so that lessons can be learned and processes improved. Every test should record and measure what happens from start to end of the event and team dynamics must be a key component of this. If people do not gel quickly, assume appropriate roles or share a common goal to contain the crisis, they cannot possibly stick to a plan that has been carefully devised to protect the interests of all.”

The research also found that 62 percent of business continuity managers do not change the members of a crisis team to match the incident being dealt with. The decision to keep teams the same are largely due to resourcing – 59 percent of business continuity managers said their companies weren’t large enough to have multiple teams. 42 percent of business continuity managers claimed that their teams had the wide breadth of skills required to address most scenarios. However, just 42 percent of managers said they plan for all eventualities, compared to 46 percent that planned for just IT downtime.

When asked about frequency of plan testing, just 12 percent of companies test business continuity procedures twice a year. Some 35 percent of companies haven’t tested procedures in the last two years, while 38 percent of business continuity managers state that they test procedures once a year.