Key Personnel
Prior to a disaster occurring, it is important to designate key personnel to carry out disaster recovery activities and business resumption goals for mission critical services and business functions. Initially disaster recovery may be a full-time assignment. Don’t think one team can do it all. In a widespread disaster, recovery and resumption are separate functions that must be closely coordinated.
Plan for backup personnel for each element. Team members should cross train. Recovery and resumption teams should be aware of each other’s plan. No plan should hinge on an individual. Map out the personnel. Look for alternatives.
The business resumption team works on activities that will get mission critical services operational, and the agency business functions back on line.
In your agency’s Business Resumption Plan, there will need to be a section that designates the key personnel to respond to disasters. The section should:
- Identify your mission critical services. What must your agency continue to do, even if a disaster occurs? An in-depth analysis of the agency’s mission, goals, and objectives should be done. Consider limiting the mission critical services to life/safety, protective, regulatory, or social service activities that must happen. If you identify too much of your agency’s business activities as “mission critical”, this may cause your business resumption plan to be complex and difficult to manage.
- Identify your essential business functions that enable mission critical services to get delivered. Can you plan for back-up or shared services in another agency?
- Identify key personnel integral to carrying out the agency’s mission critical services. Which personnel must be involved in order for the mission critical services to be accomplished? Are they and their managers aware they have been designated as key personnel? You will need a process to update this portion of your Business Resumption plan regularly to ensure personnel are still in the same positions with the same responsibilities.