The acid test of any plan is how it works in practice.
While it is almost impossible to predict the precise circumstances of an incident, it is fully possible to test your preparedness through a well-planned, constructed and managed Business or Service Continuity event to “exercise your plans and rehearse your staff”.
Our approach to exercising helps to make the plan’s invocation much more realistic than a mere walk-through or written training guide. We build exercises specifically for individual clients; some with whom we have worked with on the plan; others where the plan already exists and requires validation.
An exercise can be planned to last from two hours to two days depending on the depth of simulation and the response phases required.
Every exercise is different but some principles are common: it is not a “test”, although in many cases it does allow individual members of your team to demonstrate leadership skills; it offers feedback to all participants, aiming to ensure everyone both enjoys and learns from the experience. In all cases, participants must remain positive about their position and strive to work as a team, whether the faces around them are familiar or not.
We observe and record, as well as direct the unfolding sequence of events and review the experience in a non-critical manner to ensure everyone takes learning points away with them. When possible we invite members of the local Police and Fire and Rescue Services to participate; we are frequently complimented on the accuracy and management of the exercise.
