Business continuity planning consultants: Are they worth the money?

There are standard steps you should take to determine if a consultancy firm will be worth the money, and a follow-up check list to use for gauging the firms worthy of consideration.

Finding an internal BCP leader
Before you hire a business continuity planning (BCP) firm, you must evaluate your internal skills and resource availability. It may be possible to get the job done without a hired gun. As you evaluate your internal staff, be aware that a BCP or disaster recovery industry certification alone is not a sufficient assessment technique for proper internal skills and experience. My tip from June 2008 discusses the value of professional certifications. You should follow those guidelines in determining internal suitability of your staff.

Determining if you have internal staff that is sufficiently experienced in BCP is not that easy. Here are some things you should look for:

If you do not have anyone on staff that is sufficiently experienced in BCP, hiring a consultancy firm is the path for you. If you do

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have skilled and experienced business continuity planners on your staff, you still need to exercise caution. What are those people currently responsible for within the company? Their current responsibilities could be more important to the daily operation of the business than a long term assignment in leading a BCP exercise.

If you determine that your internal staff is sufficiently experienced to conduct a BCP, then go ahead and get started. Otherwise it's time to begin vetting BCP consultancy firms.

Finding the right BCP consultancy firm
I've talked to a number of businesses that have used consultants for BCP. Most have had positive experiences, but a few have not been as happy with their first choice. I've made a list of items I've found in common in those that have had favorable experiences. These are traits you should look for when vetting your list of BCP consultancy firms.

You will want to get down to a short list of no more than three candidates and ensure they are going to deliver what you need:

All businesses that I have spoken to that have had good experiences with a BCP consultancy firm have indicated that it was well worth the expense. The keys to success were a concerted effort in finding the right firm to fit their needs and a firm that follows up to ensure the business is continuing the process forward on their own.

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