February 2011 Comments from Mark Child, partner at Kingston Smith Consulting LLP, a leading business protection consultancy.
As a country we have many things to look forward to over the coming two years – royal weddings, the Olympics and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee – a period of multiple celebration for the UK and a time when we will be very much under the world’s microscope.
We will be the focus of media attention and deluged by visitors from around the globe including world leaders, eminent statesmen, top-class athletes and, of course, thousands of spectators, supporters and tourists who will look to squeeze into our towns and cities. However, among them and also among UK residents will be those whose aim will be to disrupt these events rather than revel in them, something which the security and emergency services are working hard to prepare for. But to what extent is your organisation preparing for the impact of these events on your operation?
It will not be ‘business as usual’ for anyone, especially those who are located in the seats of major interest. However, security and consciousness will need to be heightened everywhere, staff will need to be extra vigilant both in and out of the workplace, transport will be impacted, businesses will be vulnerable, and there will be other lurking ‘nasties’ to consider as focus falls on these events, e.g. will key staff turn up for work? If not, are you prepared to cover their absence in terms of physical security, environmental awareness, business continuity management, decision making, etc.
At the other end of the scale, could you cope with a major incident which is out of your control but which may affect your place of work, your staff safety, your data, your service? These are just a few of the areas on which businesses should be focusing . You should be preparing now to ensure that you do not become collateral damage as a result of not being ready for what should be an opportunity for your organisation and the nation to sparkle.
But can you justify investing in gaining awareness of the challenges you are facing, preparing for them and then putting solutions in place to manage the risks, costs, time and money? Tough question but one which can only be answered by pre-emptive diligence, sound risk assessment and the testing and implementation of a robust set of controls.
This risk assessment process should be a ‘business as usual’ process so that the cost and time is minimal in addition to existing security and risk impact assessments. If this is not a business process in your organisation then now is the time to implement it because despite the two years of celebrations and increased security risks, your business will always be subject to risk exposure if you are not managing your risks adequately. Let the UK celebrations be the motive to get your organisation not only prepared for the next two years, but for the future beyond 2012.
