Last updated on Mar 11, 2024
- All
- Business Administration
- Business Operations
Powered by AI and the LinkedIn community
1
Assess your risks
2
Develop your plans
3
Implement your controls
4
Train your staff
5
Review your processes
Be the first to add your personal experience
6
Update your policies
Be the first to add your personal experience
7
Here’s what else to consider
Be the first to add your personal experience
Business operations are the activities and processes that enable your organization to deliver value to your customers and stakeholders. However, they also face various threats that can disrupt, damage, or destroy them. These threats can come from internal or external sources, such as human errors, cyberattacks, natural disasters, or market changes. How do you identify and mitigate threats to your business operations? Here are some steps you can follow.
Top experts in this article
Selected by the community from 7 contributions. Learn more
Earn a Community Top Voice badge
Add to collaborative articles to get recognized for your expertise on your profile. Learn more
- Hargobind Singh Ahluwalia Information Security/ Head of InfoSec/CISO/ CISSP/CISA 5
- Michael Colantonio 3
- Amin Loukil Business Continuity Manager @ Digital Realty | CBCI, CDCMP®,ITIL 2
1 Assess your risks
The first step is to assess your risks, which means identifying and analyzing the potential threats that can affect your business operations. You can use different methods and tools to conduct a risk assessment, such as SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, or risk matrix. The goal is to evaluate the likelihood and impact of each threat, and prioritize the ones that pose the highest risk to your business operations.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
- Michael Colantonio
- Report contribution
Thanks for letting us know! You'll no longer see this contribution
I would suggest that the first step is to know the business. What / who contributes to the over bottom line (as defined by the corporate mission statement). Separate the “loud voices) from the mission critical functions. From that , develop a matrix of functional flow. Then you are able to start the risk assessment.
UnhelpfulLike Like Celebrate Support Love Insightful Funny 2 - Amin Loukil Business Continuity Manager @ Digital Realty | CBCI, CDCMP®,ITIL
- Report contribution
Thanks for letting us know! You'll no longer see this contribution
Risk assessment isn't a one-time event; it's an ongoing process. As circ*mstances change, new threats may emerge, and the impact of existing ones may evolve. Regularly reviewing and updating your risk assessment ensures that your business remains resilient and adaptable.
UnhelpfulLike Like Celebrate Support Love Insightful Funny
2 Develop your plans
The second step is to develop your plans, which means preparing and documenting the strategies and actions you will take to prevent, respond to, or recover from the threats. You can use different types of plans, such as contingency plans, business continuity plans, or disaster recovery plans. The goal is to define the roles and responsibilities, the resources and equipment, the procedures and protocols, and the communication and coordination mechanisms for each scenario.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
- Hargobind Singh Ahluwalia Information Security/ Head of InfoSec/CISO/ CISSP/CISA
- Report contribution
Thanks for letting us know! You'll no longer see this contribution
Risk management must start with understanding the business context in relation to various internal or external factors like legal/regulatory compliance, people, critical suppliers, technology, geography etc that can impact critical operations/assets. The factors can then be assessed for the severity of of the impact and the relevant controls. The risk mitigation plan will allow business to optimally allocate resources with maximum benefits. BCM and DR plans are there to be used in the event of significant disruptions but there must be various other controls to be deployed as preventive/detective measures.
UnhelpfulLike Like Celebrate Support Love Insightful Funny 5 - Michael Colantonio
- Report contribution
Thanks for letting us know! You'll no longer see this contribution
Blend into this a review of critical vendor incident response procedures and then a good avoidance or response plan can be developed. Vendor review is even more critical in a Cloud environment as several vendors may operate from the same cloud region. (Secondary but impacting failure).
UnhelpfulLike Like Celebrate Support Love Insightful Funny 3
Load more contributions
3 Implement your controls
The third step is to implement your controls, which means applying and testing the measures and mechanisms you have designed to reduce or eliminate the threats. You can use different kinds of controls, such as preventive controls, detective controls, or corrective controls. The goal is to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of your controls, and make adjustments or improvements as needed.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
- Amin Loukil Business Continuity Manager @ Digital Realty | CBCI, CDCMP®,ITIL
- Report contribution
Thanks for letting us know! You'll no longer see this contribution
Implementing controls is the bridge between planning and risk mitigation. It involves putting your risk management plans into action, testing the controls, and continuously monitoring and improving them to adapt to changing threats and circ*mstances. Effectiveness evaluation, feedback, and a commitment to adaptability are critical elements in this step of the risk management process.
UnhelpfulLike Like Celebrate Support Love Insightful Funny 2
4 Train your staff
The fourth step is to train your staff, which means educating and empowering your employees and managers to understand and perform their roles and tasks in relation to the threats. You can use different methods and tools to train your staff, such as workshops, simulations, or online courses. The goal is to enhance the skills and knowledge, the awareness and attitude, and the behavior and performance of your staff.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
- Amin Loukil Business Continuity Manager @ Digital Realty | CBCI, CDCMP®,ITIL
- Report contribution
Thanks for letting us know! You'll no longer see this contribution
The best way to learn is through hands-on experience. On-the-job training can be highly effective for roles that involve specific risk-related tasks. High-pressure environments force us to think on our feet, collaborate under stress, and execute plans swiftly. In those intense moments, we discover the true extent of our capabilities.
UnhelpfulLike Like Celebrate Support Love Insightful Funny
5 Review your processes
The fifth step is to review your processes, which means assessing and auditing the quality and compliance of your business operations in relation to the threats. You can use different standards and frameworks to review your processes, such as ISO 22301, NIST SP 800-53, or COBIT 5. The goal is to identify and address the gaps and weaknesses, the strengths and opportunities, and the best practices and lessons learned from your processes.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
6 Update your policies
The sixth step is to update your policies, which means revising and communicating the rules and guidelines that govern your business operations in relation to the threats. You can use different formats and channels to update your policies, such as manuals, newsletters, or webinars. The goal is to align and integrate your policies with your vision and mission, your values and culture, and your goals and objectives.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
7 Here’s what else to consider
This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
Business Operations
Business Operations
+ Follow
Rate this article
We created this article with the help of AI. What do you think of it?
It’s great It’s not so great
Thanks for your feedback
Your feedback is private. Like or react to bring the conversation to your network.
Tell us more
Tell us why you didn’t like this article.
If you think something in this article goes against our Professional Community Policies, please let us know.
We appreciate you letting us know. Though we’re unable to respond directly, your feedback helps us improve this experience for everyone.
If you think this goes against our Professional Community Policies, please let us know.
More articles on Business Operations
No more previous content
- What do you do if your career is plagued by setbacks and failures?
- What do you do if your team members have conflicting work styles during a project?
- What do you do if your mid-career in Business Operations is disrupted by organizational changes?
- What do you do if your career takes a hit?
- What do you do if your boss consistently steals your credit?
- What do you do if your business operations need a boost of creative ideas?
- What do you do if your business operations are plagued by conflicting interests?
- What do you do if your career takes a major hit and you need to bounce back?
No more next content
Explore Other Skills
- Business Strategy
- Executive Management
- Management
- Business Management
- Product Management
- Business Development
- Project Management
- Consulting
- Program Management
- Entrepreneurship
More relevant reading
- IT Operations Management How can you build IT operations management resilience to cope with unexpected events?
- Payment Systems How do you ensure business continuity when Payment Systems disrupt?
- Business Continuity How do you monitor and measure your RPO performance and identify areas for improvement?
- Ports What are the most effective ways to assess and mitigate port operations risks and vulnerabilities?
Help improve contributions
Mark contributions as unhelpful if you find them irrelevant or not valuable to the article. This feedback is private to you and won’t be shared publicly.
Contribution hidden for you
This feedback is never shared publicly, we’ll use it to show better contributions to everyone.
