Raising awareness of business continuity across your organization is a well-recognized requirement of an effective business continuity management system (BCMS). However, it should not be treated as a one-way process. Too often, awareness-raising efforts focus solely on presenting information to employees—explaining plans, procedures, and policies. While this is important, it misses a key opportunity.
Awareness initiatives can — and should — serve as a two-way dialogue. By asking thoughtful questions and engaging staff in conversation, business continuity managers can gain valuable insights into how well the BCMS is understood, how it is perceived, and where gaps or misconceptions may exist. This feedback can reveal both strengths and areas for improvement.
When embedded as a regular practice, this turns awareness into a dynamic feedback loop — enhancing the BCMS and embedding continuity thinking more deeply into the organizational culture.
Additionally, gathering responses rather than simply delivering information enables you to benchmark organizational awareness. Over time, this provides a meaningful way to measure the effectiveness of your awareness-raising efforts and track progress.
20 questions for assessing employee awareness of business continuity
Here are 20 questions that organizations can use to assess employee awareness of business continuity.
General awareness
- Have you heard of the term ‘business continuity’ before today?
- Do you know if our organization has a formal business continuity plan?
- Can you briefly describe what business continuity means to you?
- Do you know who is responsible for business continuity in our organization?
- Have you received any business continuity training in the past 12 months?
Role-specific understanding
- Do you know what your specific role would be during a business disruption?
- Are you aware of the critical functions your team must maintain during an incident?
- Have you seen or read the continuity procedures related to your role or department?
Incident response and communication
- Do you know how to report a business disruption (e.g., cyberattack, power failure, flood)?
- Are you familiar with the emergency communication channels used during a disruption?
- Do you know where to access the business continuity plan or related resources?
- If your usual workplace was unavailable, would you know where and how to work?
Technology and data resilience
- Do you know what to do if a key IT system or application goes down?
- Are you aware of backup procedures for your data or systems?
Testing and exercises
- Have you ever participated in a business continuity test or scenario exercise?
- Were you clear on your responsibilities during that test or exercise?
Culture and confidence
- Do you feel confident that the organization could continue operating during a major disruption?
- Do you feel adequately informed about your responsibilities during a crisis?
- Is business continuity mentioned regularly in team meetings or briefings?
- What would help you feel more prepared to respond effectively in a disruption?
How AI can help
Generative AI which is embedded into a questionnaire can turn simple surveys into an interactive process, gaining more detailed and personal insights from employees, while still retaining the important baseline information that your survey requires.
Resilience Forward’s publisher, Portal Publishing Ltd, provides AI enabled surveys, as well as bespoke learning management systems. Our learning management systems are built in WordPress using the Learndash platform and are informed by our in-depth understanding of the business continuity and resilience sector. We enable clients to present branded awareness raising systems which are consistent, interactive, and measurable. Email us if you would like to find out more.
