The BCI North America Next Practice Group has published ‘Business Continuity & Resilience: A Generational Perspective’, a research report analyzing how business continuity practitioners view the profession’s future direction.
Key points from the report include:
- Multiple generations of resilience professionals have contributed to the ongoing success and acceptance of the profession. While members of each generation have their share of ‘war stories’ based on how they got involved in and progressed through their careers, the report identified a number of common threads. For example, people in the profession, regardless of generation, are excited and enthusiastic about the profession, and very few ever actually leave it.
- Compared to about three decades ago, extensive educational resources are available for both aspiring professionals as well as established players.
- Mentoring is described as one of the most effective ways of acquiring knowledge and experience in the profession. Older professionals can make a difference with younger individuals by sharing their experiences and knowledge, as well as helping them find information about the profession.
- Professional accreditation is still seen as an important career enhancing factor.
- Members of earlier generations are now approaching retirement and Generation X members are now moving into the pilot’s seat. They will be instrumental in leading the evolution of business continuity and disaster recovery (and related disciplines) into a new framework called resilience.
- Generations Y and Z are gaining experience, confidence, and are expanding their communications and professional skills. They will be ready and eager to move into more senior roles in the coming years.
- Three very distinct, yet also very similar sets of professionals have shaped and will continue to shape the business continuity and resilience industries in the coming decades. Each generation has both an opportunity and an obligation to learn from one another and to continue to build and evolve an industry that will become increasingly important and beneficial to current and future generations of society.
