Disaster Recovery Journal Winter 2024

As business resilience practitioners, we are obligated to ensure all employees with known and unknown abilities, various languages, genders, races, and preferences will be safe and able to manage critical business operations during a crisis. “

Talent. “DEI is good business. It doesn’t have to be at the expense of financial outcomes. … This isn’t an issue where leaders can say, ‘We can’t do diversity right now, because we’re under a lot of pressure.’ Diversity is one of the things you’ve got to be mindful of in every context.” DEI is not about an organization’s financial standing or status. It is clearly about being able to sustain during a crisis with the proper support for all employees. Diversity is not only about race. It can be about diversity of thought; diversity of the way we work; and diversity in how we handle stress during a crisis. Communication barriers, risks toler ance, and work practices are not things you want to “discover” in the middle of a crisis. When we embrace diversity, we embrace an environment that allows “diversity of thought.” This type of environment enhances efficiency, innova tion, and productivity. These are all very beneficial attributes during a crisis. Equity signifies that no matter your gender, race, inability or ability, nation ality, everyone is welcome. They will be valued, safe and equally, and treated fairly. Inclusion is my “Kumbaya” word. Inclusion brings everyone to the table! The same table, in the same room. Inclusion means all needs, thoughts, and ideas are welcomed, heard, and consid ered. Collaboration and connections will soar. Partnerships will excel. Cultural norms will be shared and embraced. This allows for a more robust alliance environ ment. This means we will do well when a crisis hits the business and work collab oratively to ensure each other’s safety and well-being. The continuity of the business will survive and thrive. Instead of redefining DEI to fit into a specific culture or even our own biased perspective, how about we keep it to the true essence and definitions of what DEI truly are? We mortals should not try to “rede fine” what and why these three letters exist. History has taught us, these three letters pulled together exist because “

beneficial to your programs to ensure they can evacuate promptly and safely. If you have someone who is deaf or blind (even color blind – known or unknown) do you take that into consid eration when you are creating continuity and recovery plans for incidents and crisis reflecting sounds and images using tech software? If you use suppliers or vendors in other countries, you must understand their business practices and cultural norms to ensure their services will not stop or slow down during a crisis. Supply chain and third-party risks in various countries should be high on your radar as you manage your BC/DR programs. McKinsey and Co. stated in a recent article, “Diversity, equity, and inclusion are three closely linked values held by many organizations that are working to be supportive of different groups of individ uals, including people of different races, ethnicities, religions, abilities, genders, and sexual orientations.” Simply stated, employees are what makes a business operational. A success ful business that values and supports its employees’ differences will profit from the substantial benefits of its diversity. Without the employees, who will facilitate critical business operations, activate the continuity plans, and recover systems during the crisis? An employer should ensure (before the crisis) that all employees are consid ered, and accommodations are met so the employee can be safe and maintain

operations when a disruption happens. These accommodations should be for known and unknown, visible and invis ible abilities and cultural practices. Create a resilience program that is diverse, fit for purpose, and fit for all. Kilroy J. Oldster said, “Death is the great equalizer of human beings. Death is the boundary that we need to measure the precious texture of our lives.” A crisis is also a great equalizer. When things are calm, all is well. When a crisis happens, we get to witness how equal and resilient we really are. Through the adversity of a crisis, we truly learn a lot about ourselves individu ally as well as our organizations. Imagine what we could accomplish if we freed ourselves of our biases, expanded the aperture of our thoughts, and allowed for the contributions from each of our team mates. If you need realistic examples, look at the recent U.S. Hurricane season and destruction. Those hurricanes did not discriminate. Rescue efforts are not focused on one specific race or gender. Discrimination has NO place during a crisis. They should not have a place in your organization’s business continu ity and disaster recovery programs and procedures either. “Even during a crisis, when leaders might be tempted to shelve DEI efforts to ensure the company’s financial survival, there is value to prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said McKinsey’s Bryan Hancock at McKinsey Talks

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