Course Details

Business Continuity Management for Remote and Hybrid Work Environments Training Course

Introduction

The shift to remote and hybrid work models has profoundly reshaped the modern workforce, offering unprecedented flexibility but also introducing a new set of complex challenges for Business Continuity Management (BCM). While traditional BCM focused heavily on physical office spaces and on-premise IT infrastructure, ensuring continuity in distributed environments requires a fundamental rethinking of strategies for people, technology, data, and communication. Dispersed teams, reliance on diverse home network infrastructures, increased cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and the blurring lines between work and personal life create unique risks that can significantly impact an organization's ability to operate seamlessly during a disruption. Our intensive 10-day "Business Continuity Management for Remote and Hybrid Work Environments" training course is meticulously designed to equip BCM professionals, IT leaders, HR managers, security specialists, and operations leads with the specialized knowledge and practical frameworks required to develop, implement, and maintain robust BCM programs specifically tailored to the nuances of remote and hybrid workforces.

This comprehensive program will delve into the critical aspects of supporting a distributed workforce, including ensuring secure remote access, maintaining communication channels, managing dispersed data, addressing employee well-being, and adapting traditional incident response to a non-centralized operational model. Participants will gain in-depth understanding of how to conduct a distributed workforce-specific Business Impact Analysis, prioritize essential remote functions, design resilient technology solutions, and establish effective communication protocols for remote teams during any unforeseen event. By the end of this course, you will be proficient in establishing a resilient BCM framework that not only safeguards your organization's operations in a remote/hybrid context but also leverages the inherent flexibility of these models to enhance overall organizational agility and continuous service delivery.

Duration

10 Days

Target Audience

The "Business Continuity Management for Remote and Hybrid Work Environments" training course is essential for a wide range of professionals who are involved in supporting, managing, and securing remote and hybrid workforces, and ensuring their operational continuity. This includes:

• Business Continuity Managers/Coordinators: Adapting BCM programs to new work models.
• IT Directors and Managers: Responsible for remote infrastructure, cybersecurity, and connectivity.
• Human Resources (HR) Directors and Managers: Managing employee well-being, policies, and remote work challenges.
• Cybersecurity Professionals: Addressing increased attack surface and remote security.
• Operations Managers: Overseeing distributed business processes and team coordination.
• Workplace Strategy Leads: Designing and implementing hybrid work models.
• Internal Communications Professionals: Managing information flow for dispersed teams.
• Facilities Managers: Adapting their role to a less centralized environment.
• Legal & Compliance Officers: Navigating new regulatory challenges for remote work.
• Senior Executives: Seeking to understand and mitigate risks of distributed operations.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the "Business Continuity Management for Remote and Hybrid Work Environments" training course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the unique business continuity challenges and opportunities presented by remote and hybrid work models.
• Conduct a focused Business Impact Analysis (BIA) specifically for distributed workforces and their critical functions.
• Design and implement resilient IT infrastructure and cybersecurity controls for remote access and data protection.
• Develop effective communication and collaboration strategies for dispersed teams during a disruption.
• Address human capital considerations, including employee well-being, support, and duty of care in remote contexts.
• Formulate incident response and recovery plans that account for the non-centralized nature of remote operations.
• Manage third-party risks associated with home networks, personal devices, and remote service providers.
• Leverage cloud-based tools and technologies to enhance continuity for remote work.
• Plan and execute realistic exercises to validate the effectiveness of BCM plans for distributed environments.
• Contribute to building an agile and resilient organization that thrives in remote and hybrid operational models.

Course Modules

Module 1: Understanding the Remote/Hybrid Continuity Landscape

• Defining remote, hybrid, and distributed work models.
• The unique advantages (agility, talent pool) and BCM challenges (dispersed infrastructure, varied connectivity, duty of care).
• Common threats to remote/hybrid continuity: internet outages, power failures, home network vulnerabilities, personal device compromise, mental health issues.
• Lessons learned from recent global shifts to remote work.
• Aligning BCM strategy with remote work policies and organizational culture.

Module 2: Business Impact Analysis (BIA) for Distributed Workforces

• Adapting the BIA methodology to identify critical functions in a remote context.
• Identifying key roles and personnel who must operate remotely and their dependencies.
• Assessing the impact of disruption on remote teams, communication, and data access.
• Defining RTOs and RPOs for critical remote activities and associated IT services.
• Mapping interdependencies between remote workers, cloud services, and remaining physical sites.

Module 3: Secure Remote Access & Connectivity Strategies

• Designing robust and secure remote network access solutions (VPN, ZTNA, SD-WAN).
• Ensuring adequate bandwidth and reliable connectivity for remote employees.
• Contingency plans for widespread internet outages affecting remote workers.
• Strategies for securing personal/home networks and Wi-Fi.
• Providing alternative communication methods when primary internet is down.

Module 4: Data Protection & Cloud Resilience for Remote Work

• Managing dispersed data: data on endpoints, cloud storage, SaaS applications.
• Implementing secure data backup and recovery strategies for remote data.
• Leveraging cloud-native resilience features (replication, multi-region failover).
• Data loss prevention (DLP) for remote environments.
• Ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations (e.g., Kenya DPA, GDPR) for remote data.

Module 5: Cybersecurity for the Remote Attack Surface

• Understanding the expanded cybersecurity attack surface in remote environments.
• Strategies for endpoint security, mobile device management (MDM), and BYOD policies.
• User awareness training for phishing, social engineering, and remote work security best practices.
• Implementing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and strong identity management for remote access.
• Threat detection and incident response for remote endpoints and cloud services.

Module 6: Communication & Collaboration Continuity for Dispersed Teams

• Developing resilient communication plans for crisis scenarios (e.g., primary vs. secondary channels).
• Ensuring continuity of collaboration tools (e.g., video conferencing, team chat platforms).
• Protocols for check-ins, status updates, and decision-making for remote teams during a crisis.
• Managing internal and external communications to maintain clarity and calm.
• Addressing information overload and communication fatigue in a crisis.

Module 7: Human Capital & Well-being in Remote Continuity

• Duty of care considerations for remote employees (physical safety, mental health).
• Policies for alternative work locations and equipment.
• Providing support services and resources for remote staff during and after a disruption.
• Managing employee availability, stress, and burnout during prolonged incidents.
• The role of HR in BCM for remote workforces.

Module 8: Incident Response & Crisis Management for Remote Operations

• Adapting traditional incident response frameworks to a distributed operational model.
• Establishing clear roles and responsibilities for remote incident response teams.
• Protocols for remote damage assessment, problem diagnosis, and resolution.
• Managing coordination between remote incident teams and on-site personnel (if any).
• Leveraging automation and AI for remote incident detection and response.

Module 9: Third-Party & Supply Chain Risk in Remote Work

• Assessing continuity risks introduced by remote work-enabling service providers (e.g., internet providers, SaaS vendors).
• Managing vendor BCM and security postures for critical remote tools.
• Addressing risks from employees' personal internet service providers or utilities.
• Ensuring secure access for third-party support and consultants.
• Developing contingency plans for failure of key remote work vendors.

Module 10: Testing, Maintenance & Continuous Improvement

• Designing realistic exercises for remote and hybrid work environments (e.g., simulated widespread internet outage, ransomware on remote endpoints).
• Conducting remote tabletop exercises, functional tests, and communication drills.
• Measuring the effectiveness of BCM plans for distributed operations.
• Documenting lessons learned from exercises and real-world incidents.
• Establishing a continuous review and update cycle for remote/hybrid BCM plans based on evolving threats and work models.

CERTIFICATION

• Upon successful completion of this training, participants will be issued with Macskills Training and Development Institute Certificate

TRAINING VENUE

• Training will be held at Macskills Training Centre. We also tailor make the training upon request at different locations across the world.

AIRPORT PICK UP AND ACCOMMODATION

• Airport pick up and accommodation is arranged upon request

TERMS OF PAYMENT

• Payment should be made to Macskills Development Institute bank account before the start of the training and receipts sent to info@macskillsdevelopment.com