Last Wednesday evening, as I returned from running errands, I had an experience that reminded me of the importance of having effective, well-communicated business continuity strategies. Like many city dwellers, I get around mainly on foot and by public transport. That evening, I was confronted with a situation that demonstrated some interesting facts for business continuity management professionals.
On arriving at the Côte-Vertu metro platform, I noticed the numerous and no doubt confused passengers hearing a series of messages announcing that water infiltration was causing a halt in service between Côte-Vertu and Snowdon stations, and that the interruption would be of indeterminate duration. I then decided to leave the metro station, where I surprisingly found that a shuttle had been put into service to transport passengers to Snowdon station. Although this shuttle took almost an hour to complete the journey, I would like to point out that the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) had deployed appropriate business continuity measures. Although the shuttle was not announced inside the metro station.
When I arrived at Snowdon station, the confusion continued, with a succession of contradictory messages: “The situation will soon be restored”, “The situation has been restored”, “Water infiltration causes service stoppage”. For my part, this hiccup had no repercussions on the evening’s proceedings, but I did think about the parents, children and others with obligations that evening.
This situation cost me two metro tickets: one to stand on the crowded platform of a broken-down metro train, and another to get to the Snowdon metro via a temporary shuttle. I wondered about possible solutions for the STM to optimize its business continuity management, and more specifically, the effectiveness of its response following a disruptive event. I hadn’t subscribed to the métro alerts, where these messages and statuses may have been published. I recently subscribed, but not long enough to be able to give my assessment here.
Here are the main observations I’ve drawn from this event, from my point of view as a user and business continuity management specialist.
- Clear, consistent communication: Confusion among passengers was mainly due to conflicting messages. Clear, regular and consistent communication is essential for effective emergency management and business continuity. Organizations need to ensure that information provided to the public is accurate and updated in real time.
- Use of technology: Technology can play a key role in crisis management. Mobile apps or real-time notification systems can inform passengers of transport alternatives and estimated timescales, reducing confusion and stress.
- Planning and simulation: Business continuity plans need to be regularly updated and tested through realistic simulations. This ensures that the measures in place are effective, and that staff are well trained to respond quickly and efficiently. Although it is impossible to foresee every possible scenario, we must try to test as many scenarios as possible (natural disasters, cyber-attacks, small and large deployments, etc.) to ensure a resilient posture.
- Customer experience : Organizations offering services to customers need to develop their business continuity strategy with a focus on customer experience and security. Reducing the impact on users, such as avoiding additional costs or long waits, helps maintain public confidence in the organization and the services offered.
The STM has many challenges and, like all organizations, unlimited needs to be met by limited resources. It’s encouraging to see that users can count on some of the business continuity strategies the STM has put in place for its public transit network, but as with most organizations, there’s always room for improvement.