“The Times They Are a-Changin’” is a song and album of the same name composed in 1963 by the American singer-songwriter and Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan. At the time, Dylan wrote the song as a reflection of the social and political climate in the United States and, according to Wikipedia, “as a deliberate attempt to create an anthem of change.”

Putting aside the social and political context, the words themselves represent a certain truth: Life itself is change. You can count on it.

Change is the catalytic force in crisis management planning. An effective plan is never set in stone, requiring review and adjustment to meet new types of crisis events unimagined ten, seven—maybe even five years ago. Cyberattacks are just one such type of event. Driven by regulatory compliance, reputation management and genuine concern for the safety and well-being of consumers, the health care, financial service and hospitality industries alone are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on technological safeguards.

But at the center of change management are people. Educated, trained and experienced people are at the heart of disaster and business continuity planning. While systems can be quickly restored or replaced, at some touch point people will need to write a plan and put the plan into action.

At the intersection of writing, revising and exercising crisis management plans is the reality of a change in the workforce. Writing for Forbes, Larry Alton said, “Change is to be expected, unfolding at a constant rate as new generations replace old generations, and as old ideas become obsolete. But here’s the thing; in today’s world, change isn’t unfolding at a constant rate—it’s unfolding at a faster and faster rate. The rate of change in today’s workplace is accelerating.”

Experts on generations in the workforce predict that, in a short few years, the reigns at all levels of leadership will turn over to a younger and much different workforce. For crisis management planning, this requires a people-centric business continuity plan as well as a business recovery team trained and prepared for addressing known threats while having the skills and expertise to plan for the unknowns of tomorrow.

To the current generation of business continuity/business resumption leaders, what is your plan to address these changes? Who will take over your job? Are they prepared? Like Dylan said, “The Times They Are a-Changin’.” How will you plan and prepare the next generation?

FEI’s crisis management services are designed to meet the evolving needs of government organizations and businesses to plan, prepare, respond and recover from small and large crisis events. Consult with an FEI account representative today to learn more about how FEI can help your business.