crisis management plan

Collaboration, Intranets

What is crisis management, plan how to deal with it

A crisis is defined as an unstable state of affairs in which a decisive and possibly negative outcome can be expected. Every organization can experience a crisis, be it from internal causes, or by external environmental forces in which it had no hand. In these times, a crisis management plan must be activated which is pre-planned and deliberate. Let’s start off with a crisis management definition.

Crisis management definition

What is crisis management? A crisis management definition is that it is the process of unrolling strategies designed by an organization to deal with an unexpected and potentially harmful event that threatens its existence or its stakeholders.

All crises look very different but each crisis management plan must take into account the following four elements of crises:

  • They come with the element of surprise
  • They threaten the good standing of the organization or its stakeholders
  • There is limited time to make decisions
  • A temporary or permanent change to normal functions is expected

Crisis management is not a standalone response to an isolated event. It involves anticipating threats and dealing with them before, during, and after they have occurred. Since it potentially deals with the health of an entire enterprise, crisis management plans need to be incorporated into every level of the organization in terms of buy-in, communication, and response.

Creating a crisis management plan

All organizations, be they large or small, can fall victim to a range of events that derail their normal state of operations. The list of disruptions is endless, and ranges from product failure, cyber breaches, site damage by fire or weather, or internal fraud. The list can go on.

To protect their reputation and bottom line, companies must have the foresight to anticipate the many things can go wrong. They must put in place a range of plans to mitigate and control the range of fallout. The process of creating and executing this contingency plan is known as crisis management.

Why is a crisis management plan important?

With so much else to juggle in a business, it can be easy to concentrate on the daily operations, while taking your eye off that far-off crisis that might one day arise. When that day comes, being unprepared can be fatal.

With self-made crises in particular, it can be uncomfortable to address the possibility of getting it wrong. We would rather spend the extra time to perfect our processes in order to do the work well, rather than planning for the unwanted possibility of getting it wrong.

These are some of the reasons that organizations defer crisis management plans. There may be reasons to defer, but there are more reasons to begin. Here are some:

1. The number of pitfalls are many

In today’s fast-moving and hyper-competitive world, there are a number of ways things can go wrong. Legislation is ever-evolving, and avenues for recourse by injured parties are increasingly more accessible. Reputation management is not something only large companies need to worry about. Organizations of all sizes can quickly find themselves in trouble if they do not act quickly.

2. Word spreads fast

In the days of instantaneous mass communication, word spreads fast. Consumers, competitors, and legislators can be quick to form opinions based on viral information related to a negative event. Consumer especially are quick to share their thoughts, negative and positive, with their circle of friends. As consumer behaviour is more and more shaped by ratings and rankings, sentiment can be the oxygen a company needs to survive.

3. It could be an opportunity for growth

With quick action, you can turn a crisis into an opportunity for growth and recalibration. But only a good crisis management plan will allow you to document the lessons in a systematic fashion. Sometimes a crisis can force companies to confront their shortfalls and if they are honest with themselves they can be a catalyst for growth.

4. You owe it to your staff

Without an appropriate response manual in the time of a crisis, people could panic and be tempted to take things into their own hands. This could lead to them hurting themselves or others, or otherwise exacerbating the crisis. This will be the company’s problem if no crisis management plan was provided.

5. It’s hard to get back on track

Ask any business who has ever had to deal with a cyber-attack, a production line stop, a product recall, serious reputational loss, or a regulatory fine, it can be hard to get back on track. In a world often driven by short term quarterly performance snapshots, any crisis is unwanted.

An example of a crisis management plan

According to the crisis management definition, we need a plan. There will be differences between plans, but the best plans out there need to think about the following:

1. Anticipate potential issues

Whether you employ a professional scenario planner or assign risk modelling to your risk officer, you will need to come up with a number of planning scenarios and outcomes. Each scenario should be coupled with a response and decision-making framework according to your priorities.

2. Determine the impact on your business

As crises differ, so do their impacts. Some of these impacts are – customer dissatisfaction or loss, damaged reputation and brand value, lost sales, undesired payments through fines or compensation settlements.

3. Identify contingencies

One example of a crisis might be a product recall which requires that you mobilize a logistical solution and a manufacturing pull back. You will also need to assign responsibilities according to a designated chain of command.

4. Communicate to all staff

Create your core crisis response team, then communicate this and other important matters to general staff. Remember that during a crisis, stress and panic will make it difficult to remember what to do, so your communication must be clear.

5. Practice the plan

Be sure to perform regular simulation exercises. It is not feasible to only practice a plan once. Keep the plan up to date as elements change such as new technologies or regulations.

6. After the crisis, perform an honest review

Take time to discuss what went wrong. Be honest and use it as an opportunity for growth and process improvement. Ask your communications teams to keep positive stories running. You might like to keep a close eye on your sentiment monitoring tool.

Crisis management definition

How an intranet can help in a crisis

Your company intranet can be an invaluable tool in times of crisis. It must have high adoption rates amongst staff who have received the appropriate user training, and it should have a good range of functionality to be truly useful:

1. It can be a great communication resource

Updates must be shared with employees as soon as practically possible. This helps them feel included and makes it easier for them to understand the reasons behind decisions. Use alert functions for important messages, and social functions to encourage engagement.

2. It gets two-way discussion going

It is important to foster a culture of two-way communication (employee engagement) during a crisis. Organizations should not be the only entity pushing information out but should have a method of receiving feedback.

3. It doesn’t stay in a bubble

Link some communication to real world events such as real time reports about weather, traffic, and other location updates. With so many apps pushing intuitive communication, don’t forget to tailor broadcasts to individual, team, department, or location personas.

4. It houses emergency policies and procedures

Your intranet can be the key repository for emergency policies and documentation relating to a crisis management plan. Ideally this material should be easily searchable and accessible to all.

5. It regularly tests employee knowledge

Crisis training is not easily retained by people. The best intranets can find ways to make information memorable. By introducing competitive aspects to absorption, such as inserting gamification elements to learning progress, users retain information better.

6. It can have a crisis information area

To avoid speculation and rumour, intranets can hold single centralized crisis information areas. These can provide a situational overview and handy next steps in live or recorded formats.

7. It can coordinate assistance and support

In a crisis situation, people are often on edge and are just looking for help. This can be in the form of emotional, physical, or financial means. Intranets can hold a space which offers resources intended to support and encourage staff. Examples can be handy blogs or information updates about support or relief initiatives.

Conclusion

In a fast-paced world and a rapidly-shifting environment, a crisis is bound to visit an organization sooner or later. It is irresponsible to ignore this eventuality and put off the necessary work of creating a crisis management plan.

In line with the crisis management definition, the best crisis management plans must be woven into the operations and planning of a company. These plans are not once-off events which are presented and then archived away. The contents of these plans must be revisited and their directives practiced like any other skill in order to be executed well when the time comes, as it does for all organizations.

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