As human beings, we’re very good at thinking that really bad things only happen to other people, or that, by virtue of Murphy’s Law, they’re inevitable and unavoidable. The same attitude is true at many companies despite well-documented casualties from recent events such as floods and supply chain issues. Crisis planning is an essential component of being a resilient, well-run business and offers the best chance of staying up and running after a significant disruption.
What qualifies as a business crisis?
The nature of a crisis can vary widely: from a natural disaster, to a leaked note containing sensitive information, to the office next door involving you in their crisis by default. In other words, a crisis can come from almost anywhere, but by definition it is unexpected and has the potential to have negative consequences. A crisis can affect the safety of personnel, the availability of resources, critical systems, shareholders and potentially threaten the success or existence of the business in the medium and long term.
Here are some tips on what to do if a crisis hits your business before you have a crisis plan.
1. Find out what has happened
This may seem like a strange thing to begin with, but it is arguably the most important thing. When a crisis occurs, whatever the cause, it can be difficult to know exactly what triggered the alert. How did you hear about it? Are your sources reliable? Do you have a staff member who can provide you with eyewitness accounts? Only once you know the true nature of the crisis and its scope can you handle it properly. Separating rumors from facts can be more difficult than you might think in the immediate aftermath of a crisis.
2. Clearly identify a crisis team and team leader
The key characteristic of a crisis team is that they need to work well together, while having a wide range of skills and knowledge. There should be at least one person with sufficient authority within the team to make strategic decisions and authorize spending, as some crises will require emergency funds to cover lodging, travel, and food for those involved.
The team leader does not necessarily have to be the most knowledgeable in the business, as long as they have the ability to remain calm, absorb the information presented by the crisis team, can command respect, and act decisively, delegating as necessary. People are likely to be stressed, sometimes in a panic. Can the crisis team leader handle that?
3. Evaluate the impact (on your people, assets, customers and reputation)
Once you understand the scope of the crisis, you can assess how it will affect your business. Are any staff members injured or in danger? Is it necessary to add additional staff members (because the crisis occurred outside of business hours or during a holiday, for example)? Do you have any stock that is at risk? Can you still provide essential customer services or will you have to close? How will the press react?
It is important to understand what is critical to the business at this stage so that you can prioritize what is needed to continue operating effectively.
4. Develop an action plan
Having assessed the impact, determining what needs to happen in a methodical way ensures that nothing is left out or duplication of action. Most seizures involve time pressure; some people refer to a “golden hour” immediately after the crisis has occurred; what you do in that first hour can have a significant impact on the outcome. Don’t underestimate how chaotic things can be during some crises: once immediate responses (i.e. evacuating a building) have taken place, the time it takes to devise a plan could potentially alter the outcome of your business. . A plan, no matter how basic, will help ensure that there is integration and coordination in what happens, and will minimize the likelihood of ‘non-talking left hand/right hand syndrome’.
5. Develop a timeline of what is happening when
Clearly, this will differ depending on the nature of each crisis, but depending on your plan, it could include events such as the arrival of critical staff members, arrival of technical support teams, anticipated power restoration, broadcast schedules, etc. Outlining when key events will occur allows for efficient resource allocation.
The best crisis teams can effectively focus on the future, see upcoming needs and prepare for them, as well as avoid the problems that inevitably occur along the way. Many times the crisis is only the first in a series of events that occur as a result of the interruption of normality.
6. Implement the plan
Having developed the plan, the next big challenge is effectively communicating it to those who need to know. This is a true test for your team and, without a predetermined, rehearsed crisis plan already in place, one of the most difficult areas to manage well ‘on the fly’. The way you talk to staff, executives, emergency services and many others who need to know what you are doing and when is critical to your crisis management success and your reputation. At the end of the day, you have to DO something. The worst plan is the one that comes too late.
7. Keep a record of decisions, actions and problems
Keeping a detailed record of decisions, actions, and problems is an important component of crisis management. Not only will it allow you to ensure that all actions are completed on an ongoing basis and help tie up any loose ends when the crisis is over, but it can also become a legal document supporting accounts of events in the event of a crisis. litigation. Choose the person to keep carefully and make sure they are checked in regularly by the crisis leader.
8. Develop an internal and external communication plan
Communications are critical: regularly inform those who need to know: the media, your staff, stakeholders and customers. However, it’s important that the right information reaches the right people at the right time, so developing a clear communication plan will help you do just that. Effective crisis communication can greatly improve your reputation.
9. Take care of your staff and their well-being
Your staff may be dealing with shock, stress, and more. Ensuring their well-being is clearly within the remit of a responsible employer, but it also means that the crisis will not be made worse by neglect of their needs. In some cases, there can be long-term impacts if problems are not dealt with correctly in the early stages.
10. Manage your information
One of the biggest challenges in dealing with a crisis is managing information as it flows in and out of your crisis team. This is where you develop a clear picture of what reality is and separate fact from fiction. The focus of your response will be on the information you receive and how you respond to it, so your processing must be fast and accurate. White boards, flip charts, and reports are helpful.
And when the crisis passes?
When you get back on track, review how you dealt with what happened and learn the lessons for next time. If you’re reading this and you’re lucky enough to have escaped a business crisis thus far, consider developing a crisis plan – time spent planning is never wasted and will allow for a much more effective and controlled response, reducing the strain on your business. staff. “Train hard, fight easy” is a worthwhile maxim in the world of crisis management and is backed by the experience of all those companies that have preceded you.
