executives,” Engling says. “When this happens, it frequently sends the compa- ny into a spiral of realizing just how much of the critical business operations were resting on the shoulders of a visionary who is no longer present. The placement of a board or a successive and overlap- ping executive structure is a type of crisis management control.” COVID-19 is an example of a crisis that many were unprepared for when it came to multiple employees getting sick and having to quarantine at the same time.
Hileman says a crisis management plan should include playbooks to address a number of situations, including: Death or incapacitation of a senior executive
Environmental crisis or natural disaster Workplace accidents, injuries or fatalities
Government investigation or other litigation
Employee illegal or unethical action Cybersecurity issue Allegations of discrimination or harass- ment
Smoldering issue or anticipated crisis Sudden labor disruption Activist activity, protest or social media attack
Workplace violence Pandemic
Engling adds that if you work in one particular economic sector without di- versification, second-degree risks to that sector should be considered as first-de- gree risks to your company.
ELEMENTS OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAN Lewis views crisis management planning as part of any employer’s responsibility to provide a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. Like any other aspect of the business, you need to identify known and potential hazards and how to respond to those scenarios. “The intent of a crisis management plan is to minimize the short-term and long-term impact a crisis has on the operation,” he says. “If the operation is stopped, so will invoicing, and so on. The best way to care for your internal and external clients is to develop a realistic plan for different crises.” A single person can be in charge of developing the company’s crisis manage- ment plan, but the ownership and senior management team should review it as they will be key to the chain of command. Lewis says, like any other training pro- gram, don’t spend time trying to reinvent the wheel when other people have already developed crisis management plans you can adapt to your organization. Hileman says it is best to start with an audit of your current processes and assess what types of risks and vulnera- bilities are likely to occur or would inflict the most damage. She suggests having candid discussions with leaders on what ‘keeps them up at night’ to identify key risks.
Engling says certain fundamental questions should be asked like “Is the anticipated effect of a certain realized risk something we can live with or is it significant enough to establish controls?” and “Is this risk something that is a result of our own actions and preventable, or should the control be more of a bracing for response, should it occur?” After identifying these likely crises you need to address, Hileman recommends developing scenario-specific playbooks that include a situation overview, crisis team member roles and responsibilities, communication priorities, stakeholder list, anticipated questions, key messages, initial media statement and social media posts. For each scenario, you need to define the crisis management team and chain of command, as it can vary depending on the situation. Each crisis should have a trigger that causes the point of contact to begin the plan. Lewis points out that communication breaks down in a crisis, which is why you need to have primary,
“When a crisis happens, and I can speak from experience, if it’s too complex, it won’t be followed. People don’t rise to the occasion. They fall to the level of their training.” - Joe Lewis, Yard Solutions
secondary and tertiary means of commu- nication Lewis advises keeping your plans straightforward and not overly compli- cated. “When a crisis happens, and I can speak from experience, if it’s too com- plex, it won’t be followed,” Lewis says. “People don’t rise to the occasion. They fall to the level of their training.”
PREPARING FOR CRISES
A crisis management plan does your team no good if everyone who has a role in the procedure is unaware of its existence. Each person in the plan should know the chain of command, their role and the available resources. “Everyone on staff should know how to respond to the risks that are most likely and most preventable,” Engling says. “In the event of a tornado, the event itself is not preventable, but injury may be significantly reduced if your staff takes certain and decisive action. Proper vehicle and equipment operation is a major part of preventing workplace injury. These are the types of crises for which you should train your staff. Leadership succession, financial recovery plans, and other leadership-oriented controls are often not well served by being broadcast throughout the ranks.” Lewis encourages roleplaying the plan to ensure everyone involved is prepared. “Crisis plans should be reviewed,
exercised and updated at least annually,” Hileman says. “Crisis exercises need not be expensive; tabletop exercises are an affordable way to test the plan and the team’s preparedness to respond to a variety of issues.”
Because company personnel changes
often, Lewis stresses training your team on the plan and reviewing it for practi- cality because things change. Engling adds that if crisis management planning seems beyond your ability, don’t be afraid to work with a consultant. “The investment in crisis planning and preparedness is a pittance compared to the steep cost of a crisis for the unpre- pared management team,” Hileman says. “Our tenet: prepare and prevent or repair and repent.” TE
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