Getting to grips with mobilizing crisis managements

A recent survey of British financial companies led the Financial Services Authority to voice concerns that the sector may not be able to respond effectively to emergencies because of delays in mobilizing crisis managements. This trend extends well beyond the financial sector. While most large organizations nowadays have crisis plans in place, mobilizing the right people at the right time remains a problem.

In the event of a crisis, it is communication – both among the crisis managements and with third parties such as customers, company, media, markets, shareholders and supply chain – that often fails first. What is the reason for this disconnect?

Manual processes continue to dominate when it comes to mobilizing crisis management members in an emergency. Information goes astray or is misunderstood, leaving people with an incomplete or sometimes erroneous view of the situation at hand. Fortunately, we can learn from the experience of others, steering clear of common pitfalls and ensuring clear communication to minimize the impact of a crisis.

Don’t over think it

Ironically; the most common pitfall is not planning at all. It’s easy to understand. After all, trying to anticipate and prepare for every worst case scenario is overwhelming. There’s simply no way to foresee every type of calamity that could befall the firm. Trying to work out every detail of what might go wrong is a trap, because nothing ever happens like you plan for. As the Prussian military strategist Carl von Clausewitz once said, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” So what to do? Choose tools that lend themselves to high levels of response. This gives your staff prompts to remind them of what to consider, rather than trying to create an infinite number of plans for every single outcome.

Rebuild in the right order

Design the response based on what matters most to the business. In a typical 1000-person company, there are many important functions, but some are more critical to get back up and running sooner than others. Perhaps there are attorneys busy drafting contracts, or marketing staff working on the next big ad campaign, but their work could be set aside for a week while you focus on recovering more critical parts of the business. Prioritizing functions and activities helps to get the right people back in action as quickly as possible. It’s akin to a jigsaw puzzle; you need to decide which pieces to get back on the table first, and then recover step by step.

Establish leadership

Some businesses invest the time in creating a plan, but with no real sense of ownership of those plans. With no designated persons in charge, employees are left confused as to how to respond. In lieu of real leadership, some will step forward to help direct others. Staff may receive contradictory information depending on who they speak with. A dusty book of emergency response is of little use without leadership to execute these plans so that when something goes wrong, everyone knows what to do next. Take senior staff through crisis training and have ownership of plans, so they’re not just books on a shelf.

Provide simple prompts

Often the design of emergency plans is too academic, and not rooted in practicality. It’s important to have sophisticated plans in place, but if they’re too complex, they won’t be useful to the majority of those who weren’t involved in business continuity planning. Plans need to be in an easily digestible format for the ‘panic’ phase. Augment planning documentation with simple summaries of top line steps to take. This needs to be in a usable format for those ‘in the streets’. This can be as easy as creating a list of actions to kick off in case of an emergency.
In high stress situations, peoples’ minds tend to go blank. Some actions may seem obvious but when you’re in the hot seat, it’s difficult to think clearly. People need simplicity first and foremost in the immediate aftermath of an incident. Spoon feed information on top-level issues through clear, easy-to-follow direction.

Replicate the emergency plan

Distribute emergency planning instructions to multiple locations in multiple formats. This could include posting online at a hosted site so that the plan is accessible offsite during a whole scale outage. It could be as simple as keeping two-sided laminated sheets of paper with a basic outline of the plan hanging at fire muster points, behind the reception desk, and in your briefcase, with a ring binder and electronic file of the full plan available at a disaster recovery site.

Synchronize employee communications

In a disaster, clear and fast communication is imperative for public safety and for the business itself. Problems become progressively more complicated the longer they go unresolved. Yet getting instructions to staff and customers can become a huge bottleneck. For instance, what’s the best way to redirect 1,000 employees to a different job site? Conventionally, this involves a phone ‘cascade’ where people make outgoing calls to cell phones, home phones, and pagers. Not only is this incredibly time-consuming, it leaves considerable room for error. It’s tough to keep track of who has been reached and who hasn’t. If one person in the chain doesn’t receive the proper information, this could have a considerable impact.

Businesses need a way to manage and synchronize this real-time communication. They need to automate alerts so that everyone can be brought together literally “at the touch of a button”. Send alerts via multiple modes of communication instead of relying solely on e-mail. Equally important, establish a way to receive acknowledgements back in mass so you can plan accordingly.
Integrate crisis planning and communication tools

The most difficult challenge in these situations is often coordination of activities. Senior executives and other key players may end up in far flung and often unexpected places during a crisis. Create an environment where the crisis management can collaborate and keep abreast of the situation, regardless of their location. This may involve a crisis management checklist of important tasks to ensure nothing is overlooked and to avoid duplication of efforts. This type of forum provides a simple way for executives to sign off on crisis management plans without impeding prompt action.
Having this real-time awareness gives decision makers the certainty to take control of the situation
and mobilize crisis managements and resources where they are needed most.

Moreover, with this virtual ‘command centre’, crisis management members and employees can be your eyes and ears on the ground – a unique means of real-time news gathering. For example, a large California-based retailer recently equipped stores with security cameras to monitor its properties in the case of business disruption. Store managers can upload CCTV images and video to the ‘command centre’ to give the crisis management a real-time view of an emergency and of the recovery process, providing valuable insight to support decisions.

Conclusion

Successful business continuity involves prioritizing the right chain of events for recovery, clear direction on executing these plans, and tools for sharing and tracking activities at a moment’s notice. No one can predict all business impediments. However, the right knowledge flow and communication infrastructure curtails the impact of many crises.

Source: Paul Gant and Malcolm Hafner link