Step One: Ensure Safety
The first thing to concern ourselves with in the case of a crisis is personal safety. Once the employee(s) is/are safe, then we look to the safety of everyone else in the area. This is necessary in incidents such as a flood, building collapse, or gas explosion. If any of the company property has been compromised, then we should also set up an emergency command center.
Appropriate alarms, notifications to police or emergency services, and security measures are then next to happen. (All of these steps should be explained in the organization’s emergency response plan, and will be tailored to the specifics of the business.)
Step Two: Perform Basic Crisis Management Steps
Human resources, security personnel, or management should then take the following steps. (The proper person to perform these steps should also be outlined in the organization’s crisis management plan.)
- Call police and/or emergency response support.
- Secure work area where incident occurred.
- Preserve the scene’s integrity while ensuring the safety of workers.
- Ensure that no area is left short-staffed and that employees remain in groups.
- Assess the scene for safety hazards (such as broken glass, weapons, flooding, exposed electrical wiring, etc.).
- Quickly debrief affected workers, including victims and witnesses. These conversations must be kept confidential.
Once the scene is secured and workers are safe, management needs to decide if the incident warrants triggering the crisis response process.
Step Three: Trigger the Crisis Response Process (If Appropriate)
If the process is triggered, then the crisis management team must gather the following information:
- Description of the crisis, threat, or threatening behavior
- Determine immediate action (call police) versus prompt action (team review)
- Determine if threat is general (directed towards company) or specific (directed to a building or person)
- Determine who was involved in the crisis, including observers and witnesses
- Determine if team or manager has any knowledge of warning signs and what those signs were
- Determine level of distress by persons involved in the crisis
- Determine if threat requires immediate security or police presence or removal of employees from environment
- Determine availability of external consultants and contact as needed
We recommend setting up an emergency operations center in a safe location and recording all information on a white board or flip chart in an organized manner.
Remember: Stay Flexible!
Obviously the shape this process will take depends on the crisis. If an asteroid flies into your building, there’s no time for the assessment team to sit down and decide what to do. In this case, the incident has taken place and it simply makes sense for the crisis response plan to be activated immediately.
However, let’s say that one of your employees receives a letter stating that the bank will be bombed tomorrow. In this case, the risk assessment team would have time to have a meeting, perform basic fact-finding as described above, and implement the bomb threat plan or determine a course of action.
