Every organization needs to determine what is critical to its operations and ensure these elements are included in its crisis plan. While the specific answers to “What is critical for us?” will vary, the conversation and collective decision-making process are essential. Below are key elements that contribute to a robust crisis plan.

The Plan Document (“The Book”)

 Having a physical, easily accessible copy of the crisis plan is crucial. Here’s why and how to ensure it’s effective:

Accessibility:

• The crisis plan must be available for reference at all times, regardless of circumstances. Relying solely on digital storage can be risky; if the power goes out or servers are down, a digital-only plan becomes inaccessible.

Physical Format:

• We recommend storing the plan in a three-ring binder. This format allows for easy updates and rearrangement of sections as needed.

Visibility:

• Choose a binder in a noticeable, bright color, such as orange or yellow. This ensures that the plan stands out in an office full of standard black, white, or blue documents, making it easy to locate quickly in an emergency.

Update Tracking:

• Include a list of updates at the front of each copy of the plan. This ensures that anyone using the binder can quickly verify that they are looking at the most recent version. Regularly update the list to reflect any changes or revisions to the plan.

By implementing these practices, your organization can ensure that its crisis plan is not only comprehensive but also readily available and up to date when it’s needed most.

Organization

This book must be easy to read and to use. Have a table of contents at the front and an index in the back. Section tabs will also assist in quickly locating information.

Preamble

This section will be helpful for members of the crisis management team and anyone who has to fill in on short notice. Introductions, purpose of the plan, statements of scope, policies, and anything else deemed helpful should be included here.

Details

This should be a living part of the document, where members of the team can keep notes of incidents as they unfold, events that take place, decisions made, meeting minutes and notes, reasons for not implementing policy or decisions exactly as designed, and so on.

Emergency Operations Center (EOC)

The details of the EOC all need to be here. Key information includes:

• The address
• Members of the team expected to report there
• Available infrastructure and equipment
• How to get access to the building
• What items of support the team needs to bring (computers, phones, water, food, radios, chairs, extension cords, generators, first aid kits, etc.).

Members of the Crisis Management Team

Keeping your crisis team’s contact information current is essential for effective coordination and communication during an emergency. This team is responsible for managing all activities related to crisis response, continuity, and recovery, and should include your designated spokesperson.

Key Considerations for Your Crisis Team Contact List:

1. Comprehensive Contact Details:
   • Ensure the contact section includes all relevant details for each team member:
     • Phone Numbers: Include both primary and secondary (e.g., personal and work phones).
     • Email Addresses: Provide both work and alternative personal email addresses in case work servers are down.
     • Social Media Handles: Include social media contact information for platforms commonly used for communication.
     • Home Addresses: List home addresses for emergency contact or when physical mail or in-person communication is required.
     • Alternate Addresses: Include an alternate address in case the primary email or communication method is unavailable.
2. Team Structure:
   • Depending on your organization’s size, your crisis team might be split between a core leadership group at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and other members deployed to various locations. Ensure that all members, regardless of location, are included in this contact list.
3. Regular Updates:
   • Review and update the contact information regularly to ensure accuracy. Any changes in team members, roles, or contact details should be promptly reflected in this section of your crisis plan.

By maintaining an up-to-date and detailed contact list, your crisis management team will be better prepared to communicate effectively and respond quickly during a crisis, ensuring continuity and recovery processes are well-coordinated.

Job Descriptions

It’s essential to include clear descriptions of all roles and responsibilities necessary for responding to a crisis. These descriptions should be easily understandable, allowing anyone to step into a role if needed. For instance, if the designated spokesperson or CEO is injured or unavailable, someone else must be prepared to take on their responsibilities.

Key Considerations:

• Clarity: Ensure that each role is clearly defined, outlining specific tasks and expectations.
• Flexibility: Prepare for reassignment or promotion of personnel who may need to fill in during a crisis.
• Training: Provide training for multiple individuals in critical roles to ensure readiness.

By preparing detailed role descriptions, you enhance your organization’s resilience and ability to respond effectively in emergencies.

Supplemental Teams

If your organization operates across multiple locations, it’s crucial to establish dedicated teams for each site. These teams should either report back to a central team at headquarters or operate independently based on the situation at hand.

Key Considerations:

• Contact Information: Maintaining up-to-date contact information for all team members is essential. Make this a priority to ensure swift communication during a crisis.
• Team Structure: Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each location’s team to facilitate effective coordination.
• Training and Preparedness: Ensure that all teams receive appropriate training and resources to respond effectively to crises.

By organizing teams at each location, you enhance your organization’s ability to manage crises efficiently and effectively.

Alternate Team Members

Having trained and capable alternates for each member of the crisis management team is crucial. As noted by Jonathan Bernstein, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management, a well-structured crisis plan can effectively address potential breakdowns when a primary team member becomes unavailable or cannot be reached.

Key Recommendations:

• Identify Alternates: Assign an alternate for every key member of the crisis team to ensure continuity of leadership and decision-making.
• Training: Ensure that alternates receive the same training and resources as primary team members, preparing them to step in seamlessly when needed.
• Regular Updates: Review and update the list of alternates regularly to reflect any personnel changes or shifts in responsibilities.

By preparing alternates, you strengthen your organization’s resilience and ability to respond effectively during crises.

Procedures for Each Scenario

This is essential. Don’t leave your people trying to decide what to do in the midst of a crisis. Use the information and feedback from previous incidents, drills, and the results of your crisis audits, to develop procedures for whatever threats are present. One tabbed section for each scenario, including procedures and sample statements to issue to the media, is appropriate. Some common threats include fire, flood, power outage, severe storm, flood, bomb threat, and other external or internal threats.

Spokespeople

Each team needs to have one person who is appointed to speak for the organization during a crisis. This may be the CEO, and in some circumstances or at a certain intensity of crisis should be. However, some CEOs are not strong speakers, or they may be unavailable. This means that other people must be trained and ready to deal with the media, communicate with employees and perhaps their families, and speak to members of the community directly.

Stakeholders

This section has to define the stakeholders that are important so that you remember to communicate with the people who are essential to your business. This includes employees, customers, contractors, suppliers, and anyone who visits the premises. Whether you are a privately held or a publicly traded company, there can also be investors and shareholders, government regulatory agencies, insurance companies, and more. Each of these people and organizations also need to be identified in your communication plan.  Make sure that all of their contact details are updated at least every 90 days.

Critical Incident Stress Debriefing

This section may include the provision of counseling services for people who are affected by the incident. You may have heard about something like this following a serious incident at a school or workplace.

Event Debriefing

The last section of the plan should have room for a summary where each member of the crisis management team will make notes about things that are necessary to share after the incident has resolved, or at least the emergency aspects have been dealt with. This should include comments that demonstrate strengths and weaknesses of the plan and recommendations for improvement. This is an important part of the plan, as you should use lessons learned in order to prepare for the next time to the best of your ability.