5 Crisis Management Tips for your Business - Catalist Consulting

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Quite often we fail to plan and thus plan to fail for Crisis Management.? A Crisis could come in many forms and we as individuals and businesses can to more to ?Be Ready? for Crisis.? Whether it?s an active shooting in the workplace, a toxic chemical spill, industrial accident or natural disaster, the majority of employers are unprepared to deal with a workplace crisis, says long-time crisis management expert Jonathan Bernstein, author of ?Manager?s Guide to Crisis Management.? Bernstein shares five tips for creating and executing a successful crisis management plan.

Conduct a vulnerability audit

Look objectively at all the things within the entire organization that might make it more vulnerable to a crisis in general or to a specific crisis, advises Bernstein. Look for red flags in every functional area because a crisis can occur anywhere. A vulnerability audit could, for example, uncover that a website is unable to handle a sudden surge in traffic that typically accompanies a crisis.

Create an operational response plan

This includes everything from what the organization needs to do to who is responsible for doing it to relevant timelines.? There are some Great Resources from FEMA and Christian Emergency Network and their Indianapolis, IN affliate ?ReadyIndy??Click HERE for a Checklist of Training and Resources to help you and your organization prepare:?One of the biggest concerns for businesses is the safety and access to their systems and data for continued operations, This is including but not limited to Sales CRM tools, Customer Files, Forms, and so much more.? One Great tool that 87% of fortune 500 businesses use is a Cloud Based service called BOX?that can save companies up to 90% off their costs of Microsoft Office Sharepoint or related tools. CLICK here for some more information on how BOX can help you solve existing data and document management, information sharing, and workflow / collaboration issues as well as reduce costs in this area.? Another technology that could keep you in business is your phone system, many business are saving significant money and able to continue operations virtually uninterrupted because their Voice Systems are also ?in the Cloud?.? Contact Catalist Consulting for an analysis to see if this might be a right fit for you.

Create a crisis communications plan

This includes what the messages are, who is responsible for communicating the messages and how the messages are to be transmitted. The communications plan should work in tandem with the operational response plan, although ideally the plans should each be managed by different people. ?If you?re busy trying to assess whether the building damaged by the tornado will be ready for occupancy in the next 30 days, for example, you can?t also be dealing with the media,? says Bernstein.? Again, in this LINK, FEMA has free online training and resources for you to know how to effectively do this in your company.? We at Catalist refer to this as an EOP ( Emergency Operations Plan ) every organization needs to have one in writing, there are many reasons for this.? If you need help, Ready Indy and Catalist Consulting can help you by providing Templates and instructions / training for your company / organization. Why re-iinvent the wheel, Contact us today to get started.

Train employees

After creating the operational response plan and communications plan, the next step is to train employees to respond according to the plans. This includes media training for spokespeople.? Again, training resources are available HERE: These training resources are FREE and will become invaluable with any type of Disaster.? CERT ( Community Emergency Response Team ) is part of the Citizen Corps?a National Organization that works with Local County Emergency Management offices to provide local civilian training for individuals to be better prepared in times of crisis for themselves.? The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.? Many of those civilians are also able to be activated if they so choose to become a ?County Resource? in times of crisis if Government resources are overwhelmed.? Check your Local County Emergency Management to see when they have their next CERT Training Scheduled.? Included in the CERT training are kits, go bags, hard hats, gloves, tools, and other light first aid beginner kits to get you started.? Entire families can also train and become CERT trained.? The more training that you and your employees can take advantage of, the better prepared you will be in times of crisis, moreover you will minimize the amount of damage, liability and loss as a result of trained employees.

Simulations help ensure the appropriate people stay up-to-date. ?Several organizations that were in the World Trade Center on 9/11 had done that, including practicing evacuation and moving operations to a different site, because they had been warned by the previous World Trade Center bombing [in 1993],? says Bernstein. ?Without drills, many of the skills and processes in crisis plans are not intuitive to plan participants.?? Again, many local organizations like CERT and Christian Emergency Network conduct Crisis Simulation Drills on an ongoing basis.? Check those resources out and contact your local affiliate offices to see how they might work with your company, church, or organization and incorporate experienced training and drills into your workplace.

Contact us If you have any questions or would like some help in this area, Catalist Consulting offers resources, training, plug and play documentation and much more through its relationship with NVOAD, INVOAD, CERT, FEMA, Christian Emergency Network, Ready Indy, Hope Crisis Response Network, and many more please CONTACT Ben McCann directly as in addition to the Owner of Catalist Consulting, serves as Operations Officer with ReadyIndy.org and has experience and training with all of the organizations listed above as well as First Hand experience with multiple types of Disaster Response and Long Term Recovery efforts in the state of Indiana.

Note: this article includes exerpts from Employee Benefits News Magazine article HERE?as well as content added by Ben McCann of Catalist Consulting who also serves as Operations Officer for Networking Preparing & Responding organization called? ReadyIndy ( an affiliate of the Christian Emergency Network)

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Jan

posted in: Business Planning, Christian Emergency Network, Crisis Management, Disaster Preparedness, Government, Strategy, Systems, Training by admin | tags :Ben McCann, CERT, Christian Emergency Network, Crisis Management, Department of Homeland Security, Disaster Preparedness, FEMA, HCRN, Homeland Security, INVOAD, Kim Stoneking, NVOAD, Online Training, organizational alignment, Ready Indy, Training

Source: http://www.catalistconsulting.com/2013/01/5-crisis-management-tips-for-your-business/

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