Are you aware of who your critical stakeholders are? If not, you should be.
Critical partners provide a number of services that might be vital to your organizations response to crises. These can include anything from IT support and infrastructure for data or voice communications, operational coordination with other parts of the organization, and much more. In some complex businesses the list is virtually endless. It’s important that all critical stakeholders are included in crisis exercises so they know their role and how you’ll work together before an actual event occurs.
1 – Understand How You’ll Coordinate During Emergency Situations
When critical partners are involved in your simulation exercises, it makes it easier to understand how you’ll coordinate with each other during actual emergencies. This helps everyone know what their role is and where they should be when a real event occurs. There may not always be time for certain items on an agenda if something goes wrong so it’s important that every operation runs smoothly between critical stakeholders before anything takes place outside of training or simulations. During training sessions, you can learn which problems need extra attention as well as any possible weaknesses within the organizations response plan itself so no unanticipated issues take place at your organization after any future events occur. If there are areas that need improvement, this also gives key players ample opportunity to work out the kinks before they become a factor.
Related: Coordinate Crisis Messaging with Local Authorities — Or Else!
2 – You’ll Have Better Communications With Critical Partners
Including critical stakeholders in crisis and emergency management simulation exercises also helps you to create better communication with them. This is especially important if your organization has multiple locations or satellite offices that require different levels of assistance during an event such as tornadoes, cyber-breaches, or active shooter situations. When these partners are included from the start, everyone is on the same page when it comes down to who does what and where – this prevents confusion amongst those involved which could lead to further complications along the way during actual crises. These types of incidents can be extremely chaotic so having clear instructions beforehand is pivotal for success no matter how big or small the incident might turn out to be. You’ll also need to know who you can communicate with in order to get more information or report any problems that may arise.
3 – Reduced Poor Response Times
The amount of time it takes for an emergency to be handled is often one of the most important factors in how effective your response plan will turn out. When you include critical partners within simulation exercises, you’ll get a better idea about their capabilities which can help reduce response times significantly. The more familiar these partners are with each other’s roles during emergencies, the faster they should respond when actual events occur! This method also helps all stakeholders prepare even if there isn’t always enough time to coordinate beforehand because everyone knows what needs to happen once something goes wrong. It doesn’t matter whether this means getting information onto social media or calling up vendors that may need assistance – having multiple locations working together from day one results in less risk overall when it comes down to how your organization will function when emergencies occur.
What If You Don’t Involve Critical Partners?
If your organization is unable to include critical stakeholders within crisis and emergency management simulation exercises, it’s important they’re still involved before an actual event occurs. They should be kept up-to-date on the plan itself so they always know what their role is during emergencies and where they fall in line when a real incident happens. This will prevent further complications from taking place at organizations without including them simply because there could be issues with communication between certain key players if no one knows what their role actually is beforehand – this includes anything from misunderstandings all the way down to possible disasters. During emergencies, every minute counts so it’s important that you know who to contact beforehand in case of any problems taking place during an actual event.
Also, if your organization doesn’t include critical stakeholders within crisis and emergency management simulation exercises before anything actually happens outside of training sessions, there could be plenty of issues along the way with communication between key players including misunderstandings all the way down to possible disasters depending on what the situation might entail itself which can delay response times significantly. It’s vital that everyone knows where they fall into line beforehand especially if your organization has multiple locations or satellite offices to take into consideration. This includes knowing who you can communicate with beforehand in order to get more information or report any problems that may arise if they do happen during an actual event.
Related: Crisis Stakeholder Planning, Don’t Wait! – The Silo Mentality