Every business faces some type of crisis at one point or another. It could be a natural disaster, a data breach, an accident with injuries – these are all examples of events that can cause significant damage to your company’s reputation and bottom line.
When these incidents happen, you need to have a plan in place for how you will handle the situation and what resources you will need from your crisis management team. In this post we’ll discuss how incident / emergency response is supported by the crisis management team so that when the time comes for them to step up they’re ready!
The Crisis Management Team Supporting Communication Challenges
The team can support communication challenges that occur before and after an emergency by developing messaging to use with the public, media and other key stakeholders, by establishing clear guidelines for who is allowed to speak publicly about your company’s response efforts, and creating an internal structure so everyone involved in managing responses knows what they need to do. At the same time it’s important that this team doesn’t step on the toes of your communications department, who will be responsible for controlling all external messaging during an incident. Close coordination with the impacted team or location is paramount.
Social Media Monitoring During the Incident
The communications group within the crisis management team can support the incident response activities by monitoring social media channels to get a clear understanding of what is happening. They are responsible for updating impact assessment teams, senior leadership and other stakeholders about anything that may be helpful in determining next steps during an event. This includes sharing information on what’s being said publicly so you know how your company is being perceived, and also providing insight into the public’s needs during a crisis.
Stakeholder Coordination
The Crisis Management Team can help coordinate with other stakeholders and agencies involved in the emergency response process. They can support with roles such as initiating actions, providing updates about an incident to other teams or stakeholders, and identifying lessons learned from previous crisis management activities. If you are interested in joining this team it is important that you understand the various tasks they undertake during specific types of incidents because these responses will be different based on the type of incident.
Supporting Emergency Response Teams Decision-Making
During an incident it is important to make the right decisions. The crisis management team can support this by helping determine if additional resources need to be brought in, and providing guidance on how best to proceed with recovery efforts . They also provide insights into lessons learned from previous incidents so that emergency responders know what worked well and which areas they should improve upon. Tight coordination between crisis management teams and emergency responders is essential.
Related: PreparedEx Podcast – Enhancing Response Effectiveness Through Monitoring and Corrective Actions
When an Emergency Occurs
They can support emergency response activities by establishing a clear structure and hierarchy so all actions are coordinated. In some instances, they can also provide assistance to the impacted team or location with tasks such as identifying which resources need to be brought in, reviewing data and imagery from sensors installed at the site of any emergency activity for insight into what happened and why, and by identifying areas of improvement for responding teams so they can continuously improve their responses. Additional support activities may include:
- Establishing contact with external partners and organizations involved in the activity;
- Identifying potential risks associated with engaging specific stakeholder groups regarding your organization’s role or involvement;
- Providing updates to project managers about the activity, including any issues or roadblocks that are encountered;
- Keeping track of lessons learned in your organization’s response to previous crisis management activities.
Post Emergency Activities for the Crisis Management Team
The team can support the impact assessment process by providing information to other teams about what happened during an event. They are responsible for collecting and analyzing data, identifying areas of improvement that were revealed through lessons to be learned from their responses, and taking into consideration any new legal or compliance requirements that may have emerged as part of this activity.
After a crisis is over, the team can help with any public affairs activities by identifying what they want to communicate about the incident and how best to do that. Close coordination is important for this type of activity because each response will be different based on the nature of an emergency. Any lessons to be learned identified during recovery efforts should also be shared across teams so everyone involved knows what they should be doing to improve their performance.
Conclusion
The crisis management team should provide support throughout the entire emergency response process. The types of activities they are responsible for can vary depending on if an incident is ongoing or has ended, but what remains consistent is their need to ensure that all actions are coordinated so everyone involved knows exactly who should be doing what and when it needs to get done. If you are interested in joining this team, you should understand the various tasks they undertake during specific types of incidents because these responses will be different based on the type of incident.