We cannot see the crisis that may occur. But basic structures can be put into place for communications, backups to computers, alternatives to sites and employee assurances.
Yes, I agree it is possible and necessary to plan for a crisis situation. While you may not be able to address the exact crisis that may occur you can assign your crisis management teams, brainstorm potential crises and identify ways to avoid/lessen the impact of a crisis.
Crisis are often just what the definition for crisis pertains too. Most crisis are unforseen and requires leadership that is cool, calm and collected. I was working for a company that was raided by the Justice Deparment and investigated for 18 months. I was fortunate enough to have a great leader in a crisis. He kept us all believing in ourselves and keeping us positive in a very difficult time. In the end we all were found with no noncompliance issues. Leadership is the ability to maintain control in a tough time.
I do agree that most crisis can be planned for with positive outcomes, while other cirsis may not have been clearly planned for. The Crisis Management Team that can adapt is the team that will overcome the negative impacts of unforseen crisis. We all deal with minor "crisis" on a daily or weekly basis, due to the plans that have been developed based on prior experience we usually do not regard them as a crisis, just a part of our day.
You are exactly right. Crisis and challenges are somtimes the same. Depending on the level of risk defines. Crisis
I agree it is possible to plan for some situations. It would be difficult to be prepared for every scenario. However, it is possible to establish an EAP (Emergency Action Plan) for some normal expected issues such as Hurricanes (location dependent). Along with some other issues which may occur. That plan could be the basic approach in most situations, but of course there needs to be flexibility involved since we can’t cover every issue.
Failure to establish any type of crisis plan would be worst than at least setting up a basic one the provides initial direction, such as phone numbers, contact data, data recovery plan, re-location of personal…the list goes on.
These are very good points. Half the battle of crisis is having a process in place. Another is to make sure your people have ownership in the game plan of action. Each person needs to feel they are part of the solution. Each time I have been acquainted with a crisis the best plan was one that had been shared and owned by every stakeholder in the operations.
Most certaintly I believe it is possible to plan for a crisis situation. Can we plan for every possible crisis situation, probably not but the more we begin the planning well ahead of time instead of waiting for the actual crisis to hit the better any company will be. At my company we have started to really take a hard look at the whole crisis situation topic and have begun setting up crisis management teams throughout the company and have been looking at what to do in case of a crisis and what key components both personnel and resources that would be needed in the case of different crisis'.
It is important to consider all system critical operations. After identifying your system critical functions you need to identify what type of hazards could be potential business stoppers. Now you. Begin to make plans of actions. Be specific with your action plans.
I believe that you can have a simple outlined plan that lays out a systematic plan. Do I think you can plan for a crisis no. But you can have a best practices that your company can rely on.
The best plan is to consider what is critical information and how can you protect it. Secondly you should consider how to keep business going as usual as can be expected in a crisis. With this in mind you can develop the simple plan that is a fall back plan when these issues arise. I have had to do this in a few occassions during the past years I have been a managment position.
I agree. Even if you haven't planned for the exact scenario you may be experiencing, you will probably have developed alot of useful input. Also, if you have been consistently reviewing your plans with various departments, you will have individuals ready to face the crises.
It is always great to be proactive as possible. When playing out scenarios you can be ready for any crisis or unforseen event. This puts your stakeholders in the best possible position to respond.
yes, is it possible to plan for a crisis situation, because damages can be prevented by planning more safety, protection etc.
Susana,
Some crisis situations can be averted by having plan in place if they did happen. Our sensitivity to crisis keeps us on our toes for our employees and business sake.
It's not just a possibility, it's doable. Prior to Hurricane Andrew in August of '92' contingencies were put in place at my company in preparation for just that reason, to plan for a crisis such as a storm the magnitude of Andrew.
We had over 50 Jewelry / Catalog Showroom stores that stretched the length of Florida from Jacksonville to South Miami-Dade County. Because of this we had an 800 number Hotline that all the associates could call into in case of an emergency situation to hear a prerecorded message, with recording capability, in case someone needed to contact someone in the company.
Because we had large vaults filled with diamond, gem and gold jewelry in the stores, we had made arrangements with Armored Car Services all over Florida to be on call following a storm to travel to any county we needed them to respond to, in case the severity of the storm had made the local Armored Services incapable of responding and moving our merchandise to the main facility. Prior to the storms arrival personnel at our main office contacted the Armored services within a five county region to assure we had the correct contact #'s in case they were needed. This had to be and was done at four stores within two days following Andrew.
Besides the Armored services we had made the same arrangements with construction contractors, electricians & glass replacement companies, as well as others, to be on call in case the worse scenario came true, which it did.
So yes, I agree. The pre-planning for a crisis was the reason for my company's quicker than usual recovery.
Art,
Planning may not reduce all the stress when a crisis comes but having a plan reduces the question of what do we do. Your example is a good to to verify this possible outcome. Your planning was exactly what we need to do for future potential crisis in different geographical regions. Your plan considered not only the big picture questions buy the finite details. Good Job!
Dr. Gary Carlson
It is possible to plan for a lot of crisis situations, however; there will be some instances that will occur that a company will have no way of predicting to occur and therefore no plan of action will be made. No one has a crystal ball to predict all future crisis so it should not be expected there will be one readily available for each crisis.
Yes, it is possible to plan for a crisis situation. You can answer the "what if" questions. When trying to prepare for a crisis, be sure to use the four major crisis areas: Health and environmental disasters, technological breakdowns, economic and market forces, and relationships.
Christina,
The key to these instances is the person who can reamain calm and respond with well thought out decisions for action. Keep your compsure to rest the situation as doable for resolutions.
Dr. Gary Carlson
