Having your corporate crisis management team ready for any eventuality can be a challenge so having various tools and resources is important. The tools and resources you select to support your team and its ability to management emergencies might not be as difficult to put together as you might think. Consider what might be essential in the event your team needs to start managing a crisis. Time might be against you.

Here’s a common list based on my own experience as well as having helped organizations identify their own needs through simulation exercises.

  1. The Emergency Operations Center or Situation Room

This location should be secure and equipped to receive the team a moment’s notice. There should also be an off-site location that is identified and tested in case the team needs to evacuate the primary location.

Resource – EOC eLearning Course by PreparedEx

  1. A Digital CM (Crisis Management) Portal

Accessing important documentation and forms is vital. Being able to access plans and other relevant documents will help the team manage the event. Try to ensure that the team can access the information from an external location.

  1. Don’t Forget, Have a Paper Copy of the Crisis Plan and Important Documents

If for some reason the CM portal or information is not accessible, make sure the team has access to paper copies of all the relevant information. Some teams carry copies in their vehicles as well has having copies positioned in the primary and secondary EOC’s.

  1. Maps of Assets (buildings, facilities, others locations)

I forget the amount of times that I have been in crisis management exercises that have required the team to simulate evacuating the building or facility and the team have sent someone back into the building to get a map. Of course, as it was in an exercise setting I allowed them to do that. Have a paper copy of any maps or drawings of the various assets in your EOC as well as digital copies.

  1. A Register of Key Stakeholders

This could be part of your planning documents. Have a list of the key stakeholders that can be accessed easily. The list should include the name and title of the stakeholder, the organization, contact information and who within your organizations owns the relationship. Where possible, a second person from your organization should be identified as a backup to primary relationship owner.

  1. A Master Events Log

The MEL (Master Events Log) is a document that is created as early as possible during a crisis or even an incident that you believe might transmission into a crisis. The MEL should include date, time, the facts and assumptions as well as the status of any key actions that have taken place.

Resource – MEL Template from PreparedEx

  1. The Grab Bag

Now you have a list of tools and resources that will support the CMT, it might be a good idea to have a Grab Bag that can be taken with the team if they need to set up externally. The bag could be kept in someone’s vehicle or close to the exit of a building where someone can grab it before they leave.

What resources does your team have in place?

One way to evaluate what tools and resources your team needs is to conduct a tabletop exercise that includes an objective that requires the evaluation of resource requirements. This exercise objective should uncover several crisis response related issues as well as some logistical factors like equipment and other EOC / Situation Room needs.

Resource – Crisis Management Tabletop Exercises – A Guide to Success

 

I would like to know what resources my team needs to support them during a crisis