Planning a Crisis Exercise

So you have been asked to plan a crisis exercise for your organization. . . .

Before you panic, here are some tips to help.  

OBJECTIVES:

• Have clear and aligned objectives for conducting the exercise.

CREATING THE SCENARIO:

• Ask leaders “what keeps you up at night”, to select something that is on their radar.
• Find out what some of their “Lessons to be Learned” from past events were and incorporate testing to see if they have been remediated.
• Understand the functional roles of the attendees, and create the storyline so that it engages a variety of functions.
• Identify and leverage “trusted agents” to help with the detail.
• Pictures, video, “fake news”, and actual names help to improve “realism”.

LOGISTICS:

• Select a comfortable and flexible space.   The team will likely want to organize into sub teams, so have 1-2 extra rooms where they can convene.
• Have 1-2 projectors available so teams can leverage them during the exercise.
• Test the audio and video the day before.
• Flip charts, white boards, markers.
• Feed and water the participants!

PREPARE THE PARTICIPANTS:

• Reserve their calendars as far in advance as possible.
• Send a preread to make sure they know the objectives.   Include the corporate crisis management policy.
• Identify and prepare a leader to kick off the exercise.   (Draft talking points for them to help drive your message.)

GAME DAY:

• Check audio and video.
• Greet the participants as they arrive.
• Review the objectives, logistics, agenda.
• Run the exercise, observing and documenting gaps, leadership, adherence to process.
• End with roundtable of observations and next steps.
• Identify how you will improve the next exercise you lead.

FOLLOW UP:

• Create an After Action Report (AAR) summarizing the event including the objectives, scenario, and observations.
• Review the AAR with leadership to ensure thorough understanding and agreement to the observations.
• Develop a remediation plan for identified gaps.