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Creating Crisis Management Teams y Andy Podolak sembles the rest of the team. ram begins with a competent During: The leader makes critical de- crisis management team. This executing the pro- he organiza- gram. The team leader should be one ional backbone for crisis planning and of few team members, if not the only This month's response. The team is composed of several key fi each with specific member, with discretionary authority. In a crisis, too many decision makers article focuses on duties before, during and after a crisis. pay frustrate ca ully laid plans. Postcrisis: Again, the team leader is the members of the Team Leader esponsible for decision and policy team that deals making. In postcrisis situations, he or The team should be headed by the or- she works closely with the board to with crises, from ganization's chairman or another se- direct the organization. nior executive authorized to make preparation binding decisions on behalf of the or- Finance Director ganization. This individual must have to aftermath. the confidence of the board of direc- tors and the majority of the share- Typically the CFO, the team's finan- cial representative is responsible for holders. He or she e central figure ial affairs related Next month: of the contingency management plan crisis management. will make the critical choices dur Precrisis; The finance director as- The technological ing execution. The team leader must be willing to make-a ses financial implications of each tools to manage aspect of the program, arranging for these difficult decisions. rapid disbursement of emergency a crisis. Precrisis: As the team's central fig- are, the leader exercises final deci- During: The finance director han- sion-making authority. He or she de- dles all financial transfers related to termines and plans the policy and as- the crisis, such as paying ransom 54 RISK MANAGEMENT / SEPTEMBER 2002 duced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CRISIS MANAGEMENT TEAMS money in a kidnapping. management program. He or she is re- adequate insurance for continuing Postcrisis: The finance director main- sponsible for establishing a crisis cen critical operations and determines rains detailed records of costs related ter and training employees in proper how various co atingencies affect cov- to crisis management and continues to erage. He or she advises the team advise the team leader on the financial sis response. During: The security officer serves leader on the potential financial im- impact of the crisis. s the primary information officer. He act of these effects. or she notifies other members of the During: The risk manager assists the Legal Representative team about the nature of the crisis and security director as a secondary intelli- continues to supplement reports as gence and information officer. The team's legal representative can be events unfold. This director is the pri- Postcrisis: The risk manager pre outside counsel or the organization's mary liaison with police and other pares insurance claims and modifies general counsel. afety officers. organizational policies as needed. Precrisis, during and postcrisis: The legal representative examines the legal Posteriors. rice assignment involves any action taken by coordinating the evaluation and modi- Communications Specialist the crisis management team. fication of the program. Also classified as a media or public rela- tions specialist, this confident individu- Security Director Risk Manager n assess a crisis situation quickly and convey important details without The security director handles contin- The risk manager assesses the poten- compromising the privacy of the orga- gency planning, crisis response and tial impact of a crisis, secures ade- information management through all nancial protection against that ation or any individuals being inves tigated in connection with the crisis. phases of the crisis. impact and helps with information Precrisis: The security director is in management. Precrisis: The communications spe- cialist prepares best- and charge of developing the contingency Precrisis: The risk manager acquires press releases for various scenarios. RISK MANAGEMENT Manager Subscribe Advertise Risk Write-Up Online Reader Forum Online Archive |Online Glossary |Custom Reprints |Submit Articles Say More Online Reader Forum. Discussions and debates with readers and contributors. Risk Management Magazine. Your Practical Analysis of Risk. www.mmmag.com 6 RISK MANAGEMENT / SEPTEMBER 2002 uced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. During: The communications spe- zation's board of directors. If not, em- cialist controls the release of informa- ployees will not take crisis manage- participants will not actually carry out tion within and outside of the organi- ective duties, the ment seriously until the event occurs. zation, disseminating critical informa- The board should f adding to the exercise's validity . Partic- tion without doing any further harm the plan, authorize the emergency re- ipants must "execute" their responsi- to the organization. sponse team to carry out its provi- Postcrisis: The communications spe- sions and communicate its support bilities in order and under time con- cialist continues to work with the for the plan to employees through straits, while being evaluated by a moderator. This technique helps the press and investigative authorities to channels like memoranda and inter- team assess feasibility and capability disseminate critical information. nal newsletters. In addition, the board without subjecting the org should appoint the emergency re- ant disruption organization to Human Resources Representative sponse leader. While such tabletop exercises are ef- The HR representative must be alert, he best way to test a contin- Training Exercises gency management plan is to conduct sensitive and have an intimate under- a full-scale simulation in which team standing of the organization's employ- No team is effective unless it prac- members and employees physically re- . He or she must remain aware of tices. The least expensive way to con- spond to a disaster. For example, the what is going on inside the organiza- duct training for the crisis mana CEO of one software production com- be able to discern ment team is through implementation ate problems before they escalate into eviews and validation exercises. pany periodically walks into his orga- ization's main server room and pulls dangerous situations. In an implementation review. the plug on the primary server to test Precrisis, during and postcrisis: The team's human resources representative which should be repeated every quar- emergency response capability. A live ter, members of the crisis management fire drill does not need to be so dra- informs the crisis management team team talk through various aspects of matic, but a full-scale mock crisis will about issues affecting employees. the crisis management plan in the safety and comfort of the organiza- address any leasibility questions left unanswered by the tabletop exercises. Security Specialist or Consultant tion's conferen It also identifies logistical errors not on internal logic and consistency. readily apparent during a nonaction Typically, this is an outsourced securi- h member goes through the plan drill. Although simulation exercises are ty expert capable of educating the or- reviewing his or her responsibilities expensive, they are necessary and ganization on a variety of contingency following the chro should be held at least once a year. planning issues they would develop during Precrisis: The security specialist emergency. This early-stage review Next Steps serves primarily as a training officer identifies responsible actors and any and consultant. He or she researches deficiencies in the plan before the exe- With the crisis management team in and develops case scenarios aimed at cution of a costly full-scal ct emergencies- ace, the organization can turn to the from natural The validation exercise is more that to prepare disasters to kidnapping to workplace comprehensive. All relevant parties for and how to p are for it. This violence-with an eye toward formu- responsible for executing the plan starts with a brainstorming session lating and testing the organization's participate in the walk-through. This during which team members ask program. This includes hosting em- is a larger-scale operation than the "What if . . ?" As insiders, the mem- ployee security awareness briefings, implementation review, and offers ar bers will have the most intimate studying issues that affect the modern expanded opportunity to test inter knowledge of issues particular to their workplace and preparing the organiza- tion accordingly. logic and execution capability. By in- organization and can home in of During: The security specialist ad- are parties, the validat operational aspects that make their or- RA vises the team leader, offering special- tual crisis response, subjects the crisis ganization unique. ized expertise in all areas of conduct management plan to practical scruti Andy Podolak is managing director of during the crisis. ny, and has the added benefit of both Vance Education and Training, a secu- Postcrisis: The security specialist as- ng employees o sists the security director in the evalua and testing their knowledge. Valida- rity training firm in Oakton, Virginia He has written extensively on crisis tion and modification of the program. tion exercises should be conducted management and workplace violence every six months in order to maintain Leadership Support proficiency. Read More: To make both implementation and Crisis Management Issue crisis management plan and the team lation exercises more effective, that creates and implements it must first assemble the group, then an RM May 2002 have the strong support of the organi- nounce the triggering event. While the Archive at rmmag.com SEPTEMBER 2002 / RISK MANAGEMENT 57 luced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission