10 Tips for Crisis Management

1. Plan for the worst possible scenarios and hope for the best; consider all risks, all aspects of the business including informa­tion continuity, where your interdepen­dencies with other organisations lie and ensure your insurance provides appropri­ate cover.
2. Document business continuity and crisis plans and individual roles and responsibili­ties – identify who does what and when and allow autonomy to carry out roles. Make sure plans can be adapted to all pos­sible events and include how the business will recover.
   
3. Conduct crisis management and media training for key people.
   
4. Have a plan or strategy for communicat­ing with all of your stakeholders including; staff, shareholders, customers, suppliers and media. Consider a resource kit includ­ing telephone trees, media release tem­plates, holding statements, scripts, media lists, etc. Make sure you include social media in your strategies.
   
5. Test and review your plans regularly and learn from your mistakes and those of others.
   
   During the crisis
   
6. Stay calm, identify what has gone wrong, exactly what the crisis is, who it will af­fect and what you need to do to manage the situation. Activate your crisis plans if required and keep a log of every decision and activity for the duration.
   
7. Tackle it head on and allocate resources appropriately – an issue caught early can be prevented from turning into a crisis.
   
8. Communicate regularly and with consis­tent messages to all stakeholders.
   
9. Forward plan for other issues that may arise at the same time.
   
10. Consider using a professional to help you manage the crisis and/or the media.
    
    For more information on crisis management and preparedness visit our website: www.adarnaconsulting.com.au
    
    Samantha Ford
    Managing Director
    Adarna Consulting Pty Ltd