Human resources departments often need to spring into action when an organization’s life cycle is disrupted. While many HR professionals handle daily crises, most have no experience putting together a crisis management plan. Crisis management is not simple, to say the least, note the juxtaposition and irony of this article’s title with the truly daunting task of managing a business crisis, it is not simple. This article is intended for those human resource professionals who are tasked with writing a crisis management plan for the first time or who have relatively little experience writing them. Starting with a simplified plan to set the wheels in motion on what to do will help any HR professional reduce the overwhelming feeling of whether or not they are laying out a plan the right way.
As an HR professional, it is important to be a strategic partner in the organization with a strict focus on the company’s mission and value statements always at the root of HR’s work. Disrupting a company’s business life cycle will involve company personnel, but the scope has far-reaching effects that almost always reach the public. A crisis management plan is a deliberately planned course of action that must necessarily be taken in the event that an unforeseen and extremely problematic matter arises. Typically, three major things happen: 1) there is a business interruption that puts the business in a very precarious position; 2) time is of the essence in handling the matter and; 3) An action plan should be instituted to reduce or minimize damage to the company and its brand. Thereafter, there is always an analysis and report of how the events unfolded and the actions taken to assess the success of the crisis management plan.
As in any risk management situation, preparation is key. A crisis management plan is a risk management plan. Here is a basic template that will make it easy to get started. Developing the details will take some time, but the template will help design the skeletal plan.
Anticipatory considerations: Think of any situation that has the potential to arise and disrupt the company, its culture, and its brand. This requires a bit of doomsday insight, which while it sounds lopsided, is actually a prized skill in risk management and advocacy. Planning to deal with worst-case scenarios is vital to managing them. As an HR professional in charge, for example, what would be the next steps if the CEO of the company suddenly had a heart attack and there was no succession plan? What would you do if you started a unionization campaign in the company parking lot? What would you do if a high-level manager had sexually harassed a subordinate and the victim went public?
Crisis Management Team: Assemble a team of essential staff and experts from both inside and outside the company who have the ability to work on the issues chosen from the crisis management plan (NTA, 2003). The composition of the team will vary depending on the crisis. The team develops the plan to follow and the members are in charge of executing the plan. Only people with a critical role in relation to the event should be on this team.
Company Posture: Maintain a sharp focus on the company’s mission and values statements and all underlying policies and procedures. Consider any laws that may be involved. What is the company’s unwavering stance on this?
Plan It: Determine action steps from start to finish. Here, details count for everything. A business continuity strategy must be clear and well articulated (Smith, 2003). Create a checklist. Make sure there are no gaps or overlapping steps or duties. Rehearse the scenario frequently and continually update the plan due to any major changes or modifications.
Execution: If the crisis occurs, execute the plan and monitor each step of the map as it unfolds. Stay the course unless some major distraction requires a change of action. Otherwise, stick to the plan.
Post Event Analysis: When the crisis has been mitigated, deflected, neutralized, or minimized, review what happened. Inform as necessary and required, especially to all interested parties. Prepare appropriate reports for review and follow-up, including investigation of the circumstances and persons involved, all with a view to closing the issues. Evaluate and measure the result. Use focus groups to shed light on where things could have gone better or where there is potential exposure to litigation.
Dealing with the media and the public: Trust the position and actions of the company, be as transparent as possible. Avoiding the media with late responses, twisted arguments, or “no comment” only invites speculation and in-depth scrutiny (NTA, 2003). Policy statements should be prepared in advance as part of the crisis management plan, although they may be subject to change as things develop. Maintain the “one person, one message” rule so that a credible person speaks on behalf of the company (NTA, 2003).
Crisis preparedness is smart. The idea should be to save the company’s reputation while minimizing disruption to business continuity (Smith, 2003). Being a proactive strategic partner makes the role of an HR professional even more valuable and important during a business crisis. The Simplified Crisis Management Plan is a tool to help organize the HR professional’s critical thinking process in putting one together.
References
NTA. (2003, January). A guide to developing crisis management plans. NTA Market Development Council.
Smith, D. (2003, January). Business continuity and crisis management. Quarterly Management.