Crisis Management

How do you manage when faced with a crisis? When things suddenly tank, or something happens you weren’t expecting?

Stop the issue becoming a crisis

I’ve always prided myself on the fact that I can pretty much copy with anything that gets thrown at me, and usually quite calmly. I might go to pieces afterwards, once the crisis is over, the adrenaline has subsided, and the mind starts spinning with all the ‘what-if’ scenarios. But in the heat of a real situation the cool, collected me takes charge.

Most recently my husband had an extreme, and completely unexpected, anaphylactic episode that resulted in an ambulance with full blues and twos, followed by a 3-day stay in hospital until he was stabilised and sent home with a bag full of epi-pens!

I dealt with it calmly and quickly, made him comfortable and kept him calm until the emergency services arrived to take over, and cleaned up debris afterwards. (I didn’t realise how much stuff a paramedic carries on a call out, but everything is in its own sterile packaging and I had half a bin-bag full of wrappings and sticky-pads to dispose of!)

Blues and Twos!

Then I fell apart. The shock hit me, and I burst into tears with every possible doomsday scenario running through my head. And apparently that’s a normal reaction.

So why do we focus on what could have, should have, might have happened? Situations happen we can’t control. We all make mistakes. We all do things wrong. Life happens and things don't always go according to plan, but why do we still hang on to negatives?

The simple answer is that it’s human nature. When faced with problems we try to make sense of them, and question what led up to them, what we did or didn’t do that may have contributed to them. We may even think about what we should do next time we’re faced with a similar problem.

In business we need to take those thoughts, and document them; to put contingencies in place to deal with any potential crisis.

It’s called a Business Continuity Management Plan or BCMP.

Preparing your Business Continuity Management Plan

A Business Continuity Management Plan (BCMP) is essentially your safety net for when the unthinkable occurs. It’s a guidebook that ensures your business can steady itself, regroup, and continue to operate in the aftermath of a crisis. While it might sound daunting to draft such a plan, creating one is less about predicting every possible disaster, and more about being ready to adapt with intention and confidence.

So, where do you start? The process begins with a thorough risk assessment. What are the critical processes or functions that must be maintained for your business to survive? Which parts of your operations are most vulnerable, and what would the impact be if they were disrupted? Talk to your team, gather perspectives from across the organisation, and make a list of potential threats, everything from IT outages to supply chain hiccups, natural disasters to key personnel falling ill.

Once you've mapped out the risks, consider the possible consequences of each. This is where you develop your business impact analysis: what would a one-hour, one-day, or one-week disruption mean for your finances, your reputation, and your customers? With these insights, you can identify your priorities; those absolutely vital processes that must be protected at all costs.

Next, outline strategies to keep those critical functions running, whatever comes your way. This might involve backup suppliers, remote work protocols, off-site data storage, or cross-training staff to fill in for each other. The goal is to build flexibility and resilience into your operations so that you’re not thrown into chaos by a single point of failure.

Documenting your BCMP

Documentation is key. Your BCMP should be clear, practical, and accessible to anyone who might need it in a hurry, and should include:

📌 contact list for staff

📌 details of key suppliers

📌 details of key customers

📌 step-by-step instructions or actions to take in any given scenario

📌 back-up contacts for supplies and services

📌 clear roles and responsibilities

📌 escalation processes

What next?

So, you’ve got your BCMP in place; that’s it right? Well it’s a good start, but your plan should also be dynamic, and be reviewed and tested regularly

• Update for changes in staff or processes

• Assess any new technology or equipment

• Run simulations and encourage feedback from everyone involved

It’s important for key staff to have access to the plan, which may be in electronic format, but should also be available as a physical copy in case of power outages or similar.

It’s also important to ensure all employees know what part they are expected to play – when they might be expected to cover for a colleague, who that colleague might be, and what work that will involve.

So what are you waiting for? Get ahead of the game and get planning.

If you would like some help to draft, prepare, or review your Business Continuity Management Plan send a message using the Chat Now icon below, or using the form on our Contact page.