Put Your Emergency Action Plan in Place

It’s difficult to think about crises, but planning for them is important for your current and future success. Jaye Hamby, an FLM+ consultant, shares some ideas to help you get started.

The first step, he says, is to identify the three to five scenarios that you consider to be tier 1 crises for your operation.

“These are the critical things that are most likely to occur,” he explains.

Considerations include hazardous material spills, transportation accidents, fires and severe weather such as tornadoes or earthquakes.

Brainstorm on specific steps you would want employees to take in the event a crisis occurs.

“Identify who in your organization would be responsible for putting each step into action,” he says. “The more specific you can be, the better.”

Once you have a plan drafted, invite feedback and constructive criticism from key management and trusted advisers. Then, make revisions.

As you finalize a plan for each crisis, communicate it internally from your top management all the way to the front lines of your business, Hamby encourages.

Once you’ve planned for major crises, don’t overlook or forget to address the issues that you believe are
tier 2 concerns for your business.

If you need support, then consider attending a crisis management training workshop. Hamby says the 14 participants at the ARA event in March went home with 80% of their initial plans drafted.

For more information about crisis management planning, contact David McKnight, ARA director of member services, at (202) 595-1710.