Alex,
When you can see the structure of when and how a crisis may take place we have a chance to avoid or lessen the effects of the crisis.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Laura,
The loss of lives in Newtown are tragic and unconceivable. But we must always move on with what we learn. This message to all of us is to be prepared for the disasters that may occur. If we can even save some lives it is worth the effort.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Diana,
Plan A and Plan B is always good to create. When one avenue or path is not the correct one at the time of the crisis it is good to move on to the next plan of action.
Dr. Gary Carlson
I agree that organization and families must plan for possible crisis situations. I worked for University of Maryland, Baltimore a health sciences university and participated in the Emergency Management Team. We had on-going crisis situations - health, environmental, technological, economic and relationships which we were always preparing for - doing audits, creating contingency plans, establishing real life activites to test our plans. Our plans avoided numerous crisis and mitigated others.
I do agree that it is possible to plan for a crisis situations. In life and in work most of us have experienced difficult situations that we have had to deal with. Some difficulties rise to level of crises, i.e. they have the potential to disrupt function severely and they often do. In work situations this is particularly problematic since it can affect the success of the business entity. As a result of these events we discover what can go wrong, how badly things can go and what effect this has on the business and the employees. We also get to see, if we look carefully enough, what factors led up to the crisis, how we responded to it and what the outcomes were. Considering all of this we have access to a good amount of information and experience on crises events.
We can also understand that some type of crisis is likely to occur or conditions for crises are likely to arise in the future. Having all of this information and experience gives us the material with which to prepare and guard for the conditions that might bring a crisis on. A person in a responsible position should take all of these factors into account and be able to ask the right questions, gather the right information and people, and develop a strategy on dealing these types of situations.
I also agree that it is not only possibly, but imperative, to have a crisis plan. Although we cannot always plan for all the of "what ifs" that could arise, the value of a plan that covers the conceivable crises is huge. Even just starting with a basis plan that list employees, customers & stakeholders, having a communication tree, and an evacuation plan.
I work in a small school campus in CT where not a lot of consideration was given to crises other than from our technology person. After the shootings at Newtown, our heads have turned to seriousness of invasions along with creating a team and plan for other possible situations. Fortunately we have the opportunity to LEARN and be prepared!
It is possible to plan for a crisis situation but something can always happen that was completely unexpected. The right thing would be to brainstorm and create plans for all of the situations you can think of. Also, the team of employees and crisis management needs to have certain steps that can be used in any unforseen situation.
Noel,
Scenarios of having practice drills are as much as your imagination can contrive for possible crisis situations. As people change with new employees the training or retraining must be redundant.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Stuart,
A crisis plan is to reduce impact and to take care of your people. When making a plan it is important to have a comfort level you have addressed these issues.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Kara,
Your judgment is important for determining the answers to these questions. What plays into the answers is how many people turnover and need to know the practice and process put into place is written. Training on an ongoing basis for those who need to know is important. Just through time alone we forget what a practice might be. Don't over do the occurrence of training .
Dr. Gary Carlson
I agree it is possible to plan for a crisis situation.That being said practice makes perfect, or at least as close to perfect as one can get during a crisis.
Our campus had not until recently done a practice fire drill. It seemed easy enough,after you hear the alarm get everyone out of the building in a timely fashion. However with my cup of coffee untouched and the alarms blaring in my ears I found myself trying to remember which rooms I was supposed to "clear" before I exited the building.
The point being that planning can only get you so far. Having a dry run of certain safety protocols and procedures when possible, is a great way to test your self, staff and students how to operate under pressure.
Has anyone else found other drills helpful, such as a lock down?
I do agree that it is possible to plan for a crisis situation. The first thing is to just take a moment to asses the situation, see what is the cause. Yes there are many what if's and we all know this, we live in a world of what if's. To deal with the crisis you tackle it like you would a set of stairs, One step at a time. By working in both the government and the private sector, I see that crisis management is all the same. Major situations are always covered by some type of protocol where we work at. Emergency evacuation plans, triage, security procedures, & etc. Some are at a grand scale all the way down to if somebody gets hurt at work. Being proactive is an effective task at avoiding a crisis, but if one does come about its too late to worry about what you should have done. Main thing is trust your staff to do the right thing. If you train and lead your staff right, you will manage thru it. Your staff is a reflection of you after all. By knowing your job, your companies plans for operations, policies and procedures it will give you a tremendous insight on how to tackle a crisis.
I like your concept of being proactive. Awareness that events can happen seems like it would go a long way to preventing some crises and quelling others in the early stages. How often would you hold planning meetings, pratice drills, and revamp your scenarios?
Lauri,
I have lived in different parts of the country and know crisis potential varies with where you live. We still know that fire, wind, rain and personal disasters can happen. Schools and businesses have been confronted with all of these possibilities. Having an action plan is the best action for the security of your employees.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Mark,
Employees know when their leader protects them as much as possible. When they have this reassurance they can perform at a higher rate. By you taking into account possible crisis and letting them know you have a plan they remain clam and comforted you have plan.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Annette,
Crisis management is primarily for the protection of the company but also for your employees. Many disasters as we define them are directed directly at the employees performance and ability to finish their jobs.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Crisis management varies definitely with the geographical area you may live. Being proactive with the potential issues is the best first step. Usually the best plans are those that resemble each other. First and foremost is taking care of the people to keep them out of harms way.
I appreciate the thorough comments to this statement. I think there is such a learning opportunity by just listening to the news. It seems that there are numerous situations that people don't necessarily plan for but can then prepare for them once an event occurs.
I have lived in areas of where natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes seemed more imminent and where those topics were continuously addressed by employers, however, I currently live in area where those threats are not as vulnerable and can see where the current crisis plan could improve. For instance earthquakes are not high on the list but that does not mean that one cannot happen in my area.
Also, being recently purchased by another big company, it would be interesting to compare each of the Crisis Management Plans to see how we could learn from them both.
Yes, it is possible to plan for a crisis. No matter what level of crisis, the basic rule for all decision making is the exposure of constituents. This year alone presented two crisis situations that I have never had as school director. Making my students and staff the #1 concern led to successfully navigating with preferred outcomes. I compare it to Maslow's hierarchy...It is the same type of thinking. Do others have simple models that they follow?
I believe it is possible to plan for a crisis situation up to a point.
You can have emergency response and evacuation procedures in place for natural disasters so that you know what to do in the event of earthquake, tornado, hurricane etc.
Natural or man made disasters could also lead to technology issues. Be prepared with computer back ups of your data and having contact information available outside of your electronic devices.
Open and frequent communication with all your managers could prevent a smaller issue from becoming a crisis by being dealt with early in the situation.
Being prepared by having procedures will reduce the stress during the crisis so that you can handle the issues of the crisis with a little more ease.
