Services & Sectors: CEDARthree: Crisis Management Specialists
CEDARthree offers the following crisis management services:
Of existing plans and procedures which may also involve interviews with selected managers. Read more »
CEDARthree will review your existing crisis and incident response plans to ensure they are fit for purpose. The emphasis will be on clear, straightforward plans and processes which are easy to implement and above all practical. The audit will include a review of the written plans and interviews with selected managers who are likely to be involved in the response to major incidents. The objective will be not to impose any radical new management structure but rather to build on existing management and lines of communication.
To provide a report and make recommendations for updating and improving plans and procedures. Read more »
A crisis management 'gap analysis' is purely a sense check of contingency plans and procedures to identify areas for improvement and further development. This is a formal process based on best practice and the crisis management 'fundamentals'.
A gap analysis is an excellent means of benchmarking an organisation's resilience against other organisations of similar size and structure.
To develop a crisis management plan which is concise, focused and fit for purpose. Read more »
The crisis management plan forms the bedrock on which the immediate response to a crisis is based. It is important to formalise roles and responsibilities and the process and procedures used when responding to major incidents. Much of the detail required is often known to experienced managers but has never been formalised. The plan will contain practical detail, be laid out in a logical manner and be easy to follow and concise.
Writing the crisis management plan will involve reviewing existing arrangements and interviewing selected managers. Close liaison will be maintained with the company project manager at all times. The purpose is to ensure that the plan is fit for purpose and is based on the principle that the plan is the organisation's plan i.e. it belongs to all those who are likely to respond to a major incident and not just to the business continuity manager or managing director or, least of all, to CEDARthree! The plan will however be based on best practice and the crisis management fundamentals.
Your business and its reputation depend on it!
Briefings for senior managers, operational managers and staff. Read more »
Responsibility for crisis management is everyone’s responsibility and not just the responsibility of the business continuity manager or the managing director or even the crisis management team. An organisation may have a good crisis management plan but unless the staff know about it, it is unlikely to work and they will feel let down. Conversely, if all staff have an awareness of the contingency arrangements and what is expected of them, then the plan will be more effective when invoked and staff morale will be improved. It is after all a sign of a professional and caring organisation and staff expect such arrangements to be in place. It is also, in the UK at least, a statutory requirement.
An awareness briefing may be delivered in the form of a PowerPoint presentation, an explanatory leaflet, an e-learning CD or a combination of all three.
To provide bespoke crisis management training at all levels of management. Read more »
The training of those involved in the response to a major incident is crucial. The crisis management plan is only part of crisis management readiness or preparedness. Staff must be trained so that they are familiar with the practicalities of putting the plan into practise. They must be fully conversant with their roles and responsibilities and understand and agree to the tasks they need to address in order to fulfil them. Furthermore they must be conversant with the roles and responsibilities of others and understand how these are integrated into the overall response.
Training is typically done in an interactive workshop environment which not only develops individual skills in crisis management but also promotes team building and group effectiveness.
To validate plans, train crisis management teams and identify issues for further development. Read more »
An exercise is the best and most efficient way to validate the crisis management plan, continue the training of crisis management teams and identify issues that may need further development. Typically they can be conducted in three hours and as such are time efficient and cost effective.
Exercises can be designed at different levels of intensity depending on the skills of those at which it is aimed. Exercises range from a simple table top to a more intense inter-active role playing exercise, to a live exercise involving other responding organisations including the Emergency Services. An exercise can also be used to test a particular aspect of crisis management such as HR, IT and media handling.
A 'hot wash-up' is included at the end of the exercise where the main points are collected and discussed. Subsequently a post exercise report is produced which contains the issues raised together with recommendations for their improvement. This may then form a programme of work for the further development of the crisis management plan.
Presentations outlining the principles of crisis management with case studies to underline the roles and responsibilities. Read more »
Sometimes one of the most difficult tasks to achieve when developing crisis management is to obtain senior management 'buy-in'. Since crisis management potentially involves the whole organisation it must involve top management and specifically the managing director or chief executive. It is essential to obtain support from the top in order to give the subject sufficient gravitas and priority. All that is required is an acknowledgement by senior management that the organisation has a responsibility and a duty of care to its staff and customers that in the event of a major incident or crisis there is a well prepared plan and process in which staff have been trained and exercised to respond in the most effective and professional way possible.
An effective way to obtain this level of commitment from senior management is by means of a presentation outlining the principles of crisis management and describing one or two relevant case studies to underline the requirement. There are many examples of organisations that failed to prepare for the unexpected, were hit by a crisis and now no longer exist just as there are examples of companies that, despite suffering a major incident or crisis, have not only fully recovered but have actually benefitted due to their professional and effective response based on good crisis management preparedness.
Buy-in tends to spread throughout an organisation once the managing director or chief executive has acknowledged that the buck stops on his or her desk!
The organisation’s survival in the wake of a crisis may depend on it!
The practical, ready to hand, credit card sized résumé, of the plan. Read more »
A crisis management aide-memoire is a handy, credit-card sized resume of the principle parts of a crisis management plan. Essentially it is a sophisticated 'tick list' to ensure that in the 'heat' of the immediate response to a major incident nothing is overlooked. The aide-memoire also includes the contact details of those most likely to be involved in the response to a major incident or crisis. It should be carried by the crisis management team at all times in a wallet or handbag.
To confirm responsibilities of senior management in a crisis. Read more »
All parts of the management within an organisation have their own roles and responsibilities in a crisis. Nowhere is this more important than with senior management, including the managing director or chief executive. Theirs is the role of strategic planning and decision making. This has to be clearly understood and accepted and must form an integral part of the overall crisis management process. Where this does not happen there is a tendency for senior management to become too involved in the tactical or even operational response to a crisis.
CEDARthree offers a range of ways where this essential aspect of crisis management may best be expressed to senior management. These include one to one meetings, presentations, workshops or scenario based exercises.
To identify what decisions need to be made in a crisis, when they need to be made and by whom. Read more »
Decision making is crucial when responding to a crisis where inevitably there is the pressure of events and time. What assists crisis management decision making is knowing what decisions are likely to have to be made and when, who has responsibility for making them and whether they have the necessary authority to do so. It is also important to understand what information is needed in order to make the decisions and where this information will come from. Once a decision has been made then it is necessary to know who needs to be informed.
CEDARthree is experienced in assisting organisations define these fundamental aspects of decision making.
To provide draft press statements and training for interviews and press conferences including 'live' media handling interviews on exercises. Read more »
Media handling is of vital importance as it is linked closely to how the public and its customers perceive an organisation. Good media handling when responding to a crisis will protect an organisation’s reputation and may even enhance it.
CEDARthree can help to ensure your organisation's reputation is fully protected by providing draft press statements and training for interviews and press conferences. CEDARthree can also carry out a review of communications, both internal and external, and help to develop a communication and/or a media crisis management plan.
CEDARthree has close links with skilled journalists and reporters and recommends that media interviews form an integral part of crisis management exercises.
Outcomes and lessons learned based on a formal debriefing of staff and management following a major incident. Read more »
It is important that lessons are learned after every major incident so that the crisis management plan and process can be updated and improved where necessary. One of the most effective ways to ensure this happens is to carry out a formal debriefing of those involved and to write a report on the findings.
CEDARthree offers a straightforward and effective post incident report service which includes the carrying out of a formal debriefing of staff and management followed by the writing of a post incident report containing outcomes, lesson learned and recommendations for the further development of contingency plans.
CEDARthree has experience in many sectors and markets: