MANAGING A DISASTER

The Importance of Crisis Management and Business Continuity Plans When Disaster Strikes: I

f you’re like many companies, you may have a 24-hour disaster recovery plan for securing your facilities, employees, and other assets immediately after a crisis. But for some prolonged disasters, you could be in trouble if you don’t have pre- paredness plans to get you past the first day.

For example, in the fall of 2011, thousands of residents and businesses in the Northeast experienced nearly two weeks without power due to an October snowstorm that caused a massive outage throughout the region. That’s why, in addition to developing an initial response plan, it is advisable to implement both crisis management and business continuity planning. A crisis management plan governs the overall response to an event, including crisis communications. A business continuity plan, which is the process of identifying and protecting critical business functions, helps organizations sustain operations during crises such as natural disasters, fires and explosions, widespread recalls, acts of terrorism,

your reputation, you need to know what to say to the media, what not to say, and how to manage communica- tions such as press releases, press con- ferences, and interviews. 2. Make sure you can contact key stakeholders.Determine how you will communicate with employees, cus-

tomers, and suppliers during a crisis. For example, how will you tell employees whether or not to come to work? How will you advise customers about the disaster, the damage, and whether it will impact delivery of goods and services? How will you communicate with your supply chain and other business partners? Determine these protocols before a disaster, and document them in the plan. If you use an old-fashioned call tree, make sure it’s accessible during a crisis – and not in a drawer in an unreachable office. 3. Identify your critical processes and functions. Identify which processes and functions are most critical to the busi- ness, and determine how you will manage them during a crisis that affects your facilities, technology, or staff? What resources are needed to get those tasks done? Who are the

and supply-chain breakdowns. In developing a business continuity plan, consider how different kinds of crises could impact your facilities , technology, and human capi- tal. And keep in mind that some crises – such as a power outage – may affect all three.

Here are four quick steps for getting started on develop- ing crisis management and business continuity plans: 1. Assemble a crisis management team. Who will be in charge when a disaster strikes? Who will declare the crisis, activate the business continuity plan, and announce when the crisis is over? Crisis management teams typically include representatives from senior management, general counsel, risk management, human resources, employee communications, information technology, and media rela- tions. Importantly, if your company doesn’t have a dedicat- ed department for media relations, identify a point person and consider sending him or her to media training. During a disaster, your company will be evaluated – by cus- tomers, investors, and the general public – on how well you manage the crisis and communicate your efforts. To protect

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employees performing the critical functions, or which employees have the special skills needed to get the job done? Do they need to work on-site or can they telecom- mute? Will they have the necessary equipment to work remotely? If the office is inaccessible, can work be per- formed at a secondary location? 4. Develop processes for non-critical functions. In addi- tion to identifying critical business functions, decide what to do with non-critical functions in the event of a disaster. Should employees who perform non-critical functions stay at home? If so, will they be paid? Should they be cross- trained to support the critical functions? Your business continuity plan should anticipate these kinds of scenarios and document the policies and processes. Ultimately, the combination of incident response, crisis management, and business continuity is essential for keep- ing your business functioning during a crisis, securing your assets, protecting your reputation, and minimizing the impact of the crisis. Bill Velin, Wells Fargo Business Insurance, (952) 830-3039, bill.velin@wellsfargo.com.