Debriefing after Real Crises. The Best Learning

Financial disaster, major accident, cyber attack, massive recall. No simulation or crisis management exercise can ever replace the real thing.  When a real crisis occurs, most aspects of the crisis management plan would be applied, but there will be many more critical issues and intricacies which will appear. 

It goes without saying that the strategy behind a solid crisis management plan is to protect the company’s operations and reputation by providing a secure response.  But the identification of gaps in the response plan can be best discovered after a review of a real crisis situation.

A crisis simulation or exercise concludes with an evaluation and critique where responses are examined and roles and responsibilities reviewed.  The aim of these crisis exercises is to improve the effectiveness of the teams in managing a crisis, at the same time as reviewing the crisis manual and the various human and technical resources that assist the process.

A real event, aside from its serious consequences, can offer greater learnings, particularly related to the complex issues of communication, interactiveness and stress.

Any post-crisis evaluation must be done relatively quickly after the event.  The real value of what has happened, and how crisis teams responded, can be only be learnt while memories are alert to the central issues of the response. 

The purpose of the post-crisis evaluation is not to investigate the cause of the incident nor items such as emergency response, product recall action or security performance, but more how the crisis management team performed in its role.  Was the crisis identified effectively?  Was the team called out efficiently?  Could the team respond immediately and was the response effective?

Post-crisis evaluation is about managing and controlling the corporate issues related to the future of the business.  The following items need to be addressed in the audit:

1.      A narrative of the actual event.  What happened, why and how and what caused the event?

2.      How was the response managed by the crisis management team?  How did the response relate to incident and operational response procedures?  What was the decision making process based on?

3.     Were human and technical resources adequate?  Where did they fail and how could they have been improved?

4.      Is the organisation still at threat from the problem or similar problems?

5.      What were the unintended consequences that came out of the original incident?

6.      Were there any barriers to communication?

7.      Were all stakeholders advised effectively?  If not, what were the problems?

8.      Was there sufficient co-operation with outside agencies (emergency services, government, etc.)?

9.      Were the plan, manual and procedures useful?  Where could they be improved?

10.    Were human resource issues and employee communication handled efficiently?

11.    Were there any barriers to crisis response from senior management?

12.    Were legal issues dealt with efficiently? 

13.    Was the spokesperson’s role effective?  Were messages continual and consistent?

14.    How was business continuity and recovery managed?  What were the problems?

15.   What has been put in place in the short term and the long term to prevent this crisis from happening again?

This post-evaluation needs to be carried out by either outside consultants or a senior management team and preferably not by the crisis management team.  It is designed to improve operations, decision making, plans, skills and to ensure the crisis management team has done its job effectively.  

The post-evaluation team needs to interview the crisis management team, management executives, employees and external personnel/contractors involved in the crisis response.   

A post-evaluation project is no easy task.  While it has to be done as soon as possible after the crisis has occurred, it needs time for investigation, review and context. The project team needs the support of the Chief Executive and senior management, and commitment has to be given to ensure that the learnings from across the business can be incorporated in the overall crisis managing planning process.  This process ensures continual improvement and further development of a best practice response.  

The learnings of the post-crisis evaluation of a real event should be made available for training and response reference to the crisis management team.                           

DEADLY SHOOTING VULNERABILITY

It is human nature to avoid the worst case scenario. so it comes as a painful shock when we are confronted by the real world that includes random elements of activity seemly devoid of social concern, motivated by fear, insecurity and often characterised by cruelty and violence. 

The tragic Orlando shooting with 49 deaths and many critically injured is the worst case scenario. And clearly asks us the question "Is our work place, favourite cinema, nightclub or sporting ground safe?".
The fact is it may not be but globally there is a higher than ever law enforcement and security watch in place than ever before. Importantly it is not just the tactical response to these events that is vital. behind every emergency and incident response there must be a strategic crisis response that provides an orderly and efficient transition from normal to emergency conditions and leaves those in charge free to manage the strategic specifics of an escalating incident.

Organisations that know what to do, who is going to do it and in what sequence are more effective when a crisis happens. This whole process begins with a clear identification of security, threats and vulnerabilities. Some of the possible threats identified in a recent counter-terrorist vulnerability analysis were:

• Airport attack
• Armed intrusion
• Arson
• Biological attack
• Bomb explosion
• Chemical weapons
• Contamination
• Extortion
• Hijacking
• Hostage taking
• Industrial espionage
• International terrorist attack
• Kidnapping
• Murder
• Nuclear attack
• Sabotage
• Utilities attack

Identifying vulnerabilities involves analysing who will be affected, how they will be affected and what will be needed in response.  Once threats are anticipated, crisis, incident and emergency teams can rehearse appropriate scenarios for managing the situation. 

Such plans need to include procedures for alternative evacuation in the case of chemical spills or attacks, for communicating with both employees and the community, and for interfacing with external emergency services.

As with any crisis, the key elements in an organisation’s defence strategy against terrorism are prevention and control. While we don’t often hear about such tactics, there are numerous cases of law enforcement agencies pre-empting acts of terrorism. 

To control serious effects of terrorist attacks, training the general public, employees and communities to be alert to possible attacks is a fundamental requirement. In cities such as Jerusalem, where terrorist attacks are all too frequent, people go about their daily lives with a naturally heightened awareness. Many have learnt from experience, but most have been trained to be the eyes and ears of the security and law enforcement agencies, on the lookout for unusual circumstances.

Responding to Unpredictable Crises

Malaysia Airlines' two tragic incidents of an aircraft disappearing in flight and another crashing into a war zone are international worst case scenarios. The massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was beyond a crisis of usual circumstances. A terrorist shooting in a coffee shop in Sydney is an unusual and rare event in that city.

A Crisis Management Plan has to outline courses of action to be taken in the event of a critical incident or catastrophe. Importantly, worst case scenario response to threats have to go as far as possible in providing orderly and efficient transition from normal to critical conditions. A plan must provide specific guidelines appropriate for complex and unpredictable circumstances.

The crisis you don’t expect or plan for will be the one that’s likely to cause the most damage.  And while a lot of pundits believe that a good manager is automatically a good crisis manager, it is important to understand that many managers cannot cope with the stress, pressure and abnormal behaviour that occurs during a crisis. 

Most normal management behaviour is reversed.  One minute you are managing a business, the next minute you have to manage a crisis.  Different skills under different pressures.

How many managers can move rapidly from the normal pace of a business meeting to the hectic, urgent demanding pace of life and death decisions, evacuation, emotional trauma and split-second timing?

Containment is the key.  Managers who are prepared, rehearsed, educated, trained and aware are those that can make the transition when crisis hits and contain the situation.

If there is a single, critical feature to being prepared for crisis, it is in treating crisis management and recovery as an ongoing process.  Seeing it as an integral part of an organisation's everyday business activities, not merely as a plan that is created, approved, then shelved until needed. 

It is a process that has the whole organisation - from site management to CEO and Board - trained, tested and involved in a crisis management plan that is integrated seamlessly across the whole organisation. And regularly monitored, reviewed and audited, just like any other quality control policy that is demanded by compliance factors in today’s business environment.

To achieve this, there are a number of critical features of a crisis plan that facilitates speedy business resumption. Whether the crisis is an aircraft incident, cyber crisis, oil and chemical spill or explosion, a tainted food product or charges of business corruption, or an act of terrorism a crisis management plan must:

• Have tactical decisions made at the crisis location and quickly.  (This is where the public focus will be initially)
• Localise the response while maximising corporate and strategic assistance.
• Provide training and support to give executive management the skills and confidence so they can manage the early stages of a crisis.
• Create a tailor-made plan around uniform standards, organisation-wide
• Develop realistic simulations and training exercises.
• Start planning for recovery before a crisis occurs.

What fundamentally distinguishes crisis-prepared, from crisis-prone organisations, is their overall cultural view of crisis management and recovery. 

Strategic actions, technical and structural response, communication initiatives and psychological support have to be part of an integrated management plan and checklist process that immediately puts the organisation in charge of its own destiny.

The worst case scenario requires more than critical risk analysis. It needs to go beyond the ordinary critical event and consider extreme escalation. This planning is essential for effective inter-organisational response. 

AIRSHIP INDUSTRY CRISIS RECOVERY FAILURE

Recently we conducted a survey of businesses, corporations and government to find out what their crisis management recovery program was like. Of those that had crisis management and recovery plans, 30% had not tested them in the last four years.  Not testing crisis management and recovery plans is as good as not having them. The likelihood of full recovery will be very low.
 

The worst kind of event can wipe out a plant, destroy vital information and virtually stop production, but it should not finish the business.  The minute a crisis is declared, the recovery phase runs parallel.  Alternative means of operation have to be put into action, customers need to be advised, suppliers need to be contacted, and employees have to be supported and brought into the picture early.  Assets and earnings have to be secured and brand reputation and corporate image need to be stabilised.

The transport industry places recovery and damage control high on their crisis management agenda.  Transport disasters have been the death knell of some transport companies.  Aside from Concorde and some specific aircraft, the only industry to actually die because of disasters is the airship industry.  In fact, there were only two disasters - the airship R101 and the Hindenberg.  And in real numbers, there was a combined death toll of less than 100.  Small numbers compared to the 1,403 lost on the Titanic.

  

In October 1930, the R101 left its mast in Bedfdordshire in the United Kingdom with 54 people aboard, loaded to the hilt.  The fittings on the airship included silver cutlery, potted palms and heavy Axminster carpeting.   

There were large supplies of the finest gourmet food and wine with plans for a banquet over Egypt.  It was also carrying more diesel oil than was needed. 

The airport of Le Bourget in France gave confirmation that the airship was one kilometre north of Beauvais.  Then came the report that the R101 had caught fire after not clearing a hill.  There were reports of a huge fire in the air and the sound of an explosion as the airship hit the ground and broke up.  The cause was never really clarified but it rapidly brought Britain’s airship industry to a close.

Germany persisted with airships, particularly with the magnificent Hindenberg, the ultimate passenger experience.   Magnificently prepared cabins, plush dining room, a library and even a smoking area.   This airship made flights to the United States and passengers relied on this as a regular form of transportation.

On 3 May 1937, the Hindenberg flew into her American landing area from Germany.  Families of passengers awaited at the Lakehurst Terminus.  The media were there.  A radio reporter, with his wire recorder, had decided that this was an interesting event to review.  He moved through the landing processes as the airship slowly lowered its bulk to the ground from the mooring mast.  Then, without any warning, there was a flash.  In the midst of this historic broadcast, the man, engulfed in emotion, screamed “it’s flashing, flashing, flashing terribly, it’s bursting into flames.”  This historical and frightening broadcast was one of the first on the spot broadcasts of an actual disaster in action. 

The crew of the Hindenberg did an outstanding job of helping injured passengers and crew from the burning inferno.  Thirty-six people died from a total of 97. 

This was the end of the airship industry.  The media gave the disaster world-wide headlines and the broadcast was aired on radio stations internationally.  Public outcry and fear was enormous. 

The airship industry reviewed its options but recovery was not one of them. Safety and lack of capability signed the death warrant.  The Germans removed other airships from their fleet and both the UK and Germany closed their factories and hangars.  It was all over.

Management Training for Crisis

Crisis management training is the centre of crisis preparedness. All businesses and organisations need specific training to build a crisis response capability. Training reduces the potential for panic, chaos and confusion and focuses a crisis team on the components of a successful response. 

The objective of a crisis management workshop is to enable crisis management team members to understand the basic principles of crisis management and its application within the organisation.  A good program is designed to review the crisis management plan, team roles and responsibilities, threats and responses and should cover the following:

·      Crisis training objectives:  what the session will achieve.

·      Introduction to crisis - cause and effects:  definitions and examples.

·      Crisis prevention and warning systems:  actions to prevent crises

·      The value of crisis management:  the benefits of being ready - strategies for damage control.

·      Overview of the plan and manual:  walk through each element of the plan and clarify.

·      Crisis management team - roles and responsibilities:  what each role means and what that team member has to do.

·      Threat analysis:  where is the organisation vulnerable and what are the possible effects on the business?

·      Review response strategies:   work through checklists of response actions for each threat. 

·      Integration with outside resources:   review plans with emergency services, police, security, State disaster organisations, etc.  

·      Discuss how to communicate best with stakeholders, employees, customers, media, community, etc.

·      Technology and equipment:  where does the crisis team meet and what essential technology and equipment do they need? 

·      Log keeping and documentation:  confirm document control and efficiency program for retaining information.

·      Test and evaluate:   Using typical threat, team provides discussion on how they would respond to the crisis using the learnings.

Case studies of past crises provide important insights, background and experience. They give the team an opportunity to observe the way in which successful and unsuccessful crisis response has been handled, at the same time as evaluating how recovery was instigated.

The workshop in most cases should be first conducted at the organisation’s Head Office with the Crisis Management Team  As with all the training units in the crisis management plan, it should then be rolled out to regional and divisional business units, operations and sites.  In some cases at smaller sites, the workshop may involve teams of two or three people, but they can still carry out threat identification and the responses to their unique situation.

Don't leave crisis management training until after an event occurs. Get in front and do it now.

Crisis management - Responsive Business Prescription

Managing the constant barrage of crises in today's rapidly changing environment will ultimately rely on the use of the internet, the inter-connectiveness of the business value chain and managing the changing information status.

Dr. John Bates, Chief Technology Officer at responsive business specialist Progress Software, proposes that businesses plug in and profit in the face of constant crisis. In the special abridged edition of his forthcoming book, Business Attention Deficit, he says that organisations need to follow simple rules:

* "Gain real time visibility of business events as they happen.
* Proactively sense and respond to opportunities and threats
* Continually improve your business using 21st century techniques
such as social media, mobility solutions and the cloud."

Dr. Bates identifies recent rapid cataclysmic crises that put modern business on a war footing. He confirms that business has to be responsive and provide a bulwark against the worst case scenario, particularly related to the Flash Crash that wiped trillions of dollars off the US stockmarkets and confounded regulators and traders, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, escalating from an environmental crisis, and the earthquake and tsunami in Japan disrupting the supply chain in car parts and affecting the global automobile industry.

Identifying crisis threats needs to be constant. As an organisation changes, so do the threats. One year in a period of building, plant accidents may be high on the agenda and in another place, in another country, the threat of kidnap and ransom may be high on the agenda. As the organisation faces larger audiences, the threat of safety and security may be the priority. Once the threats have been identified, the priority is to determine the strategic and tactical responses that would contain, control and then recover from such an event.

Dr. Bates' book, "B.A.D. - How to plug in and profit in the face of constant crisis", was previewed at the Progress Revolution conference in Boston in 2011 and will be published in 2012.

When is a crisis plan out-of-date?

Recent oil spills, product recalls and natural disasters have identified major critical gaps in crisis planning processes. Systems change, authorities shift, equipment ages, new equipment is installed and, importantly, key people move.

A rapid response will save lives and property and should ensure minimal operational interruption, but there are a number of reasons why this may not be possible:

* ownership of the crisis management program have changed
* organisational changes have occurred across the business
* management expectations of crisis preparedness have altered
* emergency and crisis interface have not been tested recently
* new threats/risks have not been incorporated into the plan
* key stakeholders need reconfirming
* internal communication systems have not been validated recently
* loss of contact with essential agencies - fire, police, medical
* new employees are not familiar with contingency plans
* impact of "social media" in crisis has not been considered
* reputational and brand issues have shifted

A regular, formal crisis audit needs to be applied to confirm that all subsidiaries and contractors maintain the currency of their crisis plans. People become lazy about preparedness for crisis and live training exercises are the only way to ensure that crisis plans are functionally up-to-date.

CEO crisis manager

Good to see Qantas Chief Executive, Alan Joyce, extolling the virtues of crisis management in Business Review Weekly magazine. "Flexibility and adaptability is really key," says Alan Joyce, the diminutive, Irish-born Chief Executive of Qantas, without any hint of irony. "We have a fairly refined crisis management team and crisis management process, probably more so than many other companies." Joyce was talking about a broad range of threats including the volcano turmoil where Qantas lost $10 million during the threat to air travel. "It's what (my predecessor) Geoff Dixon calls the constant shock syndrome...we plan on a steady state and then we plan scenarios and risks around that. But the volcano would not have been on the risk register." (BRW May 6-12,2010 - Managing the Unmanageable)


There is determined growing recognition among CEOs that crisis management is part of day-to-day planning. The process, its respondents and its leaders need to have matured either in an arena of real crises or with the experience of test runs. Best practice is practice. CEOs and crisis teams need to practise together. Organisations never know when the worst case scenario can happen but they can be prepared to handle adversity and minimise the impact when it does.

CEO crisis leadership

As we can see from current global crises, there is no hiding place for the CEO in a crisis. And when the big one hits, it is the CEO who will end up facing the music.

It is inevitable the CEO will be pursued for their views and opinions. What did they do? What did they say? Every stakeholder involved in the organisation knows that the company stands the best chance of surviving if the leadership is from the top and on top.

Ensuring the cultural approach to managing a crisis must have the imprimatur of the CEO. It is they who should proactively oversee the corporate crisis management strategy that will work in a crisis situation. However, the levels of unpreparedness, inexperience and defensive reactions that still exist in many organisations generally indicate that many lessons have not yet been learned.

To see the CEO walking the talk in crisis planning is a statement of strong leadership that will direct the organisation to the high ground when the worst case scenario happens.

In the end, the buck stops at the top. In rapid escalation, the sooner the CEO leads the agenda, the better.