Readiness for global office crises

A crisis in another country often does not fit into any known framework.  The organisational response, therefore, has to deal with the problem of finding people to manage the problem at the same time as anticipating the escalation factor and providing support for the most exposed aspects of the business.

There is simply little time for planning, organising, equipping or training once the crisis is imminent. 

Importantly, the crisis management approach needs to ensure that the various operations and projects of an international operation are in a constant state of readiness and that crisis teams know what to do and how to do it.

Basically, the objectives of any plan should be to protect the company’s people and assets.

International operations crisis management objectives:

1.      Protect the life of employees and their families.

2.      Protect assets and earnings by restoring normal operations rapidly.

3.      Protect the local community and environment.

4.      Minimise damage to corporate reputation.

5.      Retain effective relationships with government of the country

Because international business management and employees could be cut off for long periods from the parent company by failure of communication lines, it is important that teams are trained in advance to follow prescribed guidelines in their crisis response. The way in which the crisis is tackled will depend on the quality of training and briefing for the crisis teams before the event. 

The plan needs to clearly establish authority and responsibilities at every level.  It is useful here to define mobilisation actions and list contact points with details about communication links and notification procedures.  

Interfacing with external agencies is an essential part of crisis planning in other countries because the crisis management response may well include support systems from embassies or law enforcement agencies. But this interface with expected support from your embassy or consulate may not be reliable and needs to be confirmed well in advance of an incident.  Setting these communication links up in advance is vital to the success of the plan.                 

The plan should contain details of the organisation's team roles and responsibilities, setting out the core action group at each location who are responsible for managing the problem.  It will be their responsibility to assess the situation and respond accordingly with the necessary resources required.  They will also need to contact and communicate other teams in the region and the necessary stakeholders affected, including Head Office in the home country.

In some cases, the crisis management team may only be one or two people. This is particularly the case for small offices, exploration, research or transport teams working in far distant locations.  It is still important that these teams have an understanding on how to pinpoint a crisis and what on-the-spot actions they have to achieve to protect life and ongoing operations.