[CM] [JHA] [E1] [C3] Identifying Crisis Management Goals for Jamiyah Home for the Aged

Every programme needs a destination. Without clear goals, crisis management drifts into paperwork: plans are written because someone said they should be, and nobody can say whether they are working. This chapter helps the Board, the Superintendent and senior staff of Jamiyah Home for the Aged (JHA) decide what crisis management is for, in terms specific enough to guide decisions and to be checked later. 

Goals also turn the organisation profile from Chapter 2 into action. Having described who depends on JHA and what must not stop, the next question is what JHA wants to do when a crisis arrives. The answer shapes the crisis management team (Chapter 7), the planning work (Chapter 8), and how the home prepares, responds, and recovers (Chapters 9 to 11).

Purpose of this chapter and how it helps

The purpose of this chapter is to help JHA write down a small set of crisis management goals, link them to the policies and legal expectations that apply, and agree who owns them. It is a deliberately short exercise, and it matters for four reasons.

• It focuses effort. A home has limited time and money. Goals show where preparation will make the biggest difference.
• It supports decisions under pressure. During a crisis, a team that knows the goals can ask a simple question: which option best protects residents and meets our goals?
• It demonstrates governance. A Board that has approved goals, received reports against them, and asked questions shows the oversight that regulators and the Code of Governance expect.
• It makes progress measurable. Goals with measures let JHA tell whether its crisis management capability is improving.

For the programme as a whole, goals are the first deliverable of the project management phase described in Chapter 8. They are also the standard against which testing and exercising, in the later phases, will be judged.

What is a crisis management goal?

A goal is a statement of the result the organisation wants. A good crisis management goal has four qualities: it is specific, measurable, realistic, and someone is accountable for it. Many organisations use the word "objective" for the measurable form of a goal. This eBook uses the simpler word "goal" for the overall intention and "measure" for how success is checked.

A weak goal sounds like this: "JHA will be prepared for crises." Nobody can tell whether it has been achieved. A stronger goal reads: "JHA will be able to assemble its crisis management team within thirty minutes, at any hour, and make a first decision on residents' safety within an hour." It can be tested by an exercise, and it tells people what to practise.

Goals should also be few. Five to eight well-chosen goals are easier to remember, report on and fund than twenty.

The policy context

ISO 22361 requires crisis management to align with the organisation's strategy, values and obligations. For JHA, that means reading two layers of policy together: the internal policy and the national expectations.

Internal policy. JHA and Jamiyah Singapore should have, or should create, a short crisis management policy approved by the Board or its delegated committee. It need not be long. One page is enough if it covers:

• the organisation's commitment to protecting residents, staff and visitors first;
• the principle that crisis management is the responsibility of leadership, not only of a single department;
• who has authority to declare a crisis and lead the response;
• the commitment to honest and timely communication; and
• the commitment to review, exercise and improve.

If Jamiyah Singapore already has a group-level crisis, risk or business continuity policy, JHA's goals should be consistent with it and should say where they go further to reflect the particular needs of residents.

National expectations. Singapore does not have a single crisis management law for social service homes. Instead, expectations come from several places, and JHA should read them together:

• The Social Residential Homes Act 2025, in operation from 1 July 2026, and the subsidiary legislation and Code of Practice made under it. The Code includes a domain on incident management, which is directly relevant to crisis goals.
• The Destitute Persons Act 1989, to the extent it continues to apply to JHA's work. As noted in Chapter 2, MSF states that the new Act replaces the relevant provisions, so JHA should confirm the current position.
• MOH requirements and guidance on public health and infection control, which matter greatly for any home in which many frail people live together.
• The Code of Governance for Charities and IPCs (2023), which expects boards to oversee risk and controls and operates on a comply-or-explain basis.
• Guidance and direction from MSF, including any incident reporting requirements, which JHA should obtain in full and keep to hand.
• National emergency and security frameworks, such as those of the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the SGSecure movement, which shape how homes prepare for fire, emergencies and security threats.

This eBook cannot give a legal opinion on any of these. A practical step is to ask the managing agent's legal or compliance function, or MSF directly, for a list of the specific incident and emergency requirements that apply to JHA and to record them in one place.

Proposing a set of goals for JHA

The following eight goals are offered as a starting point. The Board and senior team should adapt them, remove those that do not fit and add others. The example measures are illustrations only; JHA should choose targets that it can realistically achieve and test.

Goal 1 should always come first. If a decision ever pits the protection of residents against the protection of reputation or money, the goals should make clear which comes first. Writing that down in advance spares the team an agonising argument at the worst moment.

Turning goals into decisions

Goals earn their place when they change what people do. Consider how the eight goals would help in three situations.

Imagine a prolonged power failure on a hot night. Goal 1 and Goal 2 tell the team to focus on cooling, hydration and the safety of residents who depend on powered equipment. Goal 5 reminds them to tell families early, rather than waiting for complaints. Goal 4 prompts someone to check whether the event is reportable to MSF.

Imagine a rumour on social media that residents are being neglected. No building has been damaged, yet Goals 5 and 6 are under threat. The team should gather facts, confirm whether the allegation is true or false, tell MSF and the managing agent early, and respond openly. Goal 1 reminds them that if there is any truth in it, residents' welfare comes before the home's image.

Imagine a suspected cluster of infectious illness among residents and staff. Goals 1, 3 and 4 point to isolation, protective equipment, staff welfare and prompt notification to the health authorities. Goal 7 reminds the team to check supplies and staffing for the days ahead.

The situations differ, but the goals give the team the same compass.

Who sets, owns and reviews the goals

Goals work best when accountability is clear.

• The Board, or its delegated committee, approves the crisis management policy and goals, and receives a report at least once a year.
• The Superintendent owns delivery of the goals at JHA and ensures that senior staff understand them.
• The crisis management coordinator, a role proposed in Chapter 7, maintains the evidence that shows progress: exercise results, contact list checks, review reports and outstanding actions.
• Jamiyah Singapore management ensures the goals are consistent across its homes and that shared services support them.

Goals should be reviewed at least once a year, and also after any significant crisis, exercise, change of leadership, change in the law or change in the home's services.

Common pitfalls

Three mistakes are worth avoiding.

Copying another organisation's goals. A bank's crisis goals will emphasise financial stability and market confidence. A home for the aged must emphasise residents' safety and dignity. The goals should sound like JHA.

Writing goals nobody can measure. If the Board cannot ask "how do we know?", the goal needs rewriting.

Setting and forgetting. Goals that are approved once and never revisited become decoration. Put a date in the Board calendar.

Summary

Crisis management goals describe what JHA wants to do when a crisis strikes, and they connect the home's purpose to practical preparation. A small set of specific, measurable goals, approved by the Board and owned by the Superintendent, gives direction to all subsequent work.

The goals should be set within the policy context: JHA's own crisis management policy and the expectations of the Social Residential Homes Act 2025, its Code of Practice, MOH, the Commissioner of Charities and MSF. With these goals agreed, JHA is ready to examine how crisis management differs from business continuity management, the subject of the next chapter.