[CM] [RR] CM Steering Committee vs CM Planning Team vs CM Team

Crisis Management Trio: Steering Committee vs Planning Team vs Crisis Team

Effective crisis management relies on a coordinated effort between three distinct groups: the steering committee, planning team, and crisis team.

The Crisis Management Steering Committee, comprised of senior leadership, provides high-level oversight and makes strategic decisions during a crisis. It also ensures alignment with organizational goals and allocates resources.

On the other hand, the Crisis Management Planning Team focuses on developing and maintaining the crisis response plan. This team, made up of subject matter experts from various departments, identifies potential threats, creates detailed response protocols, and trains the crisis team. They continually update the plan based on lessons learned.

Finally, the Crisis Management Team implements the plan during a crisis. Activated only for specific events, this team coordinates response efforts across departments, manages communication, and mitigates the impact of the crisis. Essentially, the steering committee provides direction, the planning team builds the roadmap, and the crisis team navigates the course during a crisis.

These three groups all play crucial roles in an organisation's crisis management preparedness and response, but with distinct functions:

Crisis Management Steering Committee

Function: High-level oversight and strategic decision-making.
Composition: Senior executives (CEO, CFO, COO) and legal counsel.
Activities:

Approve crisis management plans and policies.
Provide resources and funding for crisis preparedness.
Make critical decisions during a crisis (e.g., resource allocation, public communication strategy).
Oversee the overall crisis response and recovery efforts.

Focus: Long-term strategy, big-picture decisions, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
Active During: Primarily before and after a crisis, convening as needed during the crisis for critical decisions.

Crisis Management Planning Team

Function: Develop and maintain the crisis management plan.
Composition: Subject matter experts from various departments (security, communications, HR, IT).
Activities:

Conduct risk assessments to identify potential crisis scenarios.
Develop detailed response protocols for each crisis scenario.
Create communication plans for internal and external stakeholders.
Train crisis team members on the plan.
Update the crisis management plan based on lessons learned from exercises and real-world events.

Focus: Creating a comprehensive and actionable plan for crisis response.
Active During: Primarily before a crisis, but may be involved in updating the plan after a crisis event.

Crisis Management Team

Function: Execute the crisis management plan during a crisis event.
Composition: Representatives from various departments based on the specific crisis (e.g., IT for a cyberattack, public relations for a product recall).
Activities:

Implement the crisis management plan.
Manage communication with stakeholders.
Coordinate response efforts across different departments.
Mitigate the impact of the crisis and work towards recovery.

Focus: Direct response and actions during a crisis event.
Active During: Activated only during a crisis event and operates until the crisis is resolved.

Executive Summary of Comparison of CM Teams

Feature	Crisis Management Steering Committee	Crisis Management Planning Team	Crisis Management Team
Focus	Strategic oversight and decision-making	Planning and development of the crisis management plan	Execution of the crisis management plan
Composition	Senior management (CEO, CFO, COO)	Subject matter experts from various departments (security, communication, legal)	Representatives from various departments based on the crisis (e.g., IT for cyberattacks
Role during Crisis	Convenes to make high-level decisions, provides resources, and ensures alignment with organisational goals	May be activated to support the crisis management team but not directly involved in the execution	Manages the immediate response, coordinates activities, and implements the crisis management plan
Activity Level (Pre-Crisis)	Meets periodically to review plans, assess risks, and provide guidance	Actively works to develop, update, and test the crisis management plan	Trains conduct drills and maintain general preparedness
Activity Level (During Crisis)	Convenes as needed to make crucial decisions and provide direction	May be consulted for specific expertise but doesn't manage the day-to-day response	Manages the ongoing response, communicates with stakeholders, and implements recovery measures

Summing Up ...

Here's an analogy:

CM Steering Committee	The Board of Directors sets the overall direction and approves significant decisions.
CM Planning Team	The architects design the blueprints for the crisis response.
CM Team	The construction crew puts the plans into action during a crisis.

Pre-reading Advice for CM Course Participants

Participants attending the BCM Institute will be directed to this blog. If you already have a crisis management team, it is essential to understand these three different structures and their members.

For those setting up the respective CM Steering Committee, CM Planning Team, and CM Team, review the three related blogs to develop and form your CM team.

Note that the roles and responsibilities should NOT be an academic exercise copied from existing articles; the entire team must be analysed and designed to handle the crisis identified in your risk (crisis scenario) assessment.

Resource

Goh, M. H. (2016). A Manager’s Guide to Implement Your Crisis Management Plan. Business Continuity Management Specialist Series (1st ed., p. 192). Singapore: GMH Pte Ltd.

More Information About Crisis Management Courses

To learn more about the course and schedule, click the buttons below for the CM-300 Crisis Management Implementer [CM-3] and the CM-5000 Crisis Management Expert Implementer [CM-5].