Post-crisis Stage

Performance Criteria to Manage Post-crisis Operations

The performance criteria for the CM team to manage post-crisis operations include:

• Account for and demobilize resources
• Initiate post-incident recovery
• Evaluate and document the effectiveness of operations
• Debrief all relevant people
• Recommend improvements to the crisis management process

Restore

• The acute stage of the crisis has passed, and the organization can focus on a return to normal operations.
• Repair confidence in the organization and its products.

Return

• Restore the business to normality as quickly as possible;
• Actions are taken to return to a normal or an even safer situation following the crisis; and
• Declare the end of the crisis.

Performance Criteria to Document and review crisis and response.

• Ensure recording occurs promptly
• Record and analyze feedback from stakeholders/ witnesses
• Identify and record the cause of the crisis event
• Generate and distribute required reports and findings to appropriate personnel.

Learn

• Evaluate the effects;
• Appoint a crisis evaluation team to assess the handling of the crisis and recommend changes in crisis procedures;
• Note that the crisis evaluation team members should be different from CM team members;
• Build the document log from which people learn; and
• Learn from the crisis and put that learning to work.

Upgrade

The final stage of crisis management (Woods, 2015) is when things begin to return to normal. Effective resolutions for the situation are put into practice, and if they go as planned, the incident begins to fade from the spotlight

Deliver all information promised to stakeholders as soon as that information is known.

• Keep stakeholders updated on the progression of recovery efforts including any corrective measures being taken and the progress of investigations.
• Analyze the crisis management effort for lessons and integrate those lessons into the organization’s crisis management system.
• Initiate repair of the organization

Plan for Post-Crisis Rebuilding

When planning, the organization should look ahead to the situation after a crisis. The medium-term and long-term planning should assess the possible damage that might be incurred through a crisis.

The organization should identify how to prevent crisis similar situations while looking to maximize recovery and minimize the damage. At the same time, the organization should consider the type of communications program that would help to restore confidence in the company and its products.

All crises develop at different rates (Immediate, Emerging and Sustain), and last for different durations (crisis events occur quickly, over time and continue over time), thus affecting the approach and timing of the needed CM and Crisis Communication frameworks.

Crisis Communication

In the post-crisis phase, the organization is returning to business as usual. The crisis is no longer the focal point of management’s attention but still requires some attention. As noted earlier, reputation repair may be continued or initiated during this phase.

There is essential follow-up communication is required. First, crisis managers often promise to provide additional information during the crisis phase. The crisis managers must deliver on those informational promises or risk losing the trust of the public wanting the information.

Second, the organization needs to release updates on the recovery process, corrective actions, and investigations of the crisis. The amount of follow-up communication required depends on the amount of information promised during the crisis and the length of time it takes to complete the recovery process.

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.

Extracted from During Crisis

Find out more about Blended Learning CM-300 [BL-CM-3] & CM-5000 [BL-CM-5]