[CM] [C6] Developing the Crisis Procedures

Chapter 6

Developing the Crisis Procedures

A Crisis Management Plan is only useful when it translates strategy into action.

The Crisis Management Strategy defines how the organisation intends to prepare for, respond to and recover from a crisis.

The crisis procedures convert that strategic direction into a structured sequence of actions, responsibilities, triggers, decisions and outputs.

Well-developed crisis procedures help the organisation answer practical questions such as:

• What should be done before the crisis occurs?
• What actions should be taken immediately after activation?
• How should the Crisis Management Team assess the situation?
• What priorities should be established?
• How should decisions be made and recorded?
• How should actions be assigned and monitored?
• When should the organisation begin recovery?
• How should the Crisis Management Team stand down?

The objective is not to create a rigid script. Crises are uncertain, dynamic and often unlike the scenarios previously considered. Procedures should therefore provide a disciplined framework while allowing leaders to apply judgement.

This chapter explains how to develop practical pre-crisis, during-crisis and post-crisis procedures. It also introduces the supporting action, decision and information-management processes required to maintain control throughout the crisis.

Purpose of Crisis Procedures

Crisis procedures guide the Crisis Management Team through the major stages of the response.

They help ensure that:

• Important actions are not overlooked
• Roles and responsibilities are clear
• Activities occur in a logical sequence
• Decisions are made at the appropriate level
• Stakeholders are considered
• Actions have owners and deadlines
• Information is recorded
• Recovery begins in a controlled manner
• Lessons are captured after the crisis

The procedures should convert broad strategic statements into actions that can be implemented.

For example:

Strategic Direction

Protect customers and maintain access to critical services.

Related Procedures

• Identify affected customer groups.
• Confirm which services remain available.
• Activate continuity arrangements.
• Prioritise restoration of critical services.
• Issue customer instructions.
• Provide alternative support channels.
• Monitor complaints and customer harm.
• Record outstanding remediation actions.

The procedure provides the practical mechanism for delivering the strategy.

Characteristics of Effective Crisis Procedures

Effective crisis procedures should be:

Clear

The wording should be direct and easy to understand.

Action-Oriented

Each procedure should specify what must be done.

Role-Based

Actions should be assigned to defined roles rather than to unnamed departments or “management.”

Triggered

The procedure should explain when the action is required.

Flexible

The CMT should be able to adapt the procedure to the developing situation.

Prioritised

Critical actions should be distinguishable from lower-priority activities.

Coordinated

The procedure should identify dependencies and interfaces with other teams.

Recordable

Important decisions and actions should be documented.

Testable

The organisation should be able to validate the procedure through walkthroughs and exercises.

A procedure that is too general will not support action. A procedure that is too detailed may become unusable under pressure.

Procedure Development Framework

Each crisis procedure should identify:

• Trigger
• Objective
• Action
• Responsible role
• Supporting roles
• Decision authority
• Required information
• Required resources
• Expected output
• Time requirement
• Escalation requirement
• Record or form to be completed

A practical format is shown below.

This format improves consistency across different scenario playbooks and procedures.

The Three-Stage Procedure Model

Crisis procedures should cover three broad stages:

Before the Crisis → During the Crisis → After the Crisis

Before the Crisis

Reduce the potential impact and ensure readiness.

During the Crisis

Activate, assess, stabilise, decide, communicate, monitor and recover.

After the Crisis

Stand down, restore, follow up, review and improve.

The three-stage model prevents organisations from focusing only on the immediate response.

Refer to the respective chapter for the details of the three board stages

Chapter 6A: Developing Pre-Crisis Procedures

Chapter 6B: Developing During-Crisis Procedures

Chapter 6C: Developing Post-Crisis Procedures

Conclusion

Crisis procedures translate strategic intent into coordinated action.

They provide the Crisis Management Team with a practical framework for preparing before the crisis, managing the active response and guiding the organisation through recovery and return to normal.

Effective procedures should be structured around three stages:

• Before the crisis: reduce risk and maintain readiness
• During the crisis: activate, assess, stabilise, decide, communicate, monitor and recover
• After the crisis: stand down, restore, follow up, review and improve

The procedures should be clear, role-based, flexible and supported by practical tools such as Situation Reports, Action Logs and Decision Logs.

The objective is not to prescribe every possible action. It is to ensure that the organisation can establish control, maintain strategic focus, coordinate its response and make defensible decisions under pressure.

Once the crisis procedures have been developed, the organisation must ensure that stakeholder communication is integrated throughout the response.

The next chapter addresses the development of Crisis Communication procedures.