[CM] [P6B] Developing During-Crisis Procedures

Chapter 6[B]

Developing During-Crisis Procedures

Introduction

When a crisis occurs, organisations must rapidly transition from preparedness to decisive action.

The effectiveness of this transition depends on well-defined during-crisis procedures that enable the Crisis Management Team (CMT) to establish command and control, assess the situation, make informed decisions, coordinate response activities, and communicate with stakeholders under intense time pressure.

This blog is the second in a three-part series on crisis procedures and focuses on the operational actions required after a crisis has been declared.

It provides a structured approach to managing the evolving situation, maintaining situational awareness, allocating resources, and ensuring that response efforts remain coordinated, timely, and aligned with organisational priorities throughout the crisis.

Purpose of During-Crisis Procedures

During-crisis procedures guide the CMT from activation through stabilisation and recovery.

A practical sequence is:

Activate → Assess → Stabilise → Decide → Communicate → Monitor → Recover

The sequence is not strictly linear. The CMT may repeat several stages as new information becomes available.

Stage 1: Activate

Activation procedures should confirm that:

• The crisis classification is appropriate.
• The CMT has been formally activated.
• The Crisis Leader is identified.
• Members and alternates are notified.
• The meeting platform or location is available.
• Logs are opened.
• The first meeting begins.

A practical activation checklist may include:

• Confirm activation authority
• Record time of activation
• Notify core CMT members
• Activate relevant supporting roles
• Confirm quorum
• Establish secure communication
• Open action and decision logs
• Prepare the initial Situation Report
• Confirm the first meeting agenda

Stage 2: Assess

The CMT should establish situational awareness before making major decisions.

The assessment should address:

• What happened?
• When did it happen?
• Where did it happen?
• Who is affected?
• What services are affected?
• What actions are underway?
• What has been confirmed?
• What remains uncertain?
• What may happen next?
• What decisions are required?

The CMT should separate:

• Facts
• Assumptions
• Unknowns

This prevents unverified information from driving decisions.

Situation Report

A Situation Report, or SitRep, provides a structured summary of the crisis.

It may include:

• Date and time
• Crisis classification
• Current situation
• People impact
• Operational impact
• Customer impact
• Regulatory and legal impact
• Reputational impact
• Actions completed
• Actions outstanding
• Decisions required
• Recovery outlook
• Next update time

The SitRep should be concise, time-stamped and updated regularly.

Stage 3: Stabilise

Stabilisation aims to prevent the crisis from worsening.

Actions may include:

• Protecting life and safety
• Containing the incident
• Isolating affected systems
• Securing facilities
• Suspending unsafe services
• Protecting recovery assets
• Activating workarounds
• Engaging emergency services
• Preserving evidence
• Preventing misinformation

The CMT should confirm which stabilisation actions are operational and which require strategic approval.

Establishing Crisis Priorities

The CMT should confirm its strategic priorities early.

Typical priorities are:

1. Protect life and safety.
2. Stabilise the crisis.
3. Prevent further harm.
4. Protect affected stakeholders.
5. Maintain or restore critical services.
6. Meet legal and regulatory obligations.
7. Communicate accurately.
8. Preserve organisational credibility.
9. Support recovery.

The order may change as the crisis develops.

Priorities should be recorded and communicated to supporting teams.

Stage 4: Decide

The CMT should apply a disciplined decision process.

Define the Issue

What decision is required?

Confirm Information

What is known, assumed and unknown?

Identify Options

What realistic choices exist?

Assess Consequences

Consider:

• People
• Operations
• Customers
• Legal
• Regulatory
• Financial
• Reputation
• Recovery

Confirm Authority

Who can approve the decision?

Make the Decision

Select the option that best supports crisis objectives.

Record the Rationale

Document why the decision was reasonable.

Assign Actions

Identify owners and deadlines.

Monitor the Outcome

Determine whether the decision achieved the intended result.

Crisis Decision Log

The Decision Log should record significant strategic decisions.

The log should focus on material decisions rather than every routine action.

A clear decision record supports accountability, regulatory review, lessons learnt and organisational memory.

Stage 5: Communicate

Communication should occur throughout the crisis.

The CMT should determine:

• Who must be informed?
• What does each stakeholder need?
• What is known?
• What remains uncertain?
• What action is being taken?
• What should stakeholders do?
• When will the next update occur?
• Who approves the message?
• Which channel should be used?

Communication should be:

• Timely
• Accurate
• Consistent
• Empathetic
• Action-oriented
• Approved
• Recorded

Detailed communication procedures are addressed in Chapter 7.

Stage 6: Monitor

The CMT should continuously monitor:

• Crisis development
• Effectiveness of actions
• People impact
• Operational impact
• Customer harm
• Regulatory expectations
• Media and social media reaction
• Financial exposure
• Third-party impact
• Employee fatigue
• Recovery progress

Monitoring allows the CMT to adjust priorities and decisions.

The situation should be reassessed at each meeting.

Stage 7: Recover

Recovery should begin while the crisis is still active.

The CMT should identify:

• Critical recovery priorities
• Dependencies
• Minimum acceptable service levels
• Workarounds
• Restoration sequence
• Resource requirements
• Customer remediation
• Regulatory reporting
• Transition arrangements

Recovery should be directed by organisational priorities rather than technical convenience alone.

For example, restoring a lower-value but technically simple system should not delay restoration of a critical customer service.

Crisis Action Management

Every crisis action should have:

• Action description
• Owner
• Priority
• Deadline
• Status
• Expected output

A practical Action Log may include:

Action status may be:

• Open
• In progress
• Completed
• Deferred
• Cancelled

A CMT meeting without action management becomes a discussion rather than a coordinated response.

Action Prioritisation

Actions may be classified as:

Critical

Required immediately to protect life, safety, critical services or legal obligations.

High

Required soon to prevent further deterioration.

Medium

Important but not immediately time-critical.

Low

Can be addressed after stabilisation.

Priority should reflect consequence and urgency.

CMT Meeting Cycle

A practical meeting cycle may include:

1. Confirm attendance.
2. Review Situation Report.
3. Review actions.
4. Review decisions.
5. Assess new developments.
6. Reconfirm priorities.
7. Identify required decisions.
8. Confirm stakeholder communication.
9. Review recovery.
10. Set the next meeting time.

Meeting frequency should reflect the speed of the crisis.

During the initial phase, meetings may occur every 30 to 60 minutes. As the situation stabilises, the frequency may reduce.

Handover Procedures

Prolonged crises require formal handovers.

The handover should include:

• Current situation
• Key risks
• Outstanding actions
• Recent decisions
• Stakeholder issues
• Recovery status
• Upcoming deadlines
• Required decisions
• Contacts and advisers
• Next meeting time

The outgoing and incoming leaders should confirm the transfer.

Poor handover can result in duplicated actions, missed obligations and inconsistent decisions.

Managing Staff Fatigue

The procedures should address prolonged operations.

Consider:

• Shift rotation
• Maximum working periods
• Alternate role holders
• Rest periods
• Food and accommodation
• Psychological support
• Decision fatigue
• Specialist availability
• Handover quality

Senior leaders are also vulnerable to fatigue.

Crisis procedures should protect decision quality throughout the event.

Conclusion

The actions taken during a crisis often determine whether an organisation successfully contains the incident or experiences escalating operational, financial, and reputational consequences.

By implementing structured during-crisis procedures, organisations can maintain leadership, coordinate response teams effectively, communicate with confidence, and adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. This blog has examined the operational response phase of the crisis lifecycle.

The next blog in this series, Developing Post-Crisis Procedures, explores how organisations transition from response to recovery by restoring normal operations, conducting post-incident reviews, capturing lessons learned, and embedding continuous improvements that strengthen future crisis preparedness and organisational resilience.

More Information About Crisis Management Blended/ Hybrid Learning 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].

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