Aspects of Crisis Management Michael Keating, CBCP V.P., Client Services
Objectives Understand the makeup of crisis management programs historical and future Learn how phases of crisis management differ from each other Identify areas where mutual interest benefit both planning disciplines
Name the disciplines You are a west coast publicly traded tier one automotive supplier. International suppliers comprise 50% of your supplier base. Asian companies in China and Malaysia deliver most of their electronic components via marine cargo. Mexican suppliers are focused on subassembly work and receive much of the Asian product directly. Commercial carriers are used to transport their products cross-border. A recently spun-off third party does significant R&D, testing and new product introduction work and is based in Miami. The spin-off was designed to lure work from medium sized, but growing tier one suppliers. Local suppliers provide mostly commodities, but some fairly highly engineered products. Many local suppliers are minority owned businesses to comply with a major customers MBE content requirements. Overall, nearly 80% of suppliers are single or sole sources. Supplier orders and inputs are managed electronically.
Anatomy of a Crisis Kidnap of an Executive Fire in the office Network Crash { Media Scrutiny Chaos Anxiety Stress } Supplier Failure Product Recall Business Interruption Sales Force Defection Confusion Panic Terrorism
Historic Program Makeup Crisis Communications Human Resource Planning/EAP Coordination Emergency Response Safety Programs Product Recall Supply Chain Food Safety Regulatory Issues Disaster Recovery Extortion Kidnap Business Continuity
Integrated Program
Discussion Which silo do you believe gets the most attention from senior management? Which silo gets the most funding? Which silo affects the most people? Which silo might appear on people s review the most often? Which silo is measured and managed on a frequent basis?
Aspects of Crisis Environment Levels of Responsibility Strategic, Tactical & Operational Time Phases Early Warning, Initial, Management, Withdrawal, Recovery Issues Management Areas Scene/Incident, Human Impact, Business Continuity
Levels of Responsibility Strategic Response Policy level Set overall goals / objectives Assess worst case incident potential Manage achievement of downstream position
Levels of Responsibility Tactical Response Resource Management Assess & reassess incident impact Communicate Information flow Intelligence IN, Actions OUT Turning objectives and priorities into actions
Levels of Responsibility Operational Response (scene) Respond Contain Resolve Heavily dependent on municipal response Company issues evacuation, accountability, lifesafety
Multi-level coordination Coordination across levels of responsibility Primary GOAL for CM system Shared Information Common objectives / priorities Coordinated communications Coordinated actions
Time Phases Early Warnings / Near Misses Recognizing opportunities to prevent crises Recognizing opportunities to mitigate situations, preventing their growth into crises Systematic way to gather information, assess, mitigate potential for crisis event/situation Can be codified or not part of normal management processes (e.g., risk analysis) Example: Airline industry hijacking from Africa.
Time Phases Initial Response Phase Immediate Problem / Site primary area of action Focus is on Operational response Highly trained personnel use standard response protocols Local action / communicated to higher organization Time for initial fact gathering, assessment, team mobilization Implement pre-planned responses Examples: Coke CEO leaving Europe; Halliburton whistle blowing on itself.
Time Phases Response Management System is mobilized, personnel oriented to the problem, communications active, problem assessed Cycles of information gathering, communications, assessment, prioritization, planning, implementation, feedback Could vary from 4 hours to 4 weeks or more Example: Shareholder suits that never leave the legal department.
Time Phases Withdrawal / Demobilization Temporary (safety) Permanent coincides with scene resolution Strategic processes continue (e.g., communications, family liaison)
Time Phases Recovery and Continuation Investigations OSHA, criminal, etc Physical recovery of the scene Temporary work processes Restoration of operational capability Legal issues Insurance claims Human Impact management Example: Exxon Valdez. Reprehensible conduct according to trial judge.
Information Supply/Demand Possible to be proactive at this point Information Demand Information Supply Information Gap
Information Management Communications system Moving information to/from central point Documentation System At ALL levels Crisis Management Team Deliberations reasons for key decisions Pass down & tickler systems INFORMATION IS THE FUEL OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT
Principles for Success How is integration critical to: Problem recognition / definition Assessment / Reassessment Immediate Problem Incident Potential Recognizing & managing team stress CM system communications Info management processes & tools
Principles of Success How is integration critical to: Decision making no unrecoverable errors External communications stand w/ credible partners monitor & manage where agendas agree & disagree Unified Command concepts for regional or terrorist incident responses Turning decisions into action
Conclusion Q&A