Crisis Management International

Yesterday, an explosion occurred on the factory floor. Your customers are already calling to ask if you'll still be able to meet your commitments. You explain that orders will be handled manually for the time being and that production will be shifted to another plant.

Did you do the right thing?

No. You just made a promise you cannot keep. With thousands of inventory numbers and standing commitments to just-in-time delivery, manual ordering is not a realistic option. And, unless you developed an agile manufacturing environment long before the accident occurred, you cannot just shift production from one plant to another. Your operations people already know this. Your customers are about to discover it.

Your cashier's ex-boyfriend is threatening her again. This time, he's on the phone to you. Says he'll come to your store and kill her. Realizing this is no idle threat, you immediately hang up, and call to leave an urgent message with your supervisor.

Did you do the right thing?

No. Safety is the immediate concern. Don't wait for the supervisor to return your call. Take immediate action to protect your employees. Warn the cashier. Secure all entrances. Contact security, law enforcement, and CMI. We will make recommendations based on what is known about the boyfriend, where the entrances to your building are, where the escape routes are, the best ways to utilize the police, etc. Ideally, you should keep the threatening person on the phone instead of hanging up; meanwhile someone else can contact us and other authorities.

The power just went out. It's the 15th of the month, and the blackout hits the city center where your bank's corporate headquarters is located. You have a security plan in place, business continuity plan with a two-day recovery time objective and your HR people have promised that payroll will not be interrupted. Did you do the right thing?

Did you do the right thing?

No. If your HR, security and business continuity plans aren't integrated – chances are they use the same resources.

Experience a blackout on the 15th, and you lose more than just power. You can't service your customers, and as a federally-regulated bank, you miss your payment to the Fed. That means huge fees, interest charges, and a long-term drop in your bank rating. Your business continuity plan's two-day recovery time objective didn't stop it.

On top of that, the money your HR department assumed would be available had been tied up trying to make the Fed payment. You need a comprehensive crisis management plan that not only tackles the range of issues, but also forces your people talk to each other.

The flood completely shut down production, and some of your employees cannot afford to go another week without a paycheck. They want to know how you're going to help. You explain that you're putting some assistance programs in place, but that you cannot meet all their needs.

Did you do the right thing?

Yes. In a crisis, your first concern is your people. But unless you balance your financial investment in business recovery, those people will have neither the jobs nor the support they need for long-term personal recovery.

Will you continue to pay them while the plant is shut down, advance them future salary or provide low interest loans? Are you going to assist employees whose homes have been heavily damaged or destroyed? Who deserves the most help? Who gets it first? These are all legitimate questions. But they must be balanced with the costs of repairing your facilities, bringing in new equipment, and getting production going. Your community depends on it.