Preparing for Crisis Situations

Preparing for Crisis Situations

Caitlin Gooch

Companies are never indestructible and must be prepared for the worst to happen in every situation. This is when crisis prevention comes into play. If an organization isnt careful, one false move can jeopardize an employer's job or a company's reputation. There is no such thing as being too prepared, and companies everywhere should implement a crisis prevention plan.

Having a written crisis management plan is not only playing it safe or thinking ahead, it can help prevent internal disasters within your company or organization. No one ever thinks a crisis will happen to them, but one false move could deface a company's image.

A crisis can be defined as a condition of instability or danger, as in social, economic, political, or international affairs leading to a decisive change. In order to minimize potential problems within an organization, a smart thing to do is delegate a crisis management team or even a single person to plan for crisis situations. After a crisis task force is assigned, it is important to train managers and other employers in case they are the ones answering to a crisis.

To begin planning for a crisis, several initial questions need to be addressed: What problems could surface? What are some possible scenarios of things going wrong? Is the entire company aware of how to act if a crisis does indeed surface?

Some key facts to think about in your disaster planning include:

1. Disasters will occur
2. You have to have a plan before the disaster hits
3. React with urgency, but don't panic
4. Ride it out

Taking the time to plan for a crisis can be very tedious and overwhelming, but when a company's name or reputation can be saved, it is all worth it in the end.