How to write a crisis management plan template?

The best way to write a crisis management plan is to designate a crisis management team to start the process of assessing and improving your current emergency response process. Use an effective crisis management plan template like this one to define crisis scenarios, set up clear communication protocols and determine appropriate crisis response actions.

What is a crisis management plan?

A crisis management plan is a useful tool for responding to critical situations that can negatively impact an organization’s assets, reputation, ability to operate, or profitability. Crisis management plans outline the personnel responsible for dealing with a crisis, how to identify a crisis, and suggested responses.

How does crisis management work?

Crisis management is the process through which an organization develops a strategy for identifying and dealing with unanticipated emergencies that pose a threat to the assets, people, or operations of the organization. Once a plan is developed and key crisis management personnel are designated, a crisis can be responded to should one occur.

What are the steps to creating a crisis management plan?

There are several key steps to follow when creating a crisis management plan. They include identifying the personnel for your crisis management team, defining what a crisis could look like and determining the best course of action in response to a crisis. Finally, you’ll want to put all of this into a crisis management plan using a template like this one.

What are the 5 P's of a crisis management plan?

The 5 P’s of a crisis management plan are Predict, Prevent, Prepare, Perform and Post-Action Assessment. Predict, Prevent and Prepare are all actions that should be taken before a crisis occurs and it involves anticipating potential crises, identifying prevention options and preparing by putting specific protocols in place. Perform means to carry out the crisis management plan and respond to the crisis, while Post-Action Assessment involves evaluating the crisis management plan after a crisis has occurred and identifying how the process could be improved.

Crisis Management Plan Template

Prepared for:

[Client.FirstName][Client.LastName]

Prepared by:

[Sender.FirstName][Sender.LastName]

Crisis Management Plan

This Crisis Management Plan has been built to provide a framework for how to manage any major emergency incidents that occur at [Sender.Company]. The plan defines what makes a crisis, the key personnel involved in the management of a crisis and actionable guidelines for how to practically manage a crisis.

Defining a Crisis

A crisis would consist of a major incident that poses a threat to life and/or [Sender.Company]’s operations, assets, or reputation. It could result from a singular event or be made up of several related events. A crisis is something outside the control of [Sender.Company] and that would take significant time and resources to manage.

Crisis Identification

A crisis can be officially declared by one of the designated Crisis Management Personnel.

The following are examples of situations that could be declared a crisis, including (but not limited to):

An incident resulting in the death or serious injury of a [Sender.Company] staff member.
Action on part of a [Sender.Company] staff member involving death, serious injury, or maltreatment of a child.
The kidnapping of [Sender.Company] staff.
An incident led to the complete suspension of one of [Sender.Company]'s projects.
Incidents in which [Sender.Company] is involved that could have negative implications for and cause possible retaliation against [Sender.Company] in a community.
Incidents that may have legal repercussions for [Sender.Company].
Incidents involving gross mishandling of funds.
Outbreaks of conflict in one of [Sender.Company] operating regions.
Natural disasters.
Incidents result in negative media coverage.
Scenarios laid out in country security plans in which [Sender.Company] is located.

Crisis Management Personnel

[Sender.Company] has designated the following personnel as key to the crisis management process and tasked each person with specific responsibilities.

Security Manager

Role: Coordinate and lead the crisis response.

Responsibilities:

Analyze the situation to determine if it is a crisis or not.
Make critical decisions to preserve the safety of staff and assets.
Establish a prioritized action plan to manage the crisis.
Delegate to other staff as necessary.
Take counsel from professional advisors.
Ensure that staff is well-trained in crisis management and the plan is frequently reviewed.

CEO

Role: Facilitate and support the implementation of a crisis response.

Responsibilities:

Final sign-off on all major decisions.
Be the public face of any media contact such as a press conference.
Brief the Board of Directors on the status of the crisis and the decisions that are taken.
Authorize spending of emergency funds (with sign-off from the Board of Directors).
Act as a point of contact for the families of any potential victims.
Take counsel from professional advisors.

Public Relations Director

Role: Handle the public-facing response to a crisis.

Responsibilities:

Develop a media strategy in advance of a crisis.
Proactive communication with media outlets via conferences, press releases, etc.
Monitoring of media coverage during a crisis.
Briefing the media spokesman (CEO) with key media messages.
Provide support to families of staff dealing with media attention.
Maintain a log of media inquiries.

Emergency Contact Numbers

Security Manager: (SecurityManager.Phone)

CEO:(CEO.Phone)

Public Relations Director:(PRDirector.Phone)

Other:

Crisis Response Process

Crises often occur without warning and may not present an abundance of information. This means that strategies must be assessed and critical decisions made quickly.

To ensure a crisis response is planned effectively without forgetting any important steps, the following process should be followed:

Step 1: Detection of crisis.

Step 2: Alert Crisis Management Personnel.

Step 3: Initial assessment by crisis management personnel.

Step 4: Take immediate actions that are determined to be most appropriate.

Step 5: Manage the crisis on an ongoing basis.

Step 6: Recover from the crisis (e.g. repairs, reparations, media appearances, etc.)

Step 7: Evaluate how the crisis was handled and what improvements could be made to the process.

Signature

MM / DD / YYYY

[Client.FirstName][Client.LastName]

Signature

MM / DD / YYYY

[Sender.FirstName][Sender.LastName]

Crisis Management Plan Template

Crisis Management Plan

Defining a Crisis

Crisis Identification

Crisis Management Personnel

Security Manager

CEO

Public Relations Director

Emergency Contact Numbers

Crisis Response Process

Crisis Management Plan Template

Useful resources