How to Predict an Organizational Crisis

Many successful organizations pride themselves on being able to navigate a crisis. Predict an organizational crisis by considering the worse case scenarios in life or business. We live in an imperfect world and crisis is inevitable. Profits decline, overhead costs rise, severe weather damages your home or disgruntle employees threaten others. The appropriate response is the difference between a temporary situation and long-term setback. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

1. Take a proactive approach to crisis management. Evaluate an organization's ability to handle a crisis. Review the current policies that handle specific situations like fires, power outages, severe weather damage, ongoing profit loss and life threatening scenarios.

2. Create or use an existing checklist to reflect the appropriate response and gauge the failure or success of implementing an emergency action. Take into account every crisis that can occur including, financial, structural damages and life threatening situations.

3. Audit the organizational crisis management plan. Inventory safety equipment, staff responses and knowledge levels to handle a crisis. Communicate results and correct any areas of deficiency.

4. Test the plan to determine if it works in practice. Hold drills for major crisis situations and analyze staff readiness. Focus on response, ability to evacuate premises and ensure procedures successfully address the crisis at hand.

5. Meet with senior management to confirm understanding of roles and responsibilities during an emergency. Quiz staff by utilizing the hypothetical crisis. Choose random members of the organization and assess their ability to communicate the structured plan to respond.

6. Set a time each month to monitor the staff's ability to manage a crisis. Update ineffective or outdated crisis management plans, policies or procedures. Generate a report of findings and grade staff accordingly.

Tips & Warnings

• Consult with a professional crisis management specialist. Purchase supplemental crisis management training materials, if necessary.

• Join the American Management Association for helpful hints, networking opportunities, seminars and general information.

• Failure to handle a crisis often leads to costly consequences.

Resources

• Search through American Management Association's crisis management information.