Crisis Management International - Integrated Crisis Management Defined

The People-side of Crisis
(Bruce T. Blythe, CEO, GRC 360: Perspectives on Governance, Risk, Compliance & Culture, Spring 2006)

Ultimately, crisis management is about meeting people's needs. Adequately addressing the concerns and needs of affected stakeholders is the roadmap to crisis recovery. Yet, the people-side of crisis tends to be the least adequately prepared. Organizations that chant the mantra "our people are our most important asset," far too many times overlook the needs of their employees following a crisis. For responding crisis managers, pressing issues like "putting out the fire" and meeting media demands often trump addressing the needs of emotionally impacted people. But, those quiet attitudes, beliefs and emotional reactions of people can speak volumes about how well and how fast your organization recovers from a crisis.

Identifying the Needs of People During a Crisis is Critical

In response to the critical need for preparedness, the National Fire Protection Agency Standard on Disaster /Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs (NFPA 1600) is coming increasingly into prominence. And, NFPA 1600 clearly calls for the needs of people to be addressed.

Section 3.3.2 on Damage Assessment calls for an appraisal of the effects on the disaster on human, physical, economic, and natural resources.
Section 3.3.7 on Mitigation states that activities must be taken to eliminate or reduce the severity or consequences following a disaster, which certainly includes the needs of impacted people.
Finally, Section 5.10.2 on Operations and Procedures calls for the safety, health and welfare of people to be addressed.

But, what needs to be done? The NFPA 1600 standard calls for effective assessment and mitigation of the people-side effects of a disaster, but the content for filling in the gaps with an effective post-crisis Human Impact Program is not clearly defined.

Human impact response requires more than following NFPA 1600 checklists; it involves "compassionate identification." Effective crisis response includes recognition and close attention to meeting the needs of impacted people from the immediate aftermath, and on through the crisis recovery phase. Crisis leadership involves balancing those people needs with the requirements of the business. For the workforce, this involves reentry issues as employees move back into the workplace of what would be a "new normal" following catastrophes. Employees who returned to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina have had to adjust to a new normal environment both at work and within their communities. These people complexities need to be managed in a compassionate and attentive manner.

As part of its Framework for GRC management, OCEG is preparing guidance to address preparation and response to crises of all types - financial, ethical, or physical in nature. A critical aspect of preparedness is the ability to address the post-crisis needs of impacted people from a strategic vantage. This article presents a brief preview and introduction to that aspect of the guidance, which calls for establishment of a post-crisis Human Impact Program.

Many of the guidelines in the Human Impact Program fall under OCEG's Additional Practices category - not mandated, but certainly recommended for consideration as field-tested best practices addressing the needs of people impacted by a disaster.

Building An Effective Response Team is Essential

For this discussion, we assume an organization is large enough to have leaders in each area of the Human Impact Program. For smaller organizations, selected managers may need to wear more than one "hat" in preparing for and responding to the post-crisis needs of their employees and other key stakeholders. Leaders must be assigned to each of these highly specialized areas to assure timely and effective response. Mistakes and untimely responses will create stakeholder outrage, which is almost certain to increase the severity, complexity and duration of the crisis.

Human Impact Team is a subset of the company's broader Emergency/Crisis Response Team. Unlike the myriad responsibilities of the core Crisis Team, the Human Impact Team focuses exclusively on anticipating and addressing the needs of impacted employees and other people impacted by a corporate crisis. Other crisis response issues do not distract them. While consisting of managers from multidisciplinary perspectives, the team's sole purpose is to assure that needs from communications to palliative care are addressed effectively and on a timely basis for as long as it takes to reestablish normalcy.

Leaders are assigned from within or as adjuncts to the Human Impact Team. Preparations for, and response to, the various anticipated needs of people following a significant workplace catastrophe come from leaders and their teams, as follows:

Internal Communications Liaison Leader: Two-way communication is the critical foundation for responding to crises. No crisis response is any better than the accurate information that is received and given. This function assures that timely and effective communications are available to the organization's employees, and their family members when appropriate.
Accounting for People Leader: The need to locate employees is a primary concern in the aftermath of a catastrophe. This is not just a software or hotline solution. In the early aftermath of a crisis, this leader determines the circle of potentially impacted employees, follows established policy and procedures for processing and verifying data regarding accounted-for employees, and organizes search methodologies for missing employees.
Hotline Leader: The Hotline Leader assures that information received from calling employees (or other constituents) is accurately compiled. Responses to address expressed needs are monitored for timeliness and effectiveness with no gaps. Phone lines are monitored to assure telecommunications equipment is sufficient to handle the volume of calls. Outgoing messaging is updated at appropriate intervals. Notification calls to employees may be conducted through the hotline team.
Health Services Leader: The physical and psychological health of involved stakeholders is assessed and attended to through this leader. Accurate health education information is provided to people who are (or fear they might be) affected by the crisis. Psychological assistance is provided to employees. Medical treatments are expedited, as available and necessary.
Next-of-Kin Notification Leader: There is only one opportunity to get a death or serious injury notification right. The NOK Notification Leader makes sure appropriate family members are notified before their identities are made public. Immediate support, transportation, information, and other helpful actions are provided. Notifiers are provided with the training, information, protection, and support needed to fulfill their difficult jobs. Cultural expectations are known. Assistance is provided to law enforcement, medical personnel and coroners who may assume the lead responsibility for notifying family members.
Family Representative Leader: Teams of screened employee volunteers are trained to serve as liaisons between the company and families of fatally and seriously injured employees. The team leader assures that the practical and informational needs of affected family members are known and adequately addressed within company guidelines.
Business/People Continuity Leader: Business continuity plans call on employees and others in critical job functions to execute the continuity process. This leader accommodates the often-overlooked special needs of people who must execute these job responsibilities in difficult circumstances.
Humanitarian Finance Leader: Special financial considerations are many times needed to support people who are affected by catastrophes. Salary continuation, loans, needs for cash, lodging, etc. are all under the managing oversight of the Finance Leader.
Claims and Benefits Leader: Policy explanations, timely claims processing and addressing "exceptions" are the responsibility of this leader. Many times, coverages will need to be negotiated with insurers.
Memorials and Outreach Leader: Services at the worksite, employee funeral attendance policy, remote family outreach, and funeral arrangement assistance for requesting families are the responsibility of this leader. Appropriate symbolic remembrances are provided in the aftermath of a fatal/traumatic incident and at the anniversaries.
Contractor Liaison Leader: The needs of contracted and temporary employees are addressed to assure a seamless response for company employees and contacted employees alike. This leader is responsible for interfacing and coordinating crisis responses with the management of external contracting companies.
International Liaison Leader(s): Meeting the needs of distant/ex-pat employees can be challenging and complex. Foreign customs and laws are known and addressed by this leader. Evacuations, transportation, shelter in place, and crisis communications are coordinated, as appropriate.
People Security Leader: Real and perceived safety and security needs of impacted people are addressed by the People Security Leader. Law enforcement investigations and actions are coordinated, while participating/impacted employees are supported. Information is provided regarding anticipated or ongoing security risks for exposed employees.

These leaders and their teams represent the integral components of a Human Impact Response Team and Program. Their jobs are to assure that their organization executes each people-related crisis response activity with excellence. Planning to meet the crisis needs of people is a strong foundational step toward mitigation of potential constituent outrage and the negligent planning claims that are emerging on the horizon. The result will be compliance with the people-side of the NFPA 1600 standard and the likelihood of increased morale and crisis recovery.



		Blindsided is the authoritative guide to crisis management. This "how to" handbook gives essential advice that every manager needs to know when a crisis hits. Written by CMI Founder/CEO Bruce Blythe, it's a fascinating, easy-to-read guide that draws on Blythe's 20+ years of experience as a pioneer in crisis management.