Crisis management consulting

 Policy and Process Management

The Policy and Process Management is the foundation stage for the establishment of a crisis organization structure. It defines the strategic approach and the roles and responsibilities.

Policy

With our experience, we help you to formulate a crisis management policy tailored to your company's needs and goals. We focus on the following contents:

• Statement of intent

• aims

• Scope / scope

• Budget / Resources

• Legal / regulatory requirements

• Mechanisms for success control

Roles & Responsibilities

Our experts advise you in defining roles and responsibilities for the different areas of crisis organization. Not every employee is suitable for a role in the crisis organization. Therefore, we make sure that those responsible fit with their professional and personal skills and experience into your roles in the crisis organization (skills - experience - competence). We close missing competences through personal coaching and seminars, which are tailored to your company and your needs. 

 Analysis

Often organisations and enterprises already have mechanisms for defence against damage caused by out-ages or emergencies. During the analysis phase we determine the present responsiveness of your enterprise in case of a crisis (response readiness). At the same it will be necessary to identify stakeholders of the Crisis Communication area and to develop accurate response measures. This will be followed by planning the im-plementation of concrete measures for ensuring the ability to response and act in case of a crisis.

Emergency Response Audit (ERA)

Our consultant team will work with you to analyse your company's existing response structures. Subsequently, measures are defined for the establishment, improvement and optimization of the crisis management structures. With the help of an ERA, you receive a precise statement of the actual status of the response readiness of your company. In the next step, the measures required to achieve the desired status are documented.

Stakeholder analysis

Based on the evaluation of individual stakeholders within a respective stakeholder group, we automatically create a so-called stakeholder relevance matrix with the aid of an analysis tool.
Afterwards our consultants support you in the targeted alignment of the crisis management processes in the area of ​​crisis communication.

 Design

No company is like the other! Therefore, we tailor the design of your crisis management precisely to the needs of your company. The findings of the Emergency Response Audit allow the definition of an appropriate preselection and prioritization of the necessary measures to improve the response readiness. The structures and peculiarities of your company are taken into consideration.

Priority list / action items

Our team of consultants carries out a risk analysis with regard to the processes of your existing crisis management or develops them accordingly in the case of a new introduction, taking into account your specific needs (also in coordination with the priorities of your management and the special protection lines of your company). 

Overall, measures are designed with a view to ensuring that your company is able to react appropriately in the event of a crisis.

Crisis management areas

The design of crisis management should be aligned with the requirements and needs of the company. However, central areas should always be covered by appropriate crisis structures, processes and functions. Our experts advise you on the development and design of crisis response measures in the following areas:

• Crisis organization

• Crisis Response / Emergency Response

• Crisis communication

• Care / Support / Family Assistance

• On-site response / accident site (task teams, go teams)

• Aftercare / support (including external and internal procedures for CISM - Critical Incident Stress Management and PSNV - Psychosocial Emergency Care)

• Humanitarian aid / accident site (intervention teams, go teams, SAT - Special Assistance Teams)

In doing so, we attach particular importance to the fact that measures are not only completely documented, but also implemented (ie also practically applied). We support you with the appropriate approach to aftercare and humanitarian aid, which is the responsibility of your company for your employees (and possibly also customers). Our team of consultants has many years of practical implementation experience as well as corresponding certifications. 

Crisis management infrastructure

Successful crisis management requires a suitable infrastructure. We advise you on the design and setup of your crisis management infrastructure. Here we pay attention to strategic (crisis staff room), tactical (situation centers) and operational (emergency / go-teams) elements. Our services include:

• Conception of strategic, tactical and operational crisis infrastructure

• Advising on the establishment, expansion and adaptation of crisis headquarters and situation centers

• Development of escalation procedures to activate the crisis infrastructure

• ​Advice on the establishment of communication channels and decision rules 

 Implementation

Once the design of the crisis management has been determined, the implementation phase involves the implementation of measures for the establishment of crisis management structures.

Crisis organization

The success of crisis management stands and falls with the agility and efficiency of the crisis management team during a crisis. The basis for this is provided by, among other things, practically functioning and effective reporting and alarming processes. We also support you in the design of training courses and awareness programs tailored to the needs of the target group. The establishment of appropriate infrastructure (crisis headquarters, situation center) on a strategic, tactical and operational level is essential. We support you in the conception of the crisis organization, which we document for you in a crisis organization manual.

Crisis response

Responsiveness depends not only on the organization of the crisis team, but also on the description of processes after the crisis has been recognized. We support you in defining processes that can be quickly executed by the crisis management team in the event of a crisis. The response processes are documented in a crisis response plan.

Crisis communications

Crisis communication serves as a central strategic tool in crisis management. We support you in the creation of crisis communication processes and structures. During a crisis, you have no time to worry about basic reaction patterns - these must already be predefined and practiced. We support you in setting up structures for external, internal and social media crisis communication including media monitoring processes and the development of a suitable darksite for you. We document all structures and processes of internal, external and social media crisis communication for you in a crisis communication plan.

 Validation

A common weakness in corporate crisis organizations is the practicality of the response procedures. Often documented structures and procedures differ from actual reality. Fortunately, because crises are not part of everyday life, the response procedures are strengthened by crisis exercises.

Exercise strategy

With an exercise strategy, we determine together with you when and to what extent exercises of the response readiness should be carried out. The exercise strategy defines the depth of the exercises, the exercise components and the exercise structure. Furthermore, a timetable for the execution of the exercises will be prepared. The following successive training structures can be used.

• Crisis response drills

• Desktop exercises

• Team exercises

• Multi-team exercises

• Crisis management exercise

Audits / Reviews

Organizational structures in companies can change. Departments arise and are dissolved. Restructuring is initiated, new employees join, others leave the company. To ensure that your crisis organization is always operational and up-to-date, it is necessary to carry out regular reviews of the structures and processes in terms of respons in the event of a crisis. Our consultants will check together with you if changes or adjustments are necessary.