Getting down to serious business of handling the crisis

I recall the role of a crisis management team during my time as the country head of a US firm. Here is the list of what such a team should consider for implementation:
-Determine what gaps exist in current information.
-Define successful resolution of the crisis.
-Within the framework of the desired outcome, decide the course of action.
-Select possible external sources of help.
-Designate an external spokesman.
-Define target audiences such as the community in the plant’s area, local and central government officials, key environmental groups, etc.
-Define an internal reporting system and responsibilities for liaison with interested parties.
-Establish additional channels of communication if necessary.

--Preparation is key
Ratchanee Patipong, country president of Clariant, a major Switzerland-based chemical corporation, shared with me how that company takes proactive steps for a crisis.
“We have in place an emergency plan that provides a guideline on things to do, at certain degrees of crisis, including internal and external communication.
“There are two emergency teams, a national team and a local team, for each site, that is, two factories and the head office. Each member of each team has clear responsibilities during the crisis. Regular training, certification of team members and annual auditing are some of our normal procedures.
“Key important factors of this business-continuity management are the plan itself, regular training, and programmes to alert team members all the time. Through this approach, when the situation occurs, we can handle it effectively without panic,” Ratchanee concluded.

--Spirit of teamwork
Thanong Chotisorayuth, managing director of SE-ED, said: “On data back-up, we update with a Wi-Fi link of 190 bits per second transferred rate in the range of 20 kilometres. In this way, our data is on a real-time basis and stored at different locations. Therefore, if our headquarters is flooded, we just take a laptop, go online and can process the pending orders right away.
“Though we were not flooded either at HQ or the distribution centre, we announced the closure of our HQ from October 26 to November 4 so our employees could prepare. By  October 31, after there were more orders from our branches at Chon Buri, Hua Hin, Pattaya and Rayong, where people moved from the flooding, we had to call those who could make it to work on November 1, and successfully shipped our orders within the same day. This demonstrates how our team spirit works as well.”