{"id":24786,"date":"2025-08-11T19:39:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T19:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/?p=24786"},"modified":"2025-08-11T21:48:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T21:48:12","slug":"7-steps-to-create-a-crisis-management-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/blog\/7-steps-to-create-a-crisis-management-plan","title":{"rendered":"7 Steps to Create a Crisis Management Plan (Better Safe Than Sorry)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As Valpak headquarters are based in Florida and August brings us ever deeper into hurricane season, earthquakes, wildfires, tornadoes, and tsunamis regularly in the headlines, having a crisis management plan that outlines how your business should respond during an emergency is a no-brainer these days. Yes, there is never a “good time” for a crisis, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. As the best defense is a good offense, having a team ready to act with a plan in place to reduce damage and restore business operations is crucial. And it will inevitably reduce your risk of losing time at the 11th hour, which could cause more damage in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purpose<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Clearly state the purpose of your plan and make sure when people look over it, they can understand its meaning and how to implement it should it be needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Framework<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Create a list of potential risks and rank them from highest to lowest. After ranking them, create a separate column and list each action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Response team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You will want to choose a team of leaders who will help with collaboration during the planning process\u2014but be sure to select a group of leaders who will also act during a crisis (this allows those taking action to understand the process and plan inside and out).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roles and responsibilities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your team will decide what types of teams \/ roles will help with different risk potentials, i.e., customer support, operations, marketing, HR, security, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Crisis management process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Conduct a brainstorming session with your response team to assess your company’s risks, utilizing a risk register to identify and analyze the probability of something occurring. A risk register can help prepare you for potential setbacks and help you visualize which threats are more likely to occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the high-probability risks have been identified, determine the impact they could have on your business. Each can cause different outcomes, and it is essential to analyze each separately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alert: <\/strong>Outline the actions necessary to notify the response team as soon as possible. An employee may be unsure if something is considered a crisis, so you will want to designate one person on the response team for triage purposes and direct employees to contact this team member if unsure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assess: <\/strong>What happens if the response team is needed? Plan how the team will assess the crisis, gather information, classify the incident (utilize the framework), and prepare to take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Activate: <\/strong>Initiate the plan! You will want to explain how the response team will delegate tasks and action items. When activating your plan, communication is critical. Thus, ensure your team understands the process and communicates with each other throughout the action plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Administer: <\/strong>You will want to determine how the response team will continue addressing, addressing, and resolving the incident. The crisis’s type, scale, scope and severity will determine the response. Tasks could include communicating with employees, stakeholders and customers, developing a timeline, external legal or technical assistance, moderating and responding to media, and updating your crisis communication plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adjourn: <\/strong>Once the crisis has been handled, you will want to regroup your team to review the process, the response and communication. Discuss what changes should be made and update the plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Do’s and don’ts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Preparing for a potential crisis is essential, but communicating the situation and conveying the right message to the right audience is vital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n