Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a disruptive and unexpected event that threatens to harm the organization or its stakeholders. It is a discipline within the broader context of management consisting of skills and techniques required to identify, assess, understand, and cope with a serious situation, especially from the moment it first occurs to the point that recovery procedures start. Crisis management involves implementing policies and procedures to defend, mitigate and prevent a crisis. It is different from risk management, which involves assessing potential threats and finding the best ways to avoid those threats.
Crisis management is a comprehensive process that is put into practice before a crisis even happens. It seeks to minimize the damage a crisis causes and is designed to protect an organization and its stakeholders from threats and/or reduce the impact felt by threats. The process includes clear roles and responsibilities and processes related organizational requirements company-wide. It involves strategic planning and responses to unexpected events and threats and is one of the best methods of preventing, mitigating, and responding to crises.
Crisis management practices are engaged before, during, and after a crisis. The process can be divided into three phases: (1) pre-crisis, (2) crisis response, and (3) post-crisis. The pre-crisis phase is concerned with prevention and preparation, while the crisis response phase involves taking immediate action to limit damage to the organization. The post-crisis phase involves recovery and learning from the crisis to prevent it from happening again.
Crisis management is critical for protecting an organizations reputational and financial well-being. It involves assembling a crisis management team comprising higher-level representatives from operations, finance, human resources, communications, IT, and legal, with at least one member of the executive team included as well. The team should have clearly defined roles and responsibilities for key personnel during a crisis, and these roles should be well-understood and regularly rehearsed. Metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) should be used to measure the success of crisis management efforts.
