Crisis Management

Components of a Crisis Management System are present to varying degrees in almost every company. Our practical experience also shows that most systems are geared towards operational emergency response, and little attention is usually paid to strategic-tactical Crisis Management. It should also be noted that the half-life of a Crisis Management System is certainly limited. Employees leave the company, procurement, production and IT processes and above all the environment is constantly changing.

The goal of the audit of your Crisis Management is to analyze the actual situation of your Crisis Management Concept on the basis of a differentiated target concept.

As a result, a maturity analysis is available, which illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of the existing system in a clear and concise form. The final report also includes a list of potential improvements as well as recommendations for the further development of your Crisis Management System.

The classical method of Crisis Management considers singular causes. So, “Crisis is when there’s a fire, bomb threats, kidnappings, etc.” The modern approach starts from the effect of an event on the company and its core processes. This means that the outage of the process is decisive, not the cause of the outage itself.

The goal of our consulting for the introduction of an updated Crisis Management System is to evaluate the existing Crisis Management Measures and to identify the critical processes and facilities. Based on this, crisis scenarios are determined and measures are developed, which are documented using action plans and checklists. Another goal is to familiarize relevant employees and members of the crisis management squat with the work of the crisis management team and to provide them with the necessary methodological tools during a training session (leadership rhythm).

As a result you will receive a construction kit with scenarios, action plans and checklists with possible solutions and concrete individual measures. We record all developed documents and procedures in an action-oriented model handbook for Crisis Management. Additionally we document the actions of the participants in this report and point out potential dangers.

The goal of our crisis squad exercise is to train the members of your crisis team in the event of an emergency using a scenario specially developed for your company. The “script” for this exercise is compiled with an employee of your company, based on the agreed learning objective.

The members of the crisis squad learn to work in a team and to apply the methodology of crisis squad work, the leadership rhythm, under high pressure in practice. During such exercises you will also quickly notice whether your Crisis Management System is suitable for emergency situations.

We offer different types of Crisis Management exercises:

• the pure “alarm exercise”; in case of a staged event, the responsible employees must be reached as quickly as possible and arrive at the agreed place
• the “dry run“; the crisis unit and its support team meet and have to cope with a given crisis situation
• the “full exercise“; in the event of a staged event, the staff begins its work, rescue forces and emergency teams on site become active. The scenario can last several hours or days and tests not only the methodology but also the ability of the crisis squat members to work under very high pressure

The result of such an exercise is not only a well prepared and experienced crisis squat, but also insights into the efficiency and relevance of the existing Crisis Management System. Based on our observations, a debriefing with the participants and their experiences, we will provide you with a detailed report with measures to improve your Crisis Management System. Additionally we document the actions of the participants in this report and point potential dangers out to them.

To cope with emergencies and crises, it is crucial that companies are well prepared. The goal in an emergency is to support you with methodical questions on the work of the crisis team, in structuring and optimizing the management process and in moderating individual steps in the management rhythm. We provide you with a deeper understanding of Emergency and Crisis Management. In particular, the individual key factors will be addressed and their interconnectedness will be shown and dealt with.

Our team consists of experienced practitioners in the fields of crisis prevention, communication and crisis management. Together with you and your crisis management team, these experts develop optimal solutions with the available resources.

Our offer in Crisis Management includes:

• Professional and methodical support for the work in the crisis team
• Controlling the management process in a crisis
• Development of a reaction strategy
• Introduction to our solution-finding competence for the elaboration and evaluation of different options for action
• Support for internal and external communication

The result of our consulting for the case of emergency is the successful and continuing crisis management.