Crisis Management and Business Continuity Planning Workshop

Crisis Management and Business Continuity Planning Workshop

Tuesday 25 October 2005

Presented by : Cameron Jones

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Crisis Management and BCP WorkshopAgenda

• Welcome and introduction

• Role Play

• Feedback

• Lessons learned from role play and Crisis Communications

• Q&A

U-Beaut Foods Limited


Objective

“To provide practical insights on how to develop or test

your crisis management and continuity capability

through the use of simulations”

Crisis Management and BCP WorkshopU-Beaut Foods Limited


• Allocate roles

• Not a competition (process, not content)

• Overall aim is to manage the recovery process of U-Beaut Foods Limited and for you to identify issues which relate to your organisation

• Time period - 0 - 5 post incident

• Write down the areas you identified as key for a successful recovery process in your assigned roles



Roles:

• Command Centre

• Business Operations

• Media and Communications

• Facilities and Emergency Services

• Human Resources

• Information Technology



Background

• U-Beaut Foods Limited

• Manufacture / supply / distribution / retail of pies, pasties,pre-prepared meals and savory snacks

• Head office in Perth with processing plants in WA. Regional offices in Melbourne and Sydney

• Australian owned, very successful, large market share and starting to expand rapidly into internet sales



Role Play Scenario

• Real time, today, 25th October 2005

• Think about the following:

– Police and other emergency services in attendance

– Injuries and fatalities

– Media is present

• Further details are coming to hand …...


FeedbackU-Beaut Learnings & Crisis Communications


U-Beaut Learnings – Command Centre

Did you consider….

• Do you have appropriate personnel available? Who has been injured or killed? Chain of command?

• Do you have contact list – staff, vendors & key customers?

• What is first priority? Staff safety, business operations or media?

• How do you set up the command centre? Where?

• How do you keep track of the status of separate recovery teams, i.e. IT, HR, Facilities, Business Operations and Communications?


U-Beaut Learnings – Communications

Did you consider…..

• What groups and individuals do you most need to communicate with?

• What messages do you need to communicate to them? Both written and verbal.

• Who should control formal communications?

• How to control formal communications? Consider preparation for media releases and media spokesperson.

• The need to analyse risks and predict likely questions.


U-Beaut Learnings – HR


• Who was in the building at the time of the explosion?

• What do you need in order to supply relevant information to Police and other emergency services?

• Is there a staff hotline?

• Do you need to provide on-site counselling to staff? How?

• Who will communicate with staff? How?

• How will you supply HR information to other recovery teams?

• What safeguards do you have for staff, contractors and visitors?


U-Beaut Learnings – Business Operations


• What have we told our staff?

• How do you manage the staff productivity during recovery?

• What IT resources can we have back at head office? When?

• What is our recovery strategy? Priorities?

• Consider impact on customer:

– Warehouse – distribution

– Retail and wholesales – public relation and orders handling

– Manufacturing - production


U-Beaut Learnings – Facilities


• What emergency services liaison is required?

• What was the initial impact to the office accommodation? How long are we out?

• What cost for & who can help find replacement accommodation?

• What security systems do we have in place at the site?

• Should we tell the utility companies? If so, what?

• Who is looking after the insurance claim?


U-Beaut Learnings – Technology and Telecommunications


• Do we have sufficient command centre phones & faxes?

• What is the initial damage assessment for IT equipment, software& data?

• What is the replacement time & cost for lost equipment? What are the business imperatives?

• Can we re-direct our communications links?

• What is the current status of our backups?

• What should we be doing to restore the mainframe, LAN & stand alone PCs? Which order?


U-Beaut Learnings - Conclusion

• The above is not an exhaustive list. A full simulation would probably identify a more complete list.

• The purpose of this exercise is to set you thinking about the plan you need to put in place.

• There is no right or wrong answers. You need to evaluate each ofthe following factor that affects the continuity of your business or organisation.

People + Plan + Infrastructure = Continuity CapabilityPeople + Plan + Infrastructure = Continuity Capability


People + Plans + Infrastructure = Continuity Capability

People Plans InfrastructureCohesive team

Chain of command

Escalation process

The right nominations

• ability

• authority

• specialists

Clear roles

Well trained

Awareness

Accountability

Command centre

Business facilities

• office area

• customer areas

• warehouse

• meeting rooms

Resource listings

• equipment

• furniture, etc.

Vendor agreements

Communications

IT requirements

Action driven

Simple and concise

Checklists

• tailored response

• worst nightmares

Roles and responsibilities defined

Team recovery

• reference material

• contact numbers

+ +


Where to from here …

• “Worst case” planning just got worse

• Think broader than natural disaster or technical problems

• “Golden hour” response plans

• Consider the physical location of your intellectual capital

• Prioritise and communicate the recovery of all business functions

• Incorporate accountability for recovery into KPIs

• Test … test … test

Crisis Communication

Golden rules of crisis communication


Lasting impressions are set in the first 24 - 48 hours

• Agree key messages and stakeholders and communicate quickly

Perceived dishonesty destroys confidence

• Check the facts, don’t bluff or lie

Stakeholders need to know the situation is your top priority

• Most senior executive should be spokesperson

• Travel to site if at all possible



Consumers won’t use a dangerous product

• End the crisis

Negative messages from other sources can often be avoided

• Use your allies, inform your opponents

• Use third party experts

• Ensure all staff are aware of media policy

Communication must be consistent

• Base all communication on key messages



If you don’t communicate, someone else will

• Give all stakeholders regular updates

• Remember media deadlines

• Ensure sufficient resources to manage all incoming calls

Your statements will go on record

• Have a lawyer on the crisis team

• Anticipate all possible questions


Q&A

Questions?

Crisis Management and Business Continuity Planning Workshop

Documents

Transcript of Crisis Management and Business Continuity Planning Workshop