Page 27 - MidJersey Business - July-August 2014

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Under Fire

1 Who do you trust?
THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A STRONG SUPPORT
Successful managers surround themselves with people they
TEAM IS CRUCIAL WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE THREE
PHASES OF DECISION-MAKING IN A CRISIS.
trust. These are the people you turn to for everyday problems, the
people whose opinion you seek for new ideas. Most importantly,
Information collection and analysis. The early stage of
they’re the people who you will listen to when they tell you that a crisis is characterized by confusion and uncertainty.
you are wrong. These trusted advisors are the most likely choices
The immediate cause of the crisis may or may not be
to form the core of your crisis management team.
evident and the long-term impact—the true nature of the
crisis—is usually obscure. An organization that quickly
2
Who do your employees trust?
gathers and analyzes information about the crisis and
In any organization there is a formal organizational
displays it in a way that can be readily used by decision
makers has a distinct advantage. It is critical to have
structure and an informal one. The closer these two mirror each
other, the more eicient the company. This informal structure people who know what kinds of information to collect
and where to ind it.
is represented by employees that other workers look up to and
trust. While these individuals may or may not be added to your
Decision-making. Once crisis leaders feel they have
crisis management team, they can be used to take the pulse of enough information, they consider options and develop
employees, act as conduits for information, and help implement
an action plan. This process beneits from input from
your action plan.
people who understand the nature of the crisis and are
intimately familiar with the organization.
3
What skills will you need?
Implementation. This requires support staff obtaining
Some people are obvious choices for your team, such as
resources, directing operations, and communicating
your management team. But consider others who may not be so
with customers and vendors. The job is just too big for
obvious. For example, many crisis management teams neglect one person to do.
to include people who interface with

customers and suppliers on a regular
basis. Administrative staf are usually not

included, as are human resources staf.
Not all of these people need to be decision

makers but they can provide important
advice and suggestions.

4 Who has the information?

Information is the cornerstone of

decision-making. Some of that informa-
tion is internal. Do you know where to

ind it? For some problems, a mainte-
nance person with intimate knowledge of

a plant’s operating systems might be more
useful than the manager who supervises

her. What about external sources? An
employee who has built a solid working

relationship with public safety agencies or
your insurance company can get informa-

tion that is not always available through
the media. Speaking of which, who will

monitor broadcast and social media?

Lucien Canton, CEM, is a consultant specializing in preparing manag-

ers to lead better in crises by understanding the human factors often
overlooked in crisis planning. A speaker and lecturer, he is the author

of the best-selling Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies
for Effective Programs. For more information, visit luciencanton.com,

or email Info@luciencanton.com.

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