Executive Summary
Effective Crisis Response Begins with Preparedness

By Ellis M. Stanley, Sr., CEM

Business crises, local emergencies, widespread natural disasters. What do these have in common? Any one of these events, if severe enough, could result in damage to corporate reputation, operational ineffectiveness and possibly injuries and death.

The unpleasant truth is: "Nobody is immune to crises". Ask the Odwalla Juice Company which produced natural, fresh, unpasteurized juices.  All was well until 66 people became ill and a 16 month-old child died as a result of drinking juice contaminated with E.coli 0157:H7.  A massive product recall was instituted, the company's stock price fell 34 percent and they had to pay a fine of $1.5 million. To some degree, every community (and every company) is at risk for some type of disaster--man-made, natural or technological.

Often the process of planning exceeds the actual value of the plan. However, crisis and emergency response plans are a clear exception to that rule. In a crisis or emergency, you need something that will tell you three things: what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. 

The plan thinks for you – that is the plan’s purpose and design! How you respond to an incident may determine whether your organization will survive. Effective crisis management with the goal of response and recovery begins with planning and preparedness.

The primary objectives of pre-emergency and disaster recovery plans are maximizing safety and effective communication. Secondary objectives include minimizing loss of assets, minimizing business interruptions and providing trained personnel to react properly before, during and after an emergency. Action in emergencies is seldom effective unless planned well in advance.

Strategic actions taken before an event will certainly increase your organization's ability to respond. Consider the following:

Partner with private and public sector organizations to obtain the benefits of mutual aid.
Good emergency preparedness is about good relationships. Businesses must interact with government on a daily basis. Be involved with local emergency/contingency planning groups and your local Chamber of Commerce. These are two-way streets; your local government should be reaching out to you also. Remember, you need one another.

Create a structure to manage the incident (EOC & Incident Command).
Be sure you understand the procedures and terminology of incident command systems because your interaction with the jurisdiction and the general population will depend on it. Technology has provided the opportunity to establish these relationships in a virtual environment, but this is only effective once a personal relationship has been created.

Make good post-incident communications a priority.
When a company is awash in crisis, a well-thought-out communication plan is its lifeboat. The first mistake, and it's a common one, is failure to respond rapidly enough in a meaningful way. Be sure to include plans for communications to the following groups: Your employees, local government, other businesses in your area, the media, your community and your stockholders.

Take care of your employees.
In spite of what your company produces, sells or manages, your most important asset is your people. Therefore, you must assure that they are protected. Develop the plan and make sure you exercise the plan at ALL levels. Your employees are a part of the greater fabric we call community and you must make sure that they are in a position to give their best to the company. They can only accomplish this if they believe their personal lives are in order. Incorporate into the plan programs to insure family and home preparedness. 

Be sure your plan includes the following: company emergency response teams, medical response and casualty collection points, sheltering issues, trauma counseling and community emergency response teams.

Invest in new technologies, which can aid emergency response.
In the last few years, technologies have been developed to solve the technical problem of linkage and interaction with government. The emergence of the "intelligent city" in the 21st century has radically transformed emergency management. Computing and telecommunications technologies, once separate and well defined, have merged and their distinctiveness has blurred.

The emergency management professional in private and public sectors, as well as the marketplace, has the responsibility to take advantage of these changes that are upon us.

Know how to assess the damage after the response phase.
Recovery is critical to the process of healing and getting back to business as usual. Therefore have procedures in place to assess damage to both the infrastructure and the employees. The progression from the actual crisis to the recovery phase can only happen once a pre-defined action – which signifies that the crisis is officially over – has been executed.

About the Author
Ellis M. Stanley is the General Manager of the Emergency Preparedness Department for the City of Los Angeles. He has been with the City of Los Angeles since September 1997. Prior to joining Los Angeles, Ellis was the Director of the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency for ten years. He is a Certified Emergency Manager and an adjunct instructor at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, MD and has served as a member of the Board of Visitors of FEMA's Emergency Management Institute and an adjunct at St. Petersburg College Terrorism School. You can contact him at estanley@mailbox.lacity.org