Some people take New Year's resolutions very seriously, almost religiously; others see them as a quaint custom, more often ignored than taken seriously. Sadly, the need to periodically review and update organizational crisis plans are often viewed in much the same ways.
Young and naive folks, in particular, think that preparing a crisis plan is a one-time event, then put their plan on a shelf to gather dust while they go blithely about their merry way, confident they're ready to cope with any crisis that comes along.
But, wise practitioners know and appreciate the importance of keeping crisis plans updated. An out-of-date plan is a liability and a time-waster. It can't help you if the people it says you should call no longer work for the company, or have new responsibilities or new contact numbers. Nor will it help if emergency supplies or tools are no longer stored in the location the plan specified, or if the building's lights are now controlled by automatic timers and the plan doesn't tell you how to over-ride them. Things like this waste time and energy, in addition to causing confusion and added stress for you and everyone else involved in resolving the crisis. They lead you down dead-end paths without the necessary knowledge or resources to get out of them. And, an out-dated crisis plan might even tell you to take actions that are contrary to current organizational policy.
To avoid such catastrophes, practitioners need to periodically review, update, and issue revised crisis plans to everyone who is supposed to be involved in resolving a crisis. How often they do it should vary with the nature of their organization and the environment in which it operates. The faster moving the organization is, and the higher the level of risks it's likely to face, the more frequently the plan needs review and possible revision. - Airports, nuclear power plants, and prisons, for instance, should review their plans more frequently than retail stores, libraries, or restaurants. - But, every organization should review its crisis plan at least once a year. - This brings us back to our starting point: New Year's resolutions.
If you're not already in the habit of reviewing your organization's crisis plans at least once a year, make an immediate resolution to start doing so. Do it now! Then, do it again next year and every year thereafter, and do it at this same time each year. That way, every mention of New Year's resolutions will remind you it's time to review and update your crisis plans.
Read about preparing and updating crisis communication plans.
