Focus of this week: Top 10 Tips for a Crisis Management Team
1. Supported by senior management – Senior management participation and support gives team members confidence and authority to act in a crisis.
2. Use a competency based leadership model – Train using industry best practices and standards (e.g.,CDC Leadership Model) to maximize performance.
3. Do not manage by title but by ability to lead – Titles should not dictate team membership. Assign positions based on personality, skill and knowledge level.
4. Roles are well understood – Keeping a recovery organized and focused starts before the event. Having a clear understanding of one’s role permits participants to focus on the recovery tasks.
5. Team is scalable depending on need – Having only the necessary people present at any one time can increase the effectiveness and decrease the stress during an event.
6. Exercises and training are regularly held – People act on instinct during a crisis. The more you practice the better their instincts will become.
7. Depth across primary and backups – You can never predict the type of event that may occur. Having depth of skill and knowledge across all team members minimizes weaknesses.
8. Team members empowered to act – By clearly defining and practicing roles, all team members can feel confident to make decisions and act on them.
9. Followed established incident principles & priorities – Taking guidance from proven methods can increase the effectiveness of your Crisis Management Team.
10. Proactive in activation – not afraid to activate – It is always better to take action early. You can never be too prepared.
Next week … Top 10 Tips for Recovery Plans
