Want to Get Better at Crisis Management? Start with Culture

Organizations that want to get better at crisis management tend to think what they need is a shiny new crisis plan. In reality, they should work on developing a culture of continuity, a shift in mindset that will improve their crisis response and enhance their resilience across the board.

[Related: Creating a Continuity Culture: How Your Organization Can Make Business Continuity a Habit] 

For Better Crisis Management, Focus on Culture 

Given the unsettled state of today’s world, it’s no surprise that many organizations are interested in getting better at crisis management. This is a worthwhile goal; however, the methods most organizations use in trying to achieve it are counterproductive.

Most companies’ efforts to improve at CM are hindered by a bias in favor of dramatic, one-time moves. In CM, this might translate to the belief that all the organization really needs to improve its ability to respond to emergencies is a brand-new crisis plan or a new software platform. Such initiatives feel like progress but rarely deliver lasting improvements.

Furthermore, of the four areas that make up business continuity—program administration, business continuity, IT disaster recovery, and crisis management—CM is the one most likely to grab the interest of business leaders. This might be because it seems to offer the potential for Hollywood-style heroics. But experience shows that, when organizations do well in handling emergencies, it’s rarely because of someone’s dramatic intervention. In almost every case, success is the result of careful, advance preparation.

If big initiatives and hero moments are not the way to get better at CM, then what is?

The answer is not necessarily very exciting. In fact, you could say it only has one thing going for it: it works.

The best, most cost-effective, and most efficient way to get better at crisis management—and every other aspect of BC—is to develop a culture of continuity. 

What Is a Culture of Continuity?

To succeed at CM (and every other aspect of BC), it’s essential that your organization develop a culture of continuity.

A continuity culture is one where there is an enduring, habitual focus through all levels, departments, and activities of the organization on promoting recoverability and resilience.

In organizations with a strong continuity culture, CM and BC are not something people “do” once year. They’re something employees and executives practice, reinforce, and expect, day in and day out. 

People in this type of organization routinely ask themselves and others such questions as: 

• “If this system went down, how would we respond?”
• “Does this change affect our recovery time?”
• “Is everyone clear on their role if something happens?”

Many organizations are known for having a strong safety culture or a strong customer-service culture. Organizations that want to excel at crisis management—and ensure their resilience across the board—should make a parallel effort to develop a culture of continuity. 

How To Build a Continuity Culture

A corollary of many organizations’ bias in favor of big initiatives is that they lack interest in modest, everyday details and activities. But these are exactly the kinds of actions necessary to create the kind of culture we’re talking about.

You don’t build a continuity culture through a single training or exercise, no matter how big or successful. You build such a culture over time—through consistent actions, leadership support, and frequent interaction at all levels of the organization.

What does this mean in terms of day-to-day activities? Developing a culture of continuity typically includes some or all of the following:

• Regular training and awareness activities

Monthly or quarterly reminders, short exercises, and “continuity minutes” (like safety minutes) that reinforce good habits.

• Active executive involvement

Continuity leaders meet regularly with executives via steering committees or update meetings, ensuring alignment and visibility.

• Frequent, practical exercises

These use realistic scenarios and identify real gaps.

• Tying BC into everyday processes

Especially change management. Any operational change should trigger a continuity review.

• Capitalizing on current events

Use disruptions in the news as teachable moments. “What if this happened to us?”

What matters most isn’t size or complexity—it’s consistency. A culture of continuity doesn’t require elaborate tools. It requires a steady drumbeat of communication, practice, and follow-through. 

You will know continuity has become part of the culture when departments or individuals reach out to the BC team to ask for help in improving or changing their plans, or suggest a change to the CM plan for improved escalation or communications.  

How MHA Can Help

Some organizations may find that simply being alerted to the common stumbling blocks—and to the importance of building a culture of continuity—is enough to set them on the right path. Others may want help in turning these ideas into action.

For those organizations, that help is available.

At MHA, pushing companies to develop a culture of continuity is the most important thing we do.

We’ve spent decades helping organizations move beyond check-the-box business continuity and toward a culture that genuinely supports resilience and recoverability. 

For some clients, we advise and guide—helping design the program and leaving execution to the internal team. 

For others, we act as an extension of their staff: running quarterly exercises, facilitating training, tracking action items, and ensuring plans are up to date. We also keep the message of continuity in front of the organization by, for example, sending out monthly continuity reminders, sitting down with teams to walk through roles and updates, and leading steering committee meetings to ensure executive alignment.

Whatever the level of support, our goal is the same: to help you build a culture where continuity is second nature—embedded in how your organization thinks, works, and responds.

Culture Is the Key

Crisis management is important—but the way to truly improve at it isn’t by chasing the next big fix. It’s by building a culture of continuity that strengthens your organization’s resilience from the inside out.

The shift may not be flashy, but it’s powerful—and within reach. With steady effort and the right support, your organization can make continuity second nature, and be better prepared for whatever comes next.

Further Reading

• Demonstrating Readiness: Business Continuity in Times of Social Unrest
• BCM Pros Need to Suit Their Programs to the Locality
• Creating a Continuity Culture: How Your Organization Can Make Business Continuity a Habit
• Every Single Day: Make Risk Management Part of Your Company’s Culture
• The 6 Toughest Challenges in BC (and How Software Can Help Tame Them)