Solutions that will go a long way in critical situations
Disaster recovery, backups and other technological features in all its glory – in precarious situations there is one vital element that stands out: communication. Communication is one vital aspect that will mitigate and determine the outcome of the crisis – from system failures, to security breaches, disasters or product failings. Things that may seem insignificant at a first glance will make a huge difference in situations when quick decisions and swift actions are essential to limit the effects a crisis – minor or major. Let’s have a look at an example during a network crash:
No communications guidelines:
Workers are not able to access the files necessary to do their work. At a loss of what to do they simply contact IT department and out of concern that their further action might cause additional problems they simply do nothing. Helpdesk gets overloaded from all the calls coming in – from workers and other company stakeholders – and leads to long queues and delays of valuable actions to solve the issue. No communication plan leaves a negative impact on business productivity and longstanding brand reputation.
With communications guidelines:
Incident management systems are in place with clear protocols that gives staff directions on what to do and how to act: external backup servers are activated, key stakeholders are informed, and alternative modes of communication are implemented and used to avoid business disruption. Information is distributed to appropriate people in time and business can go on with minimised damage, both on workflow and staff.
As we can see an already established plan of communication is what enables action and eventually the resolution to the issue, with the least impact on their daily business. Sufficient technological solutions are important – DR solutions, cloud backups and up-to-date inside knowledge from proficient employees to resolve the problem – but if communication is lacking, none of the solutions gets activated in time. This could potentially render the technological solutions superfluous – if not used properly, their value becomes obsolete.
Here are some points that are good to keep in mind for your crisis plan, to enable quick actions from all parties involved:
Use an incident management tool to gain quick access to the entire organisation
This will ensure that all relevant stakeholders are informed; should they attend a physical or virtual emergency meeting, and monitor if everyone has received appropriate information, did anyone miss out? Information gets distributed correctly and employees feel empowered to act.
Be prepared
Create a communications protocol that will enable people to act – they already know who to contact and with what information. Create templates for press releases with clear and informative content in pre-populated media outlet and industry bodies lists for quick distribution.
- Duplicate all technological infrastructure outside of the company’s infrastructure
Always ensure all vital systems and information is mirrored outside the company body. This will not only save invaluable company content and data but also enable the business to run despite a massive security breach or systems failure.
Consequences and effects on a company and its employees can be minimised with clear and coherent incident strategies – learn more about it with Bosbec: www.bosbec.com and with their insightful resource papers
