You’ve often heard us say that crisis plans should be reviewed and updated at least annually. As the end of the year draws near, now is the time to complete your review to better prepare for 2026. Here are a few tips to help guide your assessment.
- Audit all current plans and related policies and procedures to ensure they are up-to-date and cover a full range of scenarios. In our experience many plans do not cover enough potential scenarios. Assessing vulnerabilities regularly is part of an effective audit.
- Update team roles and responsibilities and contact lists. Assure that each crisis team role is well articulated and clearly communicated. Make any changes needed to reflect current team structure and reporting.
- Test communication systems, including email, SMS, social media, website, hotlines, etc., to assure they are accessible, functional and reliable.
- Conduct a crisis exercise. If you have not done a simulation exercise yet this year, there is still time. Tabletop exercises are a great way to build team awareness and build skills.
- Make sure all plans and documents are updated and distributed to everyone on the crisis team.
