How to write a great crisis management plan

People, not plans, manage crises. A crisis management plan template is an essential starting point.

A clear, simple and practical plan will help you navigate a crisis. Download templates for a great crisis management plan, below.

A good plan provides guidance and grounding in a complex and fast-moving situation. It will help you get on the front foot and structure your response to implement effective decisions.

Separate your crisis management plan from your crisis policy

A crisis plan should be separate from a wider crisis management policy.  

Your policy informs your crisis preparedness planning and training in ‘peacetime’. It should include:

• definitions
• classification levels and criteria
• how crisis management fits in with other organizational resilience components
• how crisis management is structured and escalated across the organization 

A plan is what you pick up in the heat of the moment, once a crisis has been declared, to support your response. 

Keep it simple

Don’t write a step-by-step guide.

A crisis is unexpected and unprecedented. Flicking through pages of scenarios to find the relevant one and expecting to find the right response won’t work. A plan needs a set of clear, simple guidelines applicable to any situation. 

A good crisis management plan template must include:

Crisis team

Core roles needed and additional roles based on the situation at hand. Roles are functional, not personal. For example:

• crisis leader
• legal
• communications
• HR
• finance

Each function should have a nominated alternate.

Mobilization

How you bring the team together, where and how it operates.

Roles and responsibilities

The role of the crisis team and responsibilities of its members. The plan must remove any ambiguity as to accountabilities and who does what.  

Initial steps

The first crisis meeting is crucial to an effective response.

Focus on assessing the situation and the potential impact. Set the broad response strategy, how the team will operate and agree initial actions. 

Ongoing considerations

Keep scenario planning and stay on top of:

• stakeholder engagement
• information capture
• distributing information to staff

Download crisis management plan templates

Tools and templates help people get stuff done. For a practical crisis management plan template, consider:

• roles and responsibilities checklists
• meeting agendas
• information capture logs

A crisis communications plan should be a stand-alone document. This will include templates for:

• messaging and statement development (both internal and external)
• monitoring traditional and social media
• coordination of stakeholder engagement

People, not plans, manage crises.

Train and exercise against your plan, to give people an opportunity to practice a crisis response in real time. This will highlight gaps and allow you to refine your plan, so it’s ready to guide you when a crisis hits.