Building your own Crisis Response Plan
Remember, there’s no one-size-fits all solution to any crisis. Things will get messy—but these steps will help you stay on track.
We can break this all down into 7 bite(ish)-sized steps:
Identify exactly what’s going on & how you got here (i.e. organize, organize, organize)
Build a timeline of organizational priorities & identify your action items
Get your messaging in order
Launch your first 5 action items!
Grab your leadership team, assess your progress, & decide your next 5 action items
Rinse & repeat steps 2-5 until you see the light
Assess & evaluate
1a: Identify exactly what’s going on & how you got here.
Step 1: Assemble your leadership team
Usually this is a few members of your staff & board; try to keep the group small for now
Step 2: Write down what you currently believe the problem is as simply as possible.
We’re looking for 1-2 sentences. What’s going on as far as you can tell right now?
Step 3: Make a plan to confirm what you just wrote down is the only thing going on.
You don’t need any more surprises; go over the books, talk to staff, call a roofer to assess the leak, etc.
Step 4: Do some research to fully understand how and why this happened.
Now’s the time to do a deep dive! You’ll need this information to make a realistic plan later.
Take your time; this step is tricky!
It can be hard to pinpoint an exact cause. Sometimes the obvious problem might not be the real crisis or there are multiple things causing the crisis—don’t panic! The only way forward is to get a good grasp of the situation.
Remember, you’re not trying to solve anything yet.
You’re trying to learn all you can about the situation so your team can make informed, empirical decisions about next steps later. You don’t have to finish this research in one meeting; it might take a few days or even weeks to really get to the bottom of it all.
Don’t know where to start digging? Here are some questions to ask (all relating to common small organization crisis types) to help you get to the bottom of it:
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Typically this means you lost a major funding source over night or something got out of control an no one noticed.
Financial crises might look like:
A granting agency you usually rely on changed funding priorities
A major sponsor pulled out suddenly
Cash flow tracking hasn’t been accurate (or implemented) and suddenly it’s clear you need more money than you thought to make payroll
You didn’t receive a grant you thought you would and the program is already in process or you’d have to give back other grants to cancel it
Your budget wasn’t accurate and you’ve already spent everything half way through the year
Questions to answer:
Who are the key people to help us get to the bottom of organizational finances?
What’s our blindspot / why couldn’t we see this coming?
What/who tipped us off that this was happening?
What systems do we have in place for financial management?
When’s the last time we evaluated financial systems?
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These typically are very expensive, sudden, and urgent things that have to do with the physical space you operate in. They halt operations, usually because they’re out of budget to fix, out of your control, and make normal operations physically unsafe or impossible.
Examples of physical/building crises include:
Your landlord evicted you and gave a short turnaround timeline
Your roof is leaking, damaging inventory, and making programming impossible
There was a fire and the building will need a lengthy and expensive repairs to be usable again
Questions to ask:
Is it fixable; we be able to operate in this space again? Why or why not?
What could we have done to prepare for this? (think in terms of savings, maintenance, conversations with your landlord)
Who are the key people to help assess the damage?
What systems do we have in place for maintenance?
Is this indicative of a larger problem (like an old/hard to maintain building, an unreliable landlord, etc.)?
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I’m defining internal crises as crises related to systems or specific people in the organization. They’re extra complicated because they involve people directly and it can be easy to put blame on one person when navigating them.
Examples of internal crises include:
A key staff member who previously held most of the organizational or system knowledge quit suddenly. Now the organization can’t carry out programs without that person and they can’t find someone to fill that role easily/quickly.
A staff or board member mismanaged money (either purposefully or accidentally), resulting in a loss of public trust and the organization can’t pay it’s current obligations
A key leader is accused of sexual harassment and asked by the community to leave the organization
Questions to ask:
Who was involved with this (both directly and indirectly)?
What relationships will need to be repaired?
What relationships can’t be repaired?
How are the staff and what insights can they provide?
What systems were in place to prevent this and how were those involved able to go around them?
Feeling like you don’t have time for weeks of deep research at this point?
It’s true that in some situations you don’t have days or weeks to think things through; after all urgency is part of what defines a crisis! No matter how urgent it is, you can’t skip this step. If you don’t fully understand what’s going on, you’ll just be guessing at what to do next.
You will have to make some hard decisions here; remember that all you can do is be realistic and set priorities. Look into what you can put on hold while you figure things out and act on the things you cant. Communicate quickly, honestly, and openly with stakeholders and staff members and you’ll be able to create some time. Even if you only have one day, take this step seriously; gather all the data you can ASAP and trudge forward.
1b: Take your data and organize it
Schedule a meeting with your leadership team to do a SWOT Analysis ASAP.
SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, & threats. It’s a great tool because you don’t have to bring in a consultant to do an effective analysis.
It’s a tried and true method, designed to facilitate a realistic, fact-based, data-driven assessment of an organization, industry, or any new initiatives. In nonprofits, it’s commonly used as part of the strategic planning process. When zeroed in on a specific situation, SWOT analyses can be a powerful tool to organize data to help make informed decisions and avoid assumptions.
Think about your situation and organization as it relates to each of these categories. Consider both internal and external factors and how they might affect different aspects. Remember to keep everything based completely in reality here; you’re not dreaming about the future you’re assessing your current situation. Be realistic, thoughtful, and keep focused on the broader situation (not the nitty-gritty).
Don’t know where to start? Here are some questions to consider for each category:
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What resources do we have?
What is our team well equipped for at this point?
What is our strongest asset?
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What got us here?
Where can we improve?
Where are we lacking resources?
Where are the vulnerable spots in our systems or team?
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Who’s support do we already (or almost) have?
What has this situation taught us?
Who on our team is ready to step up into leadership?
How can we grow from this?
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What relationships do we need to repair?
What’s our biggest threat right now?
How could this situation get worse?
2a: build a timeline of organizational priorities
You’re likely feeling an immense time crunch right now. It’s time to sit and think through what you’re feeling pressure on, what can wait, and what’s actually urgent. You’ll use the information you gathered and organized in steps 1 and 2 to help set these priorities.
You can do this in 3 easy steps:
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Hand out a typed up document with your organization’s mission, vision, and any strategic goals at the top. Include the following questions and have the group answer them together:
How has our mission been threatened or disrupted by this crisis?
Who are our stakeholders? Who do we serve, both directly and indirectly? (Consider donors, staff, community, customers, etc.)
What needs to stay intact for our mission to keep being met?
Use that information to build an org/community chart
List out key staff, board members, community partners, and volunteers and define what they do within your organization. If you already have one of these, double check if anything has changed because of the crisis.
Remember, it’s okay to redefine some roles here; the boat has already been rocked. Check in to see who’s able to help in a new way.
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Map out what you’ve committed to and what you identified as a ‘mission priority’ in step 1.
Assign priority levels to each of these items (urgent/high, medium, low)
*You’ll need to consider what’s a more general/organizational priority and what has been kicked into a higher priority level because of the crisis.
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Start with your highest priority items first.
Be realistic here. You’ll need to consider staff and board capacity and add cushion in your plan (20% is a good rule of thumb).
Assign key players (identified in your org chart) to each priority.
The goal here is to make sure everyone on your leadership team is crystal clear on what they can do to help during the crisis.
If any items don’t have a clear point person, consider what/who your team needs to accomplish those tasks.
Consider what you priorities you can take off everyone’s plate right now.
Can any of your low priority items be put indefinitely on hold until the crisis is better sorted?
Can any of your responsibilities be outsourced to a community partner?
2b: Pull out 5 of your most urgent priorities as your first action items
How, you ask?
Try this:
Remember: you’re not trying to solve the whole crisis here—,you’re just trying to get the ball rolling.
You’ll eventually repeat this process until you’ve gone through your original timeline.
Your primer should clearly state:
Who’s leading this action item?
When does it need to be done?
What needs to happen before this can start?
Which staff members or community partners will be involved?
What resources do you need (think people, time, money, space, etc)?
How will this move the bottom line forward?
Grab your list of priorities & your timeline
Identify the 5 most urgent items
Break down the logistics for your 5 items via a one page primer* for each item
*A primer just means a condensed space for you to thoughtfully break things down and plan your next step. You can download this template to work from if you want or build your own!
Okay, you’ve done your research; you understand the crisis; your leadership team has started prioritizing and making plans. Now what?
3. It’s time to get your messaging in order!
First, pick a public facing point person.
You’ll need a key leader to serve as the organizational point person to the public. It’s okay if your leadership is structured more as a group behind closed doors, but you want your community, the press, and stakeholders to have one person to look to who can make sense of this situation and communicate what the organization is doing next.
So, how do you pick your ‘sense-giver’?
This step stems from research on the Crisis Sensemaking Framework (discussed here), which explains how an organization’s members come to understand how they’re impacted by crisis and use then that understanding to comprehend an organization’s decisions.
In that same vein, Sensegiving describes the process leaders use to help the entire organization interpret a situation. In this process, leaders ‘make sense’ of the situation and share that with followers.
Ideally you’re looking for someone who:
Understands your situation (i.e. they were included in all of your planning & research processes)
Is already well-versed in organizational practices & history
Can speak publicly in a concise & clear manner
Is able to analyze & respond to questions in real time
Already has a leadership presence within the community or your organization (remember, you want people to listen & respond to them quickly. It helps if they already have sway in our community)
It might make more sense to pick a few ‘sense-givers’ who can talk to various segments of your community. Just keep in mind that each person’s messaging needs to be completely aligned if you do this—the last thing you want is for your team to segment or for your community to feel like you’re making false promises.
Ready to run? Before you move on you need to:
make sure EVERYONE is on the same page
So, how do you do this? Again, we’ve got 3 quick steps:
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To help everyone stay aligned, you’ll want to share the following items & keep them in a place that’s easily accessible to your entire team:
A written document that includes your most recent org chart (highlighting any roles that have changed) in addition to your mission & vision statements.
A summary of the situation for internal use. This is best shared in writing so people can reference it; make sure your summary is clear, concise, and detailed enough so everyone fully understands the situation.
Pre-determined public messaging regarding the situation. This should also be in writing so team members know exactly how to respond to questions. You might want to consider compiling a FAQ section that can be shared both internally and externally.
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For this step you’ll need to consider:
What outlets do you usually talk to?
What visuals do you need to make any given statement (such as an image for social media). It might be useful to develop a template where you can easily switch out text from week to week.
Is there a space on your website to communicate things relating to your crisis?
Are there any stakeholders you’ll need to get approval from for any of your messaging?
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This means establishing venues for: -
Public feedback
Internal feedback from staff, board, & volunteers
Regularly communicating updates with staff, board members, partners, and volunteers. (This might look like a weekly email, a google doc that’s regularly updated, or a weekly meeting.)
Regularly communicating updates to the public via your assigned ‘sense-giver’. (Keep in mind that your public message needs to be simple, positive, and active/engaging.)
4. You’re ready to launch your first 5 action items!
Finally, we’re making moves! Grab all of the work you did in steps 1-3 and let your team run! It might seem daunting, but you’re ready.
Things to keep in mind:
Move through your action items one at a time (if possible). Yes, some things will need to happen simultaneously—just be super aware of everyone’s capacity. The last thing you need is for someone on your team to burn out.
Regularly check-in with both your team and community in both formal & informal ways (short conversations, emails, or simple ‘how you doing’ questions go a long way)
Be prepared for things to deviate from the plan. If something gets more than 20% off track, tell your team to move on to the next item and have your leadership team go back to the drawing board.
Analyze & use ALL of the feedback you receive.
While your team speeds ahead you need to keep clearing the path.
Before action item 5 is finished, schedule a meeting with your leadership team again. It’s time to repeat the cycle.
5. Assess your progress & repeat steps 2-4
It’s time to identify your next 5 timeline priorities/action items. Let your team continue to work while you re-assemble your leadership team to address your next steps. This is also the time to analyze and assess everything you’ve done so far.
As a team, you’ll need to:
Gather and discuss all of the data/feedback you’ve received so far
Briefly check in on your original SWOT analysis. Has anything changed?
Go back to your timeline and adjust anything you need to
Build your next 5 action items
By getting ahead of the workflow, you can give your leadership team some space to breathe and slow down. They’re probably exhausted at this point, so make sure you’re checking in!
Note: As you’re getting ahead of the timeline, be careful not to work too far ahead. Things will unexpectedly change (I promise; shit happens) and you want to redo as few things as possible. Take this extra time to check in with & support your staff instead.
How you can support your team all the way to the finish line:
Check in on workplace morale. Is everyone seeing the progress and feeling positive? Who’s feeling burnt out and needs some extra support? How can you help the team streamline and optimize?
Continue to evaluate and help your team pivot when necessary. Look at what’s gone according to plan; what’s surprised you? What’s been steady?
Compile feedback from everyone you can. How does the community see the organization as it navigates this crisis? How does the staff feel about leadership decisions? How do volunteers see the organization’s future?
Be prepared to call it quits or say no from time-to-time. Sometimes the best thing you can do is make something a non-option for your team. If one program or team member is too stressed during any part of the crisis, it’s important to see & call that early on.
REMEMBER: Your goal is to protect the organization AND the people working within it—it’s not to die fighting for one specific area, program, or idea.
Inevitably, things will need to be sacrificed for the health of the broader organization. The last thing you want is for your team to go down with that area. Your mantra is: “Closure is normal. It is not a sign of failure and more often a sign of mission and/or program completeness, and is not something to be afraid or ashamed of. If you’re able to be proactive, you can at least protect the people on your team and help them pivot their efforts elsewhere.
This last part of the cycle might feel long and drawn out. Remember crises are, by nature, part of an ongoing cycle & not isolated incidents. This may seem daunting, but I promise the cycle will end at some point (whether you’re ready or not). Your role is to assess and support until the crisis cycles through.
6. You made it! Time to assess & evaluate
Before you close the book on your crisis, you need to assess & evaluate what you just went through. Think of this as another part of the crisis response cycle; you’re now restarting your crisis response plan (but removing all of the time, money, panic, & pressure). It’s time to take what you learned and use it to safeguard your organization for the future.
Your evaluation should look at:
Your original assessments from step 1. Look at how your organization started on this journey, how it’s adapted, and how it needs to continue adapting.
Your after crisis org chart. Who’s stepped up or out? How have people’s roles changed? Where do your staff members see themselves within the organization?
How is your community handling this? How have they perceived you and your team through the crisis cycle? Is there anything in this process that revealed new community needs?
How you ended up in crisis in the first place. Do you see the situation differently now? What were the unforeseen (or seen) risks that landed you here? Discuss all of this openly. Ask your team how they think you could have prevented any part of the situation; dive into your blindspots. Compare this with what you’ve learned and use all that data to start looking for some new safeguards.