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Alerting refers to the urgent notification or briefing of individuals during an emergency or crisis situation. This may involve alerting one or more groups or individuals simultaneously. That is why it is important for the alerting method to be simple, fast, and effective. The tips below can help you get off to a flying start when designing, setting up, or improving your alerting method.
Before an alert is sent out, it must be determined that it is necessary. A crisis or emergency usually occurs unexpectedly. That is why it is important to establish who is responsible for determining whether a crisis has occurred. In many cases, this authority lies at the executive level.
When do we refer to an incident? And when to a crisis? Can the department handle this incident on its own, or does it need to be escalated? Organizations often find it difficult to define exactly when a crisis is occurring. Furthermore, there may be different escalation levels within your organization. To ensure consistency in the decision to escalate or not, and to which level of your crisis management organization, you can use an escalation matrix.
During an emergency, it is essential that the contact information for the individuals or groups to be notified is up to date. Your Human Resources (HR) department often already has this information on file, so make sure you have access to it.
Make sure you know which teams and roles within your crisis management organization need to be alerted or mobilized. This may vary depending on the incident or crisis. A useful exercise is to write down which teams and roles are needed during a physical crisis, such as a fire, and which are needed during, for example, a cyber crisis, such as a ransomware attack.
Who initiates the alert? Who monitors the progress of the alert? How should individuals respond when they are called upon? Who should they report to? These are all questions that can cause delays or confusion during a crisis. Therefore, make clear arrangements during the preparation phase.
For more practical tips and guidance on improving your crisis management plan, click here!
