7 Advantages of Regular Crisis & Continuity Exercises

Have you ever spent time assembling a crack crisis management & business continuity program, only to discover that leaders weren’t willing to invest the time to conduct crisis exercises?

A few years ago, we worked with a large organization that invested significantly in building a robust crisis management & business continuity program with us.  They assembled a formidable crisis management team with all the necessary strategies and protocols.

However, they had overlooked one crucial factor – regularly exercising their crisis response plans.

And when the storm finally struck, their team found themselves paralyzed, devoid of the critical muscle memory required to navigate the treacherous waters of chaos and uncertainty.

This article will discuss the advantages of regular crisis and continuity exercises and the best practices for conducting these exercises.

7 Advantages of Regular Crisis & Continuity Exercises

Why conduct regular crisis & business continuity exercises?  Here are 7 advantages to doing so.

1. Allows the organization to test for different scenarios: From natural disasters to cyber-attacks, each exercise can simulate a different crisis event. This diversity helps organizations comprehensively understand various risks and challenges they may face.

By testing different scenarios, organizations can assess the effectiveness of their crisis management plans and protocols across a range of potential crises, ensuring they are well-prepared for any situation.

2. Build muscle memory for your crisis management team: By simulating realistic scenarios, individuals can gain firsthand experience fitting into the broader crisis management framework.

This understanding enhances team coordination and collaboration, ensuring everyone knows their tasks and responsibilities during a crisis.

Regular exercises help to clarify roles, improve communication, and create a cohesive response effort.

3. Learn crisis management protocols: Regular crisis and continuity exercises enable organizations to familiarize themselves with crisis management protocols and procedures. These exercises provide a platform for participants to practice the implementation of established protocols, such as incident reporting, escalation procedures, and communication channels.

By actively engaging in these exercises, individuals and teams can refine their understanding of the protocols, identify areas for improvement, and enhance their ability to respond effectively during a crisis.

This familiarity with crisis management protocols strengthens overall preparedness and increases the chances of a successful response.

4. Assess where improvements need to be made: By observing and evaluating the exercise outcomes, organizations can identify gaps, weaknesses, and shortcomings in their crisis management plans, processes, and resources.

This assessment enables them to make necessary adjustments, refine their strategies, and enhance their overall resilience program.

Regular exercises facilitate a continuous improvement cycle that strengthens an organization’s ability to handle crises efficiently.

5. Builds confidence in how your team operates under pressure: Participants become familiar with the high-stress environment through repeated exposure to simulated crises and learn to perform effectively in challenging circumstances.

This builds resilience, improves decision-making skills, and boosts the overall confidence of individuals and teams. The experience gained from these exercises instills a sense of preparedness and empowers participants to handle real crises with composure and professionalism.

6. Compliance and regulatory requirements:  Many industries, such as healthcare, transportation, and finance, have specific regulations mandating crisis preparedness and response capabilities.

By conducting regular exercises, organizations can demonstrate their commitment to compliance and ensure they meet the necessary standards. These exercises also help organizations identify compliance gaps and take corrective measures to meet regulatory requirements.

7. Mature your program: Over time, through the repetition and refinement of exercises, the program becomes more robust, efficient, and adaptable. Regular exercises allow organizations to incorporate lessons learned from previous crises and exercises, update their plans and protocols.

Best Practices for Conducting Regular Crisis & Continuity Exercises

To ensure the exercises yield the desired results, it is essential to follow certain key practices.  Here are just a few guidelines we follow when creating an exercise.

• Conduct exercises at least once a quarter: The size of your organization will decide how many exercises you should have each year. Developing a crisis exercise schedule that aligns with your organization’s specific needs, risk profile, and available resources is recommended.
• Set clear objectives: Before conducting a crisis exercise, it is vital to establish clear objectives. These objectives should align with the organization’s goals and specific needs. Clearly defined objectives help focus the exercise and ensure participants understand what is expected. Examples of objectives include testing the efficiency of communication channels, evaluating decision-making processes, or assessing the effectiveness of crisis response protocols. By setting clear objectives, organizations can measure the exercise’s success and identify improvement areas.

• Make Exercise Dates a Priority: To maximize the effectiveness of crisis exercises, it is crucial to prioritize the scheduled exercise dates. Consistency and adherence to the planned dates demonstrate the organization’s commitment to preparedness and foster a culture of proactive crisis management. Rescheduling exercises due to individual availability can disrupt the continuity of the program and hinder the learning process. It is essential to emphasize the importance of attendance and encourage participants to prioritize the exercise dates in their schedules.

• Develop Realistic Scenarios: The realism of the scenarios used in crisis exercises dramatically impacts the effectiveness of the training. It is best to base the scenarios on real-life stories or events relevant to the organization’s industry or environment. By incorporating realistic elements, participants can better relate to the scenarios and simulate their challenges during an actual crisis. Realistic scenarios help enhance decision-making skills, test response protocols, and prepare participants to handle complex and dynamic situations.

• Regularly Review Plans: Crisis management plans should not be static documents; they must be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changes in the organizational structure, operations, and potential risks. Crisis exercises provide an excellent opportunity to assess the efficacy of existing plans. Organizations can identify gaps, inconsistencies, or outdated information by evaluating the plans during exercises. Regular plan reviews ensure that the crisis management strategies remain relevant and practical, maximizing the organization’s ability to respond to emerging threats.

• Conduct After-Action Process: After each crisis exercise, it is crucial to conduct a comprehensive after-action process to capture lessons learned and generate an after-action report (AAR). An AAR provides a detailed evaluation of the exercise, highlighting strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. The report should include feedback from participants, observations of exercise facilitators, and any significant lessons learned. The AAR helps organizations identify specific actions to enhance their crisis management capabilities. It is a valuable reference for refining plans, adjusting protocols, and implementing necessary changes to strengthen the organization’s overall preparedness.

Conclusion

Crisis management and business continuity exercises are not merely add-ons to an organization’s strategy, but rather they form the crux of crisis readiness and resilience. By regularly exercising their crisis response plans, organizations can build a formidable crisis management team that can effectively respond to a variety of crises. The advantages of these regular exercises are multifold, including building muscle memory, ensuring protocol familiarity, assessing areas for improvement, and demonstrating regulatory compliance. By fostering resilience and empowering teams to handle pressure, organizations can significantly mitigate the risks associated with unforeseen crises.

The practice of conducting regular crisis exercises requires a carefully crafted strategy that aligns with the organization’s specific needs and risk profile. By setting clear objectives, prioritizing exercise dates, developing realistic scenarios, regularly reviewing plans, and conducting a comprehensive after-action process, organizations can truly leverage the potential of these exercises. Thus, regular crisis exercises, when done right, not only enhance an organization’s crisis response capabilities but also mature the overall crisis management program, ensuring the organization’s longevity and success even in the face of uncertainty and chaos.

Want to work with us or learn more about exercises?

• Our proprietary Resiliency Diagnosis process is the perfect way to advance your crisis management, business continuity, and crisis communications program. Our thorough standards-based review culminates in a full report, maturity model scoring, and a clear set of recommendations for improvement.
• Our Exercise in a Box product contains 15 simple tabletop exercise scenarios that your business leaders can utilize for crisis microsimulations with minimal involvement from your team.
• Our Crisis Management services help you rapidly implement and mature your program to ensure your organization is prepared for what lies ahead.
• Our Ultimate Guide to Crisis Management contains everything you need to know about Crisis Management.
• Our Free Crisis Management 101 Introductory Course may help you with an introduction to the world of crisis management – and help prepare your organization for the next major crisis.
• Learn about our Free Resources, including articles, a resource library, white papers, reports, free introductory courses, webinars, and more.
• Set up an initial call with us to chat further about how we might be able to work together.