Many of us found ourselves abruptly working from home during the Covid pandemic. For some, a return to the office did not occur for months or even years. If you were one such person, you may recall the cognitive dissonance you experienced when you found it exactly as it was the day before you left, a detailed world frozen in time.
One story stood out for me. A friend had returned to his office for the first time in more than two years. Stepping back onto the floor and into his office, he said, felt like opening a time capsule. The white board was covered with deadlines and milestones of a now canceled project. A sticky note on his desk reminded him that he needed to call someone who was now no longer with the company. Hanging at a slight angle on his corkboard was a motivational slogan that has since been superseded by a new slogan that was unveiled during an all-hands video call in mid-2021. Another slogan has since taken its place.
He replayed the scene to me, saying how it felt surreal. I remember him musing that “so much was familiar, yet none of it was still relevant.”
Time capsules can offer valuable insights into the past, showcasing who we were, what mattered to us, and what we were working on that day. However, no one would rely on a time capsule to shape their identity, define their current values, or dictate how they should act today.
Unfortunately, many organizations’ crisis plans end up resembling time capsules. They often feature outdated roles and people who either no longer occupy those positions or have left the company entirely. Corporate values and mission statements may have been altered or even replaced. The company’s name or product may have changed. Risks and contingencies may no longer apply, while entire divisions may have been spun off or sold. Meanwhile, new product lines and markets have been introduced, yet remain absent from the plan.
When a crisis strikes, opening that plan can evoke the same feeling as returning to your office after a two-year hiatus. You see things that are at once familiar and foreign, important and irrelevant, accurate and no longer the case.
Nostalgia aside, this is a big problem.
Instead of jumping right into crisis response, you must instead reconstruct the plan to meet today’s needs. New contact information is needed. New people need to be added to the approval process. New branding needs to be incorporated. New messages need to be developed. Data points need to be updated.
If opening your crisis plan leaves you as disoriented as my friend returning to his office, then the speed of your organization’s response will suffer. Because speed is the key differentiator between good and great crisis response, disorientation automatically reduces the effectiveness of your response.
How to keep your crisis plan fresh
So, don’t want until a crisis to reopen that time capsule called your crisis response plan. Pull it off the shelf, blow the dust off of it, refamiliarize yourself with it and then ask yourself:
- Are our points of contact still accurate? Do we have their current contact information?
- Is the organizational structure still correct? Are there any new business units or departments or VPs that aren’t included but should be?
- Is our branding still the same? Are the corporate slogans and standard responses – your holding statements – still accurate?
- Are your risks still an accurate reflection of what your organization may face? Have there been any changes in the organization or its business (e.g., new products, new markets) that create new risks?
- Have you considered social issue risks? Does your organization’s plan provide the process and guidance for weighing in on social issues?
- Are your facts and figures still accurate? Are they still relevant?
If your plan passes all of these questions, then congratulations – you’re not going to waste a lot of time trying to solve these issues during a crisis.
If your plan is deficient or inaccurate, then update it, and then schedule regular updates going forward. Replacing one time capsule with another will ultimately slow down your crisis response, especially as your organization and the risks it faces keep evolving.
Reviewing your crisis plan can be as disorienting as walking into an office you haven’t seen in years. Make sure your plan is ready to guide you when you need it most. If it’s lacking critical contingencies, especially when it comes to social issue risks, we’re here to help guide you.
At Kith, we don’t believe having a good crisis plan is enough. We believe in a culture of crisis readiness that can be instantly activated and primed for quick response. We can help bring that time capsule into the present and ensure your entire organization is ready for whatever future unknown you may encounter.
Kith facilitates crisis preparedness workshops that will help your company attain the clarity, trust, and speed you need to respond confidently – no dithering! – to any crisis. We’d be happy to have a conversation about how we can help your company be ready to chart an effective course to reputation protection.
Looking for more fresh insights? Crisis of the Month is a no-fluff Substack that breaks down real-world crises and what they teach us about leadership, communication, and damage control. Whether you’re in comms, ops, or just crisis-curious, this is your monthly guide to what went wrong — and how to do it better. Sign up today!
