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The following article is excerpted from a new book from the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, Vital Signs: Anticipating, Preventing and Surviving a Crisis in a Nonprofit. For more information, click here.
Authors of various crisis management texts agree that a small team should be formed to coordinate an organization’s response to a crisis. The need to form and train the team before a crisis hits is paramount. This will be your action team. They will have internalized the drill and be able to think on their feet. They can remain calm under fire and have a presence. They will lead the troops and enable your nonprofit to survive a crisis.
The composition of an organization’s crisis response team will vary based on a wide range of factors, including:
Given the tremendous diversity in the nonprofit sector, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to suggest the ideal composition of a crisis response team. However, it’s a worthwhile exercise to consider the following individuals or personality types as potential members of your team:
While it’s important to include key personnel on your crisis response team, it’s also important to make certain that you exclude some individuals who can keep the organization focused on its mission. Remember that when the crisis response team is off planning, someone has to remain to deliver services. In addition, while it’s important to get “buy in” from every level of the organization, groups that are too large tend to become unwieldy and have difficulty achieving consensus.
Another option is to create one team (primary) to develop the background philosophy and then involve additional staff in creating individual plans. The work is spread out and the primary group becomes responsible for review — more than creation. This approach also helps teach a broader spectrum of staff what goes into a plan and what is generally expected of them during a crisis.
For more information on Vital Signs, click here.
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