We are ending the year 2015 and as every year-end, it is time to make reflections. If we look back, we find that in recent years has been taking a turnaround in our oriented to anticipate possible negative consequences of the same customs, we have lifestyle habits that tend to be healthier, try to eat better, exercise , have appropriate levels of light to take care of our eyes, ergonomic chairs to care for the position when we sit, we try to make periodic breaks to maintain our performance at the highest levels … we are fully aware that both personally and in the professional, prevention is much cheaper than cure. No doubt. Changing certain habits, which are not always easy, we can avoid trouble that often can be fatal. And we are willing to make this sacrifice involved us both time and money.

What surprises me greatly is that what we have so clear and we want for ourselves and our employees do not want for our company. In our company we do not prevent what might happen … we are not interested allocate a budget to invest in managing a possible crisis, which can have such devastating effects as the worst of diseases or industrial accidents, may make it stagger the foundations of it, that company that both cost us move forward and put into operation. Still a ridiculous number of companies have a crisis manual.

Make a crisis plan and crisis manual is very laborious and expensive, but the benefits they can provide much cover the initial effort needs to be done to develop it and then maintain it.

Probably for many of you it is the first time that you read about this term, crisis manual, or not, and already have knowledge about it but what ye will never raised. Let’s get a little more in detail what is and what is this document.

The crisis manual is nothing more, nothing less, than a roadmap that includes everything relevant in critical situations that can occur within a company. In it they are trying to collect all the situations that may jeopardize an organization, either for internal reasons (an accident, a strike, a human error, a case of corruption of a manager …) for external reasons ( failure in the distribution chain, lack of compliance by suppliers …) or for reasons completely incidental (atmospheric phenomena, natural disasters …). This part of the study and documentation is very important because once detected the possible causes of crisis within organizations need to categorize and classify them according to the type of risk that is considered by the management and technical team of the organization, and grant levels and sublevels of gravity.

This study where possible triggers crisis are analyzed, must be carried out by a crisis cabinet, formed by the board and by a technical team appointed for it.

Once analyzed each of the causes that can trigger a crisis, categorized and assigned a severity level, determine which protocols followed by the organization to alleviate a flexible and responsible each crisis. To this we must analyze both the impact that has had the fact, which inevitably have and that can be avoided by identifying clearly who the main stakeholders we have to play, which can essentially be threefold: internal, affected and media. For each study must clearly communicate how and through what tools.

In addition, this manual must be collected in a very clear who will be the most responsible for the proper management of the crisis: names, positions, contact details and assign alternate people, if they could not locate the person listed listed first.

It is also very important to have a list of media to which we must turn depending on the type of crisis that is triggered, and the person or persons responsible for this work.

Once drafted the manual and completed each of the points of relevance, we must devote some time to maintain, review and update, at the level of charges, contacts, and possible variations within the crises that may arise, as businesses evolve and expand or modify its product or services, thus modifying its possible natures of crisis.

And this is a crisis manual, though in a very superficial way, but I think broad enough to glimpse the importance it can have within your company. If a crisis erupts, many of them are unpredictable, the first hours are critical, vital for the organization to demonstrate that they have control, which is not alarming to society and are analyzing all the causes that have generated preventing it can go higher. If we have a document that tells us what to do in these crucial hours, it is clear that we will be much faster and efficient, with very clear where direct us, to whom and how because we have a roadmap. And only one who knows where will choose the best way.

I think it is an issue to be taken into account and starting to value very seriously face the budgets of 2015, as it certainly prevention saves many troubles and a well-managed crisis is an opportunity and a reinforcement for organizations they have managed to undertake it successfully.

All employers and managers of organizations should include this item in the New Year’s resolutions, prevent all aspects that concern us, to act intelligently, quickly and effectively against any mishap we may arise.

And you do you have manuals crisis within your organizations? Which important the you consider?