complimentary thinklets – first quarter 2023
functional exercises
Organizations often use a mix of tabletop and real-time exercises to test their crisis plans. Both kinds of exercises offer excellent opportunities to learn where things work properly and, more importantly, where things don’t work as planned.
Another very useful tool is a bit of a mix of these exercise types which focuses on a specific function.
Maybe your finance team will support a crisis response and has several major tasks assigned to it. A functional exercise digs into the specifics of each task.
For example, maybe your onsite response team will need to purchase things for the response or for individuals harmed in the crisis event. A functional exercise would look at that specific task – often using a Microsoft PowerPoint™ or similar deck – to explore critical elements.
Scenario
The onsite crisis team has been dispatched to the City X office where an office hours explosion has injured nine customers and employees as well as rendering the facility unusable. The team’s mission is to immediately assist impacted individuals with critical needs and get the office functional as quickly as possible.
Slide #1
Team member Shelly has spoken with the local authorities. They will need four days to conclude their investigation. Following that, the company may – with the landlord’s permission – enter the office and begin retrieving contents. The authorities shared with Shelly that Company A specializes in entering buildings after these kind of events to retrieve and salvage documents and materials including the personal effects of those who were inside.
1) Does the company suspend its procurement policies during a crisis, or must the company follow its normal procedure of securing three bids for any service? Where is this documented?
2) Who will evaluate the Company A services agreement? Who will sign it? Who will be held accountable for its fulfillment?
3) Can Shelly contact Company A directly or who will take up that assignment? If someone else will make contact, who will that be? Who will provide Shelly with the Company A contact details?
Slide #2
Team member Sam has spoken with the hotel where the team is staying to secure conference rooms for the team’s workplace. The hotel wants two weeks’ payment in advance. They will only accept payment by credit card and the amount exceeds Sam’s corporate credit limit.
1) What is the process to seek a higher credit limit for team members? What is the timeframe for approval? What is the timeframe to process the change? (Is this something that could be prearranged to save time?)
2) Would there be any change to the previous processes if this were after hours? A weekend? A holiday? What if this were at a foreign location?
Organizations need to dig into specific details, or they will face additional difficulties when crisis strikes. Think about using the concept above to create your own functional exercise templates.
We specialize in exercises which maximize value to an organization. If we can help you, please contact us.
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