Documentation

Before, during, and after a Crisis

Documentation accumulated before, during, and after an emergency, crisis, or disaster not only helps crisis management deal with the problems raised by that particular event but also helps people to understand the actions that should potentially be taken to respond to future events. Such documentation about preparations for crises, active management during crises, and responses after crises are all essential to good crisis management for ongoing and future events. By keeping clear records of crisis management, individuals involved can ensure that proper steps are taken to prepare for and respond to events in progress, as well as to prepare for and prevent errors in future events.

Some of the documentation that is important for emergencies, crises, and disasters must be developed before an event occurs. Business continuity plans and specific plans for crisis response and management, such as evacuation plans and risk assessments, need to be developed before a crisis happens so that each individual involved knows his or her responsibilities. Having insurance policies in place and up to date before a crisis means recovery can begin more quickly and likely run more smoothly after a crisis. Knowing where financial statements or deeds and ownership papers are before a crisis means that they can be transported safely if evacuation is necessary and accessed quickly as needed.

To maintain communications between employees, organizations often also include contact sheets in their disaster, emergency, and crisis plans. The development of these documents helps create plans to manage crises before they occur, allowing people and groups to be better prepared for such events, and to respond to them more effectively. Documents developed before a crisis should clearly lay out the steps that need to be taken, including what each person involved should be doing to prepare for and respond to a crisis, and clearly identify responsibilities in time of crisis.

During a crisis, ongoing documentation of steps that have been taken and plans that have been made is critical, ensuring that what is needed and what has been done are known to everyone involved. For example, incident report sheets are often used to record information during a crisis. This paperwork is crucial to recording and understanding how the crisis developed, progressed, and was resolved. These records include notes about what steps were taken, who was involved in various decisions and actions, and the end result of these actions. While a crisis is progressing, documentation should include notes not only about steps taken within an organization but also information that has been given to outside groups. It also needs to include what the media has been told and how they have spread that information to the public.

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