Simulations

Preparation is one of the most important tools a leader has during a time of crisis. In order for a person or an organization to realize how prepared they are for any given crisis, a test of the crisis management plan needs to occur. One of the best ways to test a crisis management plan, the leadership, and the team members is through an active simulation. A simulation is an activity that gives participants the opportunity to go through a real-life scenario in which they test their actual skills, plans, and resources in a setting that is similar to what they would experience during an actual crisis. If designed correctly, a very good simulation will test every aspect of the crisis management plan.

Too often in the past, crisis management plans were created on paper and stored in a gigantic binder in someone's office, seldom looked at and even less likely discussed. It possibly may have been reviewed once a year or looked at, before annual weather seasons such as hurricane, blizzard, or tornado season. When an actual crisis occurred, it was too late or too cumbersome to utilize, with numbers on the contact list being out of date, people changing positions, or information impossible to find. In order for a crisis management plan to be properly utilized, the plan needs to be routinely tested. Simulations provide the best opportunity to provide that test of the plan.

Simulations can be designed to meet the needs of the participants. It can focus on general practices or on a particular crisis scenario. Simulations can be used to test policies and procedures and team readiness, build relationships, establish resources, and look for holes and discrepancies in the plan. The simulations need to be designed to give the participants a realistic understanding of what they may actually experience during a genuine crisis. These crisis simulations will provide the team members actual experiences dealing with a crisis. When an actual crisis occurs it will most likely not go exactly as it did in the simulation, but by preparing for a crisis through practice simulations, the crisis responders should be better prepared for the situation.