Crisis Management Plan Template

Template Overview
The purpose of this Crisis Management Plan Template is to guide you through the development of a
management decision-making framework necessary to coordinate response activities following the onset of a
disruptive incident impacting business activities and key stakeholders. This plan mirrors strategies
documented in the Department Recovery Plans and coordinates department-level response and recovery
activities.
This fully editable and customizable template jumpstarts your planning effort by offering sample content and
procedures that enable effective and efficient response and recovery to each of the following scenarios:

FACILITY PERSONNEL TECHNOLOGY SUPPLIER/VENDOR

Remember, templates are just a starting point and should be customized as necessary to fit the unique needs
of your organization and program.

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This template is from Catalyst business continuity software. Take a look at the last page of this document if
you’re interested in learning how your plans can be activated and used in real-time when built in Catalyst.
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>> Enjoy an extended free trial of Catalyst Pro (45 days!) with referral code: DRJ Plan Templates.

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 Business Continuity 101: Key Planning Activities and Outcomes

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Contents
Cover Page......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Introduction....................................................................................................................................................... 4
Recovery Strategies............................................................................................................................................ 4
Strategy 1 – How to Recover from a Loss of Facility....................................................................................... 4
Strategy 2 – How to Recover from a Loss of People....................................................................................... 4
Strategy 3 – How to Recover from a Loss of Technology................................................................................ 5
Strategy 4 – How to Recover from a Loss of a Key Supplier............................................................................5
Triggers and Escalation Criteria.......................................................................................................................... 5
Crisis Management Team................................................................................................................................... 5
Team Location.................................................................................................................................................... 7
Assessment........................................................................................................................................................ 7
Loss of Facility.................................................................................................................................................... 9
Loss of People.................................................................................................................................................. 10
Loss of Technology........................................................................................................................................... 12
Loss of Key Supplier......................................................................................................................................... 13
Ongoing Operations......................................................................................................................................... 14
Supporting Documents.................................................................................................................................... 15
Appendix A: Contact Information..................................................................................................................... 15
Appendix B: CMT Meeting Agenda................................................................................................................... 16
History Log....................................................................................................................................................... 16

TERMS OF USE
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
View a copy of this license online, or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

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Cover Page
Title:
Description:
Owners:
Contributors:
Last Updated:
Last Approved:
Status:
Exercise Status:

Introduction
The purpose of this Crisis Management Plan, which is a contributing component of overall organizational
business continuity, is to offer a management decision-making framework necessary to coordinate response
activities following the onset of a disruptive event impacting business activities and key stakeholders.  This
plan mirrors strategies documented in Department Recovery Plans and coordinates department-level
response and recovery activities.
The objectives of this plan, approved by senior management and applicable to all departments, personnel,
and support resources, coincide with the overall goals of business continuity and include the following:

 [Insert Objective 1]
 [Insert Objective X]
The scope of this plan (and all other business continuity plans) includes:
[Insert Scope (e.g., entire organization or specific departments)].

Recovery Strategies
This Crisis Management Plan offers procedures designed to enable effective and efficient response and
recovery to each of the following four scenarios:

Strategy 1 – How to Recover from a Loss of Facility

If a facility is damaged, inaccessible, or unavailable for use for any reason, this strategy outlines the
procedures designed to support site recovery based on management-approved recovery
requirements.

5
 Strategy 2 – How to Recover from a Loss of People
If mass absenteeism is expected for a prolonged period of time, which may include a large-scale
public health event such as a pandemic, this strategy describes the tasks to identify and address
employee needs and support staffing of essential departments throughout the course of the
incident.

Strategy 3 – How to Recover from a Loss of Technology

If there is a pervasive interruption to the information technology environment, this strategy
describes response activities to expedite technology restoration and sustain the business during its
absence.

Strategy 4 – How to Recover from a Loss of a Key Supplier

If there is a negative event affecting one or more vendors’ ability to support the organization, this
strategy describes the response activities needed to support continuity at one or more sites.
The recovery procedures found in this plan are organized into six sections:
1. Assessment
2. Recovery Strategy 1 - Loss of Facility
3. Recovery Strategy 2 - Loss of People
4. Recovery Strategy 3 - Loss of Technology
5. Recovery Strategy 4 - Loss of Key Vendor/Supplier
6. Ongoing Operations
Consult only the recovery procedures necessary, based on the disruptive incident requiring the activation of
this Crisis Management Plan.

Triggers and Escalation Criteria

The Crisis Management Team and applicable department recovery teams will be activated (invoked) based
on the type and severity of a disruptive incident.  Some disruptive incidents may involve select departmental
recovery efforts but may not require a full activation of all teams, as incidents may require different levels of
activation.  The Crisis Management Team should consider a variety of factors including safety, financial well-
being, reputation, and operations when deciding to activate this plan.

Crisis Management Team

The Crisis Management Team (CMT) provides tactical direction enabling the overall response and recovery
effort during major disruptive events.  The CMT is comprised of numerous roles, however not all roles may be
required for all disruptive events.  The CMT Leader and CMT Coordinator will jointly identify which roles are
most applicable to the event at hand.

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 PRIMARY ALTERNATE
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
MEMBERS MEMBERS

CMT Leader 
Provide leadership to the Crisis Management Team; assess input from
[Insert] [Insert]
department leaders and evaluate cascading or operational impacts; serve as
the ultimate decision-making authority on behalf of the organization.

CMT Coordinator 
Coordinate with the affected departments to understand their operational
impacts and existing response efforts; assist the CMT Leader in ensuring all
[Insert] [Insert]
CMT tasks in the Procedures section are completed, including identifying tasks
that should be repeated periodically as necessary and reminding the CMT
Leader of pressing tasks.

Crisis Communications Leader 

Coordinate with [insert department name] for guidance on approved
[Insert] [Insert]
messaging and focus points for each stakeholder. Distribute crisis
communications messaging as directed by management.

Finance and IT Representative(s) 

Address resource requests from the CMT and departments. Advise the CMT
[Insert] [Insert]
on potential significant financial losses resulting from business activity and /or
IT failure.

Human Resources Representative 

Accumulate and report personnel accountability results following a disruptive
event. Represent the organization at local hospitals where employees are
taken by local authorities, coordinating assistance with hospital staff, family [Insert] [Insert]
members, and the Crisis Communications Leader. As needed, assist with the
sourcing of personnel (temporary or permanent) from other sites, businesses,
or third-parties. Ensure compliance with OSHA reporting.

Facilities Representative 
Provide on-site situational assessment to the CMT and manage the interface
with local first responders. Lead the assessment, cleanup, and repair effort at [Insert] [Insert]
affected site(s). Provide resources during the response to maintain security
and protect property.

Legal Representative 
Advise the CMT regarding legal implications of crisis decision-making, as well [Insert] [Insert]
as the crisis's effect on contractual/regulatory matters and current litigation.

Administrative Representative  [Insert] [Insert]

Provide administrative support to the CMT throughout the event; assist in

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 PRIMARY ALTERNATE
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
MEMBERS MEMBERS

screening all communications into the CMT; acquire/set up CMT logistical

resources, arrange travel for team members; and retrieve and maintain team
member log books for performance evaluation and historical purposes.

Team Location
The Crisis Management Team will operate from an appropriate alternate location (e.g., Crisis Command
Center), depending on the type of business interruption.  The following table summarizes the three primary
locations, and the information necessary to enable a virtual meeting location. 

PRIORITY LOCATION

Primary [Insert - Onsite]

Secondary [Insert - Offsite]

Tertiary [Insert - Third-party]

Virtual [Insert]

Assessment
Immediately following activation of this plan, the following tasks enable incident assessment and evaluation.

# TITLE ROLE

1 NOTIFICATION OF DISRUPTIVE EVENT

Receive notification of a potential/actual disruptive event via reports from team [Insert]
members and/or self-realization; assess need to activate the Crisis Management Plan.

2 PERFORM ACCOUNTABILITY
[Insert]
Ensure employee safety and well-being; coordinate with Human Resources as needed.

3 LIAISE WITH THIRD PARTIES [Insert]

8
# TITLE ROLE

Based on the nature of the disruption, assign the CMT Leader to liaise with necessary
third-parties (including building management) and/or local authorities to manage the
continued safety and well-being of employees and facilities.

4 REVIEW TRIGGERS AND ESCALATION CRITERIA

Review the Triggers and Escalation Criteria in this plan to assess potential/actual impact [Insert]
to the organization.  

5 ACTIVATE THE CRISIS MANAGEMENT TEAM

If needed, select an alternate location (e.g., Crisis Command Center); coordinate with IT
and Facilities to ensure that all necessary supplies and resources are available at that
location.
Enable virtual meeting capabilities by opening the crisis communication bridge. [Insert]
Contact remaining CMT members (and/or alternates, if necessary); convene team at
crisis command center.
Schedule and conduct recurring CMT meetings, maintaining a log of
decisions/actions/issues.

6 PERFORM SITUATION ASSESSMENT

Perform an initial situation assessment; discuss, capture and communicate key
information to management, members of the CMT and departments.
[Insert]
Once the facility is declared safe to enter by local authorities, conduct a damage
assessment of the facility, capturing findings for management and members of the
CMT.

7 REVIEW BUSINESS PRIORITIES

Review business priorities and the potential/actual impact incurred by the disruption; [Insert]
coordinate with department managers on the need to activate alternate
procedures/manual workarounds/alternate locations.

8 DETERMINE NEED FOR SHIFT SCHEDULING

Determine shift schedules (if applicable) and assign appropriate personnel to specific [Insert]
tasks/responsibilities.

9 INITIATE HUMAN RESOURCES RESPONSE

Based on the nature of the disruption, coordinate with Human Resources to assign an [Insert]
organization representative to hospitals and/or other third-party locations.

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 # TITLE ROLE

1 EXECUTE CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

0 [Insert]
Lead the execution of the external (and media/public, as needed) crisis
communications.

Loss of Facility
If a facility is damaged, inaccessible, or unavailable for use for any reason (including inclement weather
situations), support the recovery of appropriate, in-scope activities based on approved recovery
requirements. 

# TITLE ROLE

1 ASSESS POSSIBLE IMPACTS

Review results of completed situation and damage assessment reports.  Determine [Insert]
impact of disruption and estimate duration of the disruption; adjust business priorities.

2 COMMUNICATE WITH DEPARTMENTS

Communicate adjusted priorities with department managers and initiate status reporting
as needed. [Insert]
If the situation requires that employees work from home or alternate locations,
communicate key work from home guidelines and expectations to employees.

3 EVALUATE PERSONNEL HEALTH/SAFETY

Based on the current situation status, continue to evaluate the safety and well-being of [Insert]
personnel; coordinate with Human Resources to identify improvement strategies as
needed.

4 BEGIN ALTERNATE PROCEDURES

Coordinate alternate procedures and manual workarounds with department managers; [Insert]
approve workplace relocation as needed.

5 CONDUCT RECURRING CMT MEETINGS

Conduct recurring CMT meetings as appropriate to continue managing recovery [Insert]
activities and proactively address changes to business and recovery priorities.

6 CONTINUE TO MONITOR RECOVERY ACTIVITIES [Insert]

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 # TITLE ROLE

Review the status and activities of departments; approve process/procedure changes as

necessary to enable operations.
Review and/or approve alternate workspace requests, return-to-work requests, or
permanent relocation requests.

7 EXECUTE CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

Continue to execute internal crisis communications in order to inform employees of
[Insert]
recovery priorities and changes to operating procedures and/or locations.
Continue to execute external and public (as necessary) crisis communications.

Loss of People
If absenteeism occurs, which may result from no-notice (immediate) loss or a large-scale public health
incident such as a pandemic, this strategy describes the tasks to support the staffing of the most essential
departments and activities throughout the course of the incident.

# TITLE ROLE

1 ASSESS LOSS OF PERSONNEL

Collaborate with departments to determine cause of personnel loss.  Identify impacted
personnel and assess what assistance, if any, can be provided to them and/or their
families.
Confirm the impact of the loss of personnel by reviewing analysis authored by Human [Insert]
Resources; identify if a similar loss is being experienced at other organization locations.
If the event is caused by a public health threat, perform outreach to local and national
health departments to understand threat and estimate its potential impact on
organization personnel and operations.

2 REVIEW BUSINESS PRIORITIES

Review business priorities to determine on which departments and business activities [Insert]
should be prioritized and what resources are available to sustain critical operations.

3 ASSESS POSSIBLE/PROBABLE BUSINESS IMPACTS [Insert]

Determine how existing and potential personnel shortages (either temporary or
permanent) may impact the organization’s ability to meet deadlines and operational

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# TITLE ROLE

goals.  Consider supplementing critical activities with personnel from less critical
activities, obtaining resources from other sources (former employees, retirees, staffing
firms, competitors, etc.)

4 SUPPORT RECOVERY FROM A PUBLIC HEALTH EVENT

If the event is caused by a public health threat, evaluate what preparedness/protective
measures are available for personnel.
[Insert]
Monitor the effectiveness of protective measures, alternate operations, and prioritized
service delivery; adjust priorities and resources as necessary to protect the concerns of
all interested stakeholders.

5 EVALUATE THE CURRENT SITUATION

[Insert]
Evaluate emerging resource needs; approve spend as required.

6 SUPPORT STAFFING NEEDS

Support the staffing of high priority business activities in order to continue the delivery
of critical products/services; if necessary, consider shifting personnel from other [Insert]
locations (if applicable) to support the most critical activities.  Consider temporary or
permanent recruiting efforts.

7 CONTINUE TO MONITOR RECOVERY ACTIVITIES

Confirm and track department response and recovery activities; recommend
adjustments to recovery priorities if appropriate and necessary.
Monitor shifts in event characteristics, product/service demand, personnel needs, etc., [Insert]
to determine when alternate methods can be shifted back to normal operations.
Conduct recurring CMT meetings as appropriate; request ongoing status updates from
departments.

8 PROVIDE CRISIS COUNSELING

Source and provide crisis counseling or other approved grievance benefits to personnel [Insert]
and families affected by the disruptive event, if warranted.

9 EXECUTE CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

Continue to execute internal crisis communications in order to inform employees of
[Insert]
recovery priorities and changes to operating procedures and/or locations.
Continue to execute external and public (as necessary) crisis communications.

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Loss of Technology
If there is an interruption to one or more critical IT applications or technologies, this strategy will describe
response activities and / or alternate methods of operation (including manual workarounds).

# TITLE ROLE

1 ASSESS POSSIBLE IMPACTS

Estimate technology downtime and conduct a situation assessment.  Evaluate how the [Insert]
technology or communications loss may lead to business impacts for activities
dependent on technology availability.

2 EVALUATE ALTERNATE PROCEDURES

Collaborate with departments to determine need for identifying and / or activating [Insert]
alternate procedures.

3 REVIEW RECOVERY OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ASSUMPTIONS

Work with IT personnel to assess available recovery strategy options and determine the [Insert]
most appropriate response, given the situation and anticipated downtime.

4 EVALUATE NEED FOR DISASTER DECLARATION

Evaluate need for a disaster declaration to enable the initiation of selected recovery [Insert]
strategies (if applicable).

5 SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY RECOVERY

Ensure personnel are capable and trained on recovering the technology and are
available to participate in the validation of technology capabilities following recovery.
[Insert]
Request frequent status updates from the IT representative leading/overseeing the
recovery effort, including if there is any potential that a recovery objective will not be
met.

6 CONTINUE TO EVALUATE BUSINESS IMPACT

Continue to evaluate business impact caused by the technology or communications
outage, reaching out to the affected departments.  Confirm and track business process [Insert]
response and recovery activities, recommending adjustments to recovery priorities if
appropriate and necessary.

7 ACTIVATE ALTERNATE PROCEDURES [Insert]

Activate alternate procedures, as possible, to maintain operations and continue the

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 # TITLE ROLE

delivery of critical products/services.

8 CONTINUE CRISIS MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

Conduct recurring CMT meetings as appropriate; request ongoing status updates from [Insert]
departments.

9 SUPPORT RESTORATION
Support the restoration of affected technology at the primary data center, approving [Insert]
spend as necessary.  Ensure that departments receive the end user support they
require in order to fully restore operations and return to normal.

1 EXECUTE CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

0
Continue to execute internal crisis communications in order to inform employees of
[Insert]
recovery priorities and changes to operating procedures and/or locations.
Continue to execute external and public (as necessary) crisis communications.

Loss of Key Supplier

If there is an incident affecting one or more vendors’ ability to support critical operations, this strategy
describes the response activities needed to support continuity of operations.

# TITLE ROLE

1 ASSESS POSSIBLE BUSINESS IMPACTS AND ESTIMATE DOWNTIME

Estimate downtime potential and resulting business impact caused by vendor or supplier [Insert]
loss; determine need for alternate procedures.

2 REVIEW BUSINESS PRIORITIES

Assist departments with assessing whether safety stock, prioritizing available resources,
and/or alternate resources can sustain business operations throughout the vendor [Insert]
outage. If prioritization of available resources is necessary, determine which customers
get priority based on contractual obligations and penalties, criticality of product use by
the customer, impact if not delivered within agreed upon timeframes, etc.

3 CONTINUE TO REVALUATE BUSINESS IMPACT AND DOWNTIME [Insert]

14
 # TITLE ROLE

Continue to evaluate the business impact caused by the loss of vendor product or
service, implementing necessary alternate procedures to sustain critical operations.

4 EVALUATE AND ALTERNATE OPTIONS

If methods listed above cannot sustain operations throughout the anticipated loss [Insert]
timeframe, assist departments in identifying if an alternate vendor is able to provide the
same or similar services.

5 CONTINUE CRISIS MANAGEMENT

Evaluate the status of recovery efforts and communicate updates as necessary.  Approve
spend and vendor transition as necessary. [Insert]
Conduct recurring CMT meetings as appropriate; request ongoing status updates from
departments.

6 EXECUTE CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

Continue to execute internal crisis communications in order to inform employees of
[Insert]
recovery priorities and changes to operating procedures and/or locations.
Continue to execute external and public (as necessary) crisis communications.

Ongoing Operations
Use the tasks described in this phase to initiate full operations and begin to return to normal.

# TITLE ROLE

1 DEFINE AND SUPPORT ONGOING OPERATIONS

Analyze the ongoing situation to determine when “return to normal” procedures should [Insert]
be implemented.  Provide guidance and support to the affected departments as
appropriate.

2 EXECUTE COMMUNICATIONS MESSAGING

Execute internal and external messaging to update key stakeholders on the status of [Insert]
recovery and return to normal operations.

3 INITIATE FULL OPERATIONS [Insert]

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 # TITLE ROLE

Define and support the procedures for returning to full/normal operations.

4 DEACTIVATE RESPONSE AND RECOVERY ACTIVITIES

Close alternate locations or designated crisis command center(s) and route [Insert]
communication to normal locations.  Prepare for full restoration at normal location.

5 DOCUMENT LESSONS LEARNED

Collaborate with affected departments to conduct a performance evaluation to
contribute to lessons learned, understand opportunities for improvement in both the [Insert]
response process and request feedback from participants on additional steps to
strengthen the response and recovery effort.

Supporting Documents
The following additional materials may be needed by plan users.

FILE NAME DESCRIPTION FILE LOCATION

Appendix A: Contact Information

NAME JOB TITLE WORK EMAIL WORK PHONE HOME PHONE

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Appendix B: CMT Meeting Agenda
Event Name:  

Date/Time:  

Meeting Participants:  

1. Review situation assessment or status update

a. Discuss facts
b. Discuss assumptions
c. Review previous decisions and actions (as applicable)
2. Discuss realized or anticipated impacts
3. Discuss and reach consensus regarding the organization’s response and recovery strategy
4. Discuss and provide input to the business continuity and ITDR Teams regarding organizational
response and recovery priorities
5. Review crisis communications efforts to date; identify upcoming, required communications to key
stakeholders

History Log
VERSION DATE ACTION

1 [Insert] [Insert]

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Catalyst is a fully integrated business continuity
planning solution that will make your life easier.
This plan template will work for you if you
build your program in Catalyst. How?
FULLY-INTEGRATED: When you build your plans in Catalyst, you never have to enter data twice! Easily access
the data entered in the system during the completion of your business impact analysis and risk assessment,
and seamlessly pull that data into your plan. Many of the fields in this template would have been
automatically populated for you if your program was being built in Catalyst. Efficiency at its best!

AUTOMATION: Forget sending out plan update reminders, reviews, and approvals! Catalyst automates these
time-consuming tasks across the board. On-screen guides help move users through the planning process –
defining terms and describing what type of information is being requested. And, approval frequencies can be
set for all policies, BIAs, and plans so planning participants are automatically notified when reviews and
updates are needed.

LIVE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT: Activate your plans during a live disruptive incident and make them
interactive! Activated plans guide you and your team through the approved response and recovery
procedures. Mark items as complete as you go, or post an update and assign a priority if you run into any
issues along the way so the Crisis Management Team Leader is aware and can take action if necessary. This
feature is included with Catalyst Pro and Enterprise or available as an add-on package to Catalyst Basic.

INSIGHTS (METRICS): Catalyst Insights provides access to automatic business continuity metrics that help
you quickly identify and address preparedness gaps and report on your organization's true level of
preparedness like never before. Have all Plans and BIAs been updated? What are the critical gaps that need
addressed? Get answers to these questions in a snap and take action! This feature is available with Catalyst
Pro and Enterprise.

Ready to Learn More?

Catalyst is available in Basic, Pro, or Enterprise versions, to fit your unique needs. Even better, Catalyst Basic
is free for up to 5 users and 10 departments.

Start a Free Trial Schedule a Demo Contact Us Visit the Website

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>> Enjoy an extended free trial of Catalyst Pro (45 days!) with referral code: DRJ Plan Templates.

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