How to run a crisis exercise
- Joshua Spencer
- Apr 3
- 2 min read
If you're looking to organise and run a crisis exercise, there are four key elements you need to have clear in your mind from the outset:
Time
How much time do participants have? This will influence the format of your exercise—whether it's a walk-through, tabletop, simulation or full live scenario. The time available helps set realistic expectations and ensures the session is both engaging and productive.
Scenario
What scenario is both realistic and challenging? It must be relevant to the participants to ensure engagement, but not so complex that it overwhelms them. Striking the right balance is critical to maintaining focus and extracting real value from the exercise.
Plan
What’s the status of the plan being tested? Participants need to be familiar with the business continuity or crisis plan ahead of the session. The more confident they are in their roles and responsibilities, the more likely they are to apply the plan effectively—not just in the exercise, but in a real-world event. Remember: in a real crisis, no one has time to read the plan!
Success
What does success look like? A well-run exercise should help participants:
Understand their role during a crisis
Rehearse the implementation of the relevant plans and procedures
Identify any gaps or weaknesses that could undermine a real response
Step 2—developing the scenario—is often the hardest. It must pass the “Goldilocks test” (not too hot, not too cold) and, given current FCA and PRA Operational Resilience expectations for Severe but Plausible events, may benefit from expert external support.
To help you get started, Aldbury International offers a 90-minute “exercise in a box” crisis simulation. It can be rapidly tailored to your organisation and draws on our extensive global experience in managing real-life crises and disasters.
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