HR’s role in Crisis Management

Running scenario testing under the UK’s Operational Resilience framework is challenging. Designing severe, plausible and meaningful scenarios is not straightforward and can be a daunting prospect for firms both caught within the framework and the many more outside it who want to be seen to be doing the right thing. 

The regulators and the media frequently focus on cyber related risks which is topical and sensible while certainly both severe and plausible. These can be challenging exercises but all too frequently they are narrow and focus on ensuring the “tech” works as it was designed (expensively) to do. 

What they don’t focus on is the human element. Somebody has to have the presence of mind (when under pressure) to press the right button at the right time, a key decision maker might not be there as they are sick or on holiday, the cyber problem might have gone public and suddenly the press are door-stepping members of staff, the receptionist isn’t sure how to fend off calls or the press turning up in person, the cyber problem is a “nasty” and there are threats to members of staff...

This all takes training and preparation. 

At Aldbury International, we have run and observed many crisis exercises. Time after time, we see the technical aspects of the exercise running very well. IT is staffed by enthusiasts who love playing with their expensive toys as management is cognisant of the regulators’ messages about tech risks and have resourced accordingly. There is back up on top of back up. Restoring corrupted databases is second nature. Fighting off intruders before they break through firewalls is great sport for the IT teams. 

The human aspect when things go wrong is less frequently tested, particularly in the context of a fast moving, unfamiliar and chaotic situation. If a situation is a mix of both technical and human. The technical solution is no use if the human one isn’t running in tandem. 

Very simply, our experience is that HR is frequently not involved in the testing because the scenarios being tested don’t envisage issues that would cross their desk. This is a mistake as to recover from an existential crisis, it requires the whole firm to be working together effectively. This means that all parts of the firm need to be stretched at the same time during testing. 

Aldbury International has the experience to help build scenarios that are both severe and plausible while involving all parts of the firm in the exercise. 

Contact us on 020 3475 2953 to discuss how we can work with you in this area.