17.11.2020 / Case

Development of an integrated incident and crisis management system for a provider of child day-care centres

Sector

Social economy

Company size

4,000 employees, more than 150 facilities throughout Germany

Project period

2018-2020

Consulting field

Crisis management

 

Problem

Those who look after several thousand children every day not only assume an important social role, but also enormous responsibility. While preparing for a crisis is usually standard practice for industrial companies, many organisations that operate within the social economy often have only very rudimentary structures and processes in place for emergencies.

A quick glance at the media coverage is enough to see that both small and large crises are part of the day-to-day operation of day-care centres. From missing children to accidents, spoiled lunches and staff misconduct, numerous scenarios are possible, and the media and public attention on any topic relating to children is enormously high.

Process

As a first step in the project, SKM analysed the client’s existing preparations for an incident or crisis. Based on this, the requirements for future structures and processes were then defined. In addition to the overall company management and project management, the regional managers were also involved in the entire project process from the very beginning.

The main result of the dialogue-oriented approach was that all participants agreed that clear rules and responsibilities were needed in the event of a crisis, and that the organisation can only meet the requirements of the various stakeholders through interaction with the affected institution, as well as the regional and head office.

Based on the audit, the discussions and various workshops, the project goals were then specified and a further project plan was defined and subsequently implemented. Parallel to the development of both the incident and Crisis Management systems, all regional managers, as well as members of the later-established crisis team members, were trained by SKM for emergencies – both in terms of Camera Training and within the framework of Crisis Simulations.

Solution

For the client’s specific requirements and conditions, SKM developed an integrated incident and Crisis Management system that:

  • covers different cases or scenarios.
  • defines clear processes and responsibilities.
  • operates across different sites and independent of people.
  • establishes a crisis team with different roles, which can be flexibly expanded depending on the event.
  • ensures professional communication with all stakeholders (parents, authorities, media, etc.).

All information and regulations were summarised in a compact crisis manual, available both digitally and in print. Information workshops relating to the roles of the crisis team, as well as accompanying internal communication, ensured that every staff member was not only aware of the new initiatives, but also took them to heart in their daily work. Regular exchanges, updates and training ensured that the newly created organisational and procedural structures continued to function.

 

picture credits:
©Markus Spiske
Unsplash