Crisis simulation exercise

A suspected avian flu outbreak would test the crisis management skills of any organisation. Its impact on employees, customers and other stakeholders is bad enough; more broadly, it could threaten its ability to continue operating.

That was the scenario facing this public sector client which wanted to develop the crisis management capability of its senior leaders. Based on this brief, Insignia developed a challenging crisis simulation exercise affecting travel, tourism and education which posed severe reputational and operational risks.

Crisis Management Team
With Insignia managing the backroom team of role players and subject experts, and with one of its crisis communication experts facilitating the crisis management team, the scene was set.

Over the course of a full day, the team crisis management team faced a series of developments delivered through emails, phone calls, briefings, media interviews, social media activity and more. They were put under pressure to work effectively together to develop a crisis management strategy, create and execute a tactical plan and communicate effectively with stakeholders.

Crisis media training
The crisis simulation exercise culminated with a realistic press conference in which spokespeople had to communicate the actions they had taken in the face of a challenging media audience. The session concluded with a “hot de-brief” to review immediate learnings and areas for development, especially in the areas of leadership, communication, teamwork and decision-making. Client feedback on the crisis simulation endorsed the value of the exercise in building skills, confidence and capability.

Take a look at this short video which takes you behind the scenes at a recent Insignia crisis simulation exercise or read our guidelines on how to plan a successful crisis simulation exercise.