IT leaders must be prepared to deal with unplanned incidents. When a disruptive event threatens the organization’s operations, there should be a plan in place to assess the event and determine its potential impact. Once that process is complete, IT staff and upper management can determine the next steps to handle the disruption. This is an incident response plan.

Incident response is just the first part of dealing with a major disruption. Once the incident has been assessed and management has determined that it is serious, the next step is to launch emergency management activities. These critical activities will determine how well an organization recovers after a crisis. According to the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP), the four phases of emergency management are mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. An organization’s readiness to recover from a crisis is determined by how well it executes these four phases.

Several activities should occur within each phase and are ideally included as part of an overall emergency management plan. The goal is to return to steady-state operations as quickly as possible.

Emergency management is part of a series of activities that deal with an unplanned event and how to respond to it. The initial responses to the situation are handled by an incident management process, which is usually part of an emergency management program. Incident management actions assess the incident and determine its severity and potential for elimination, containment, or expansion. If the incident is not likely to be quickly suppressed and is likely to continue and possibly expand, the organization should launch the emergency management program.

The activities within the emergency management program are designed to minimize incident severity, duration, and impact. They are supported by trained emergency teams, communications systems to keep all relevant employees informed, and other resources as needed. The goal is to manage the event through to its containment and resolution and a return to business as usual. In more serious events, it might be necessary to activate additional plans, such as business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR). A DR plan typically recovers systems, data, networks, and other information services, while BC plans recover business functions and ensure that employees are safe and able to resume work.

Two national standards for emergency management delineate the activities that are part of the emergency management process. The first is the National Fire Protection Association standard No. 1660, and the second is the EMAP standard. The EMAP standard is a scalable yet rigorous national standard for public sector organizations, such as state/territorial, local, regional, and tribal government emergency management programs. Developed in collaboration with various working groups of emergency management leaders from government, business, and other sectors, the EMAP standard has 66 elements addressing emergency management.

The EMAP standard builds upon and uses existing standardized documents, such as the National Incident Management System and Incident Command System, to create an emergency management framework. Disaster recovery and IT teams can use the four phases of emergency management outlined in the EMAP standard to build a comprehensive action plan for disruptive events.

The four phases of emergency management in the EMAP standard are mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Mitigation activities focus on reducing or eliminating risks to persons or property and minimizing the severity of an unplanned event. Preparedness activities involve identifying critical tasks and activities necessary to build, improve, and sustain the organization’s operational capability to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from disasters.

Response activities are designed to minimize the short-term direct effects of an incident threatening life, property, environment, or critical systems. Recovery activities involve planning, development, coordination, and execution of plans for the restoration of impacted facilities, communities, and business and government operations. These phases must be flexible and adaptable to the aftermath of a disruptive event to facilitate the recovery process.

The only true way to determine an organization’s readiness for emergency management is to experience the event and see what happens. Exercises are the next best way to evaluate readiness. There are four levels of readiness organizations fall into: basic, intermediate, advanced, and expert. Each level represents a different level of preparedness and awareness of potential hazards, risks, and threats.

Building an emergency management plan involves a series of activities that align with the four phases of emergency management. Mitigation activities include establishing an emergency management project team, securing approval from senior management, and performing a risk analysis. Preparedness activities involve developing incident-specific guidance, conducting employee training programs, and ensuring necessary supplies are available. Response activities focus on managing the event, stabilizing the situation, and communicating with employees and stakeholders. Recovery activities include reviewing recovery progress, repatriating employees, and conducting post-event evaluations.

In conclusion, having a comprehensive emergency management plan in place is crucial for organizations to effectively respond to and recover from disruptive events. By following the four phases of emergency management and aligning with national standards, IT leaders can ensure that their organization is prepared to handle unexpected incidents and minimize their impact on operations. By building a culture of readiness and implementing emergency management best practices, organizations can increase their resilience and ability to bounce back from crises.

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