Who is an ‘Ultimate Decision Maker’ or ‘Crisis Manager’, what do they do, and how do I choose one?

 

The ‘Crisis Manager’ (also known as the ‘Ultimate Decision Maker’) will be the person within your organisation who would be expected to lead the organisation’s response to the crisis and have the final say on all important decisions.

 

Usually, this role is fulfilled by a Managing Director or Senior Manager within your organisation – someone who, in the normal day-to-day operation of organisation – makes the key decisions of the organisation and oversees its general management.

 

Within your Crisis Management Plan, we will be referring to this person as the ‘Crisis Manager’. They will be in charge of leading and managing your organisation’s response to the crisis. Their duties and responsibilities (which will be outlined in more detailed in the opening pages of the generated Crisis Management Plan) include:

• Keeping up-to-date and easily accessible soft and hard copies of the Crisis Management Plan (CMP) and all supporting Templates

• Familiarising themselves with the entirety of the CMP

• Running through crisis simulations to test their familiarity with the CMP

• Ensuring they can easily access and log in to the Crisis Manager App

• Familiarising themselves with using the Crisis Manager App in the Live Incident Mode

 

When a crisis occurs, the Crisis Manager is responsible for:

• Leading the crisis management process and response as detailed in the CMP step-by-step plan (or via the same step-by-step plan detailed in the Crisis Manager App – Live Incident Mode).

 

 

When choosing an ‘Ultimate Decision Maker’ who will inevitably be listed as your ‘Crisis Manager’ – at the very least, make sure you select someone who has strong management and leadership skills, qualities, and experience. They should also be familiar with the general operations of the organisation as a whole and be commonly available or on-site. This is why most organisations will choose a Senior Manager or Managing Director.

If you need more assistance in choosing your ‘Crisis Manager’, reach out to one of our support team members.

 

If you’d think your Crisis Manager / Ultimate Decision Maker could do with some training to upskill or prepare them to handle the roll, our expert consultants can run 1-1 or group workshops and training sessions. If you would like to find out more, contact one of our consults for an obligation free initial consultation.