The importance of deputies in a long term crisis:

At Crisis Solutions we’ve been hearing from clients about the critical role of deputies for Crisis Management Team (CMT) members during the ongoing challenges of Covid-19.

When we run crisis simulations with our clients they are typically fast moving events presenting immediate communication, information management and decision making challenges. Covid-19 presents a different challenge due to the extended timeframe involved.

It is unrealistic to expect a CMT to operate effectively without deputies for an extended period.  Members need deputies to cover periods of absence and bring fresh ideas.  In addition, the senior CMT members will have demanding day jobs that require attention particularly given the economic challenges currently being faced across the world.

With no clear end point for Covid-19 we believe it’s critical that firms value the role of the deputies and consider the following questions:

• Are deputies in place for all CMT members?

• Have deputies been trained and do they understand their role?

• Do deputies have the necessary delegated decision making authority?

• Are the learnings that primary members gain from this crisis being shared with deputies?

Well trained, effective deputies are invaluable during any crisis and are essential to ensure the CMT can carry on as usual in the planned or unplanned absence of any primary members.