Vulnerability Audits

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communication, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, public relations 6 Comments

Find your Achilles Heel(s)

A vulnerability audit is one of the most powerful crisis management tools available. Designed to ferret out unknown dangers or flaws in crisis planning, this test will allow you to shore up your defenses before a crisis actually hits. 

Susan Tellem, of Tellem Worldwide, was kind enough to allow us to reprint her excellent “Short Form Vulnerability Audit,” the results of which may raise hairs on the necks of many organizational CEOs:

Take this vulnerability audit and see if you need help getting your business on a crisis track.

  1. Who is on your crisis team? (Pick people who can think on their feet, are good spokespeople and have related experience – do not choose the CEO.)
  2. Do you have friends in your court of you need them? This would include reporters/regulators/inspectors/politicians/police, etc.
  3. Do you honestly monitor possible problems that could lead to a crisis like employee relationships, safety issues, confidentiality issues or termination problems? 
  4. Do you have a written book of company policies?
  5. Do you have a list of emergency numbers/cell phones to be able to reach managers/owners at a second’s notice?
  6. Who is you spokesperson if something negative happens?
  7. How do you handle belligerent employees?
  8. How do you handle sexual harassment accusations?
  9. Are you familiar with emergency response teams in your area?

  10. When was the last time that you had an emergency evacuation drill?      

While this is a very solid list, it consists only of generic questions that apply to every business. Stop and think about how many questions you could ask specific to your industry or location and you can begin to see how in-depth a complete vulnerability audit is, and how powerful it can be as a crisis prevention method.

The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

Comments 6

  1. Russell Loredo

    Good Day! My name is Russell Rae, 19,a Psychology Student of San Sebastian College-Recoletos De Cavite in the Philippines. I came across to this website because I was ( and still ) trying to find a tool or any validated and reliable test that can help me and my group for our Psychological Thesis entitled with “The Crises of Introverted Human Resource personnel in an extroversion-oriented workplace”. As been mentioned to the title, we would like to present or address the crises of the employees but we would also like to measure it. I was wondering if you could help me and my groupmates to this dilemma of ours. Do you have any suggestions or recommendations of any test (of course, associated with the workplace) that can help us in determining the crises of the employees. I browsed and tried getting a hold of a copy of Industrial 16 PF but unfortunately, I’m still undergraduate and I couldn’t afford to buy it. THANK YOU IF YOUR READING THIS! I’m sorry for taking up your time and i’m sorry if I am demanding too. Thanks Again!!

  2. Chigo Ugoalah

    This is a great list. I am curious to know why the author suggests that the CEO is not chosen as part of the crisis team.
    “Who is on your crisis team? (Pick people who can think on their feet, are good spokespeople and have related experience – do not choose the CEO.)”

    Also, the book mentions a few other factors/questions to consider during a vulnerability audit. Where can I find a more comprehensive list that can be tailored to different industries and sectors.

    Thanks!

    Chigo

    1. Erik Bernstein

      Thank you for your comments Chigo. The reason we suggest not naming the CEO as a member of the “crisis team” is that, especially in larger organizations, the CEO has many other critical responsibilities to handle. They are of course kept advised and brought in on major discussions, but the crisis team must be able to make game-changing decisions without delay. As far as we’re aware there are not comprehensive lists of vulnerabilities published much due to them being developed through a great deal of study and experience. A good way to start for your own organization is to simply walk around and ask both yourself and your staff, “What could go wrong with x, y, or z?”

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