Mock Disasters

When it comes to testing an organization's capability to respond to a major crisis, we feel organizations should take the task of planning and implementing a mock disaster very seriously. We know we do.

We feel no test is effective if it isn't realistic and no test can be realistic if those participating in it don't take it seriously. That's why we work closely with clients to design disaster simulations that will put participants to the ultimate test. We make them difficult, but not impossible. Above all, they are believable.

Mock disasters are limited only by your imagination and your budget. You don't have to spend a fortune, however, to put together an effective exercise to test your organization's crisis management capabilities. We offer various levels of mock disasters ranging from table top exercises to full-scale, in-the-field productions involving multiple news crews and potentially scores of active participants.

Primary cost factors, as you might expect, involve the time required for planning, the number of people (reporters, videographers, etc.) we involve, transportation and complexity of the professionally edited video used to document your exercise.

Much of the work in putting together a credible mock disaster is in the planning which can take three months or more. The mock disaster is driven by the scenario which would be developed jointly by the client and The Wilson Group. The scenario itself is driven by your own goals of what you want to achieve as a result of a mock disaster.

Once the overall goals are determined, a date is set and we begin working with a selected individual from your organization - or very small group - to draft the proposed time line and disaster scenario. After the scenario is drafted, we then prepare a "crisis" script and time line and assemble the team of Wilson Group associates we'll need to implement the program.

Our associates act not only as reporters, but as third-party observers who can provide an objective view on how well your organization reacts to crisis situations.

Exercises can be designed to not only test a crisis team's response capabilities, but also gauge its ability to notify members, activate the team, and determine how well telephone operators, security officers and receptionists deal with an onslaught of news media. Our written final report on your mock disaster offers an objective view of where things went right, where they went wrong and where improvements need to be made.

We can also produce a video documentary of your exercise that leaves a no-holds-barred critique of your organization's actual performance.

The way we look at it, there's really only two ways to thoroughly test an organization's crisis management capabilities: our way....or the real thing.

For more information on our services, please call (614) 461-1333 or email us at info@wilson-group.com.