A Crisis Simulation: An Essential Tool for Real-World Risk Preparedness

A crisis simulation is an essential tool for preparing for real risks. It presents a valuable opportunity to assess our reactions to potential threats that could damage our company’s reputation. The aim is to recreate an emergency scenario that is as real as possible and aligned with the company’s risk catalogue based on its activities. It is, in consequence, an excellent opportunity to face a dangerous situation, test our response strategies, and refine procedures and protocols—without putting our reputation on the line.

One key advantage is that there will be no real casualties or injuries, regardless of the scenario. This is particularly relevant for companies working with hazardous materials. The most valuable takeaway from such an exercise is the lessons learned, which will help prepare us for a real crisis.

Crisis Simulations: A High-Stress, High-Risk Exercise

Crisis simulations immerse teams in high-risk, high-stress situations in a realistic manner. Participants are required to follow pre-established protocols as outlined in the crisis manual. If no such manual exists, or if it is outdated, it would be wise to commission one from a reputable and specialised company as soon as possible.

Once we have the necessary materials, select the case to work on, identify the participants, and set the date and time. With all that completed, we must ensure we get the most out of the exercise. However, it is crucial to distinguish between simulations (which are always useful) and mere exhibitions (which serve more as a public showcase).

A Crisis Simulation is an Opportunity to Prepare for Real Risks and Identify Strengths and Weaknesses

For many years, I conducted crisis simulations at the National School of Civil Protection (ENPC), training hundreds of students across different courses. Since these are group exercises, participants adopt their roles according to their expertise and real-life job functions. Therefore, each individual contributes their skills to ensure the success of the exercise.

The key challenge is that the participants are not used to working together as they come from different regions of Spain. However, they must trust each other’s capabilities, operating under the assumption that they are all part of the same team: the national civil protection system. This system consists of multiple divisions—each corresponding to a different civil protection agency in Spain—along with police forces, the Guardia Civil, fire brigades, the Red Cross, various emergency medical services, and more.

If we translate this to a corporate environment, our company functions as an integrated system. The larger the organisation, the more divisions it may have—but the brand remains singular.

What happens to this brand during a crisis? Essentially, what happens in the real world: a company’s reputation cannot be fragmented. If one part fails, the entire entity can collapse.

For this reason, all departments must work together. To achieve this, we need to practise interdepartmental coordination, as different areas of a business may not collaborate on a daily basis.

To illustrate this, let us use a civil protection example: What is needed to restore traffic flow on a motorway following a fatal accident, with additional complications like two centimetres of snow on the road?

The traffic police alone would not be sufficient. Firefighters and medical personnel must be called in as soon as possible.

The Crisis Plan Must Withstand Pressure from All Directions: Stakeholders, Media, and the Public

Much like a spider’s web under tension, each stakeholder pulls in a different direction according to their interests, without concern for others. The media seeks to sell news, consumers want assurance that their drinking water is safe, authorities must prevent mass poisoning, and the supplying company must not only guarantee quality but also continuous service.

This highlights the need for internal cohesion within our crisis procedures and the resilience of these procedures under pressure.

Journalists often say that “paper can hold anything.” The real test of a crisis plan is whether it can hold up under real-world conditions—or at least under a highly realistic simulation.

As mentioned earlier, a crisis simulation is an opportunity to prepare for real risks. The goal is to test it in the most lifelike manner possible.

The good news—which I always emphasise to Civil Protection students—is that no matter what happens, there will be no real fatalities or injuries. Everything is a controlled exercise designed to yield valuable insights in peacetime. This is why simulation exercises are critical because they allow us to test our procedures and practise our responses without real-world consequences. In an actual crisis, lives could be lost—or, at the very least, a company’s reputation and its executives’ credibility could be destroyed.

Challenging Teams to Clear Communication Lines Between Departments and Coordinate Statements

It is common to see different departments within a company operating as isolated “kingdoms,” each running its show. The larger the organisation, the more “kingdoms” exist—leading to discrepancies in messaging. Each department defends its turf.

A well-known example of poor crisis communication is the Madrid train bombings (11M). On the morning of the attacks, three government spokespersons gave three different statements, in three separate locations, regarding the identity of the perpetrators. Fortunately, emergency response teams—including Madrid’s Emergency 112 services, the city’s emergency management team, and the national government’s delegation—delivered a unified message through three coordinated spokespersons.

This approach was successful in crisis communication. However, the political disarray that followed is another matter entirely—one marked by fabricated narratives that persisted until judicial truth prevailed. Even today, conspiracy theories remain.

What has been proven time and again is that a single, unified message can save lives in emergencies. Similarly, a consistent narrative can safeguard the company’s reputation.

Practising Real-Time Responses to Develop Agile Crisis Management Skills

As mentioned in a previous post, becoming an effective crisis spokesperson does not happen overnight.

Having a crisis manual in place provides a sense of security, as it outlines what has to be done during a crisis. However, a manual is theoretical—crises evolve, requiring real-time adjustments. As Marshal von Moltke famously stated, “No plan survives contact with the enemy.”

That said, not having a plan is far worse. Failing to train is even riskier.

I recall a crisis simulation with a client a few years ago. We all had the crisis manual and were following the prescribed procedures. At one point, a senior executive turned to me and said, “If you weren’t here, I wouldn’t know where to start.”

That is precisely the purpose of a crisis simulation: to know where to start, how to proceed, and how to resolve a crisis. This is achieved by practising real-time responses under the pressure of a scenario as close to reality as possible.

Reading crisis procedures from an office is useful, but it is not the same as dealing with a high-stakes crisis under real pressure. This is what a crisis simulation prepares us for—it teaches us to think under stress while ensuring we have a capable leader at the helm.

Closing Process and Personnel Gaps That Could Endanger the Company’s Reputation

A crisis simulation does not end when the last input of the exercise is received.

A debriefing session helps identify procedural weaknesses and highlights individuals within the organisation who may pose a reputational risk.

Ultimately, a crisis simulation should be treated as if the flames were already at our heels—because when a real crisis strikes, there will be no time to dust off the crisis manual and read it at leisure. By the time we figure out the procedure, everything may already be in ruins.