By Mike Monahan, Vice President of Business Development & Marketing
When crisis hits your workplace — a death, a violent incident, a public scandal, a medical emergency — there’s one thing we see over and over:
Leaders freeze.
Smart, experienced, well-intentioned people suddenly don’t know what to do.
And the reason is simple:
You can’t Google a crisis plan when the crisis has already started.
Crisis Doesn’t Wait for You to Get Organized
In the first 30 minutes after a critical incident, your organization needs more than composure.
You need:
- A clear chain of command
- A communications plan
- A trauma-informed leadership response
- Access to trained professionals
- Support for affected employees
- Confidence in your next move
Instead, what usually happens is this:
- Someone makes a panicked call to HR
- HR calls legal
- Legal drafts a vague email
- Managers are told “just be supportive”
- Employees are left stunned, scared, and spinning
- And hours later, leaders are left wondering, Did we do the right thing?
If that sounds familiar, your plan isn’t a plan — it’s hope in disguise.
Most Crisis Plans Are Half-Completed Word Docs
Let’s be real:
A lot of organizations think they’re “ready” because they have a PDF on a shared drive called Crisis Response Protocol.
But no one’s read it in two years.
Half the people named in it don’t work there anymore.
It doesn’t include anything about trauma, mental health, or how to actually support humans in distress.
That’s not readiness.
That’s liability.
Why Leaders Panic — Even When They Think They’re Prepared
Most leaders are trained to manage performance.
They’re not trained to manage grief, shock, fear, or emotional fallout.
So in a true crisis, they fall into common traps:
- Defaulting to silence because they don’t know what to say
- Relying on HR to “handle it,” without a real plan
- Trying to spin the moment, instead of honoring it
- Sending impersonal communications that erode trust
- Forgetting to support the managers who are closest to the pain
Here’s the hard truth: your people won’t remember what you planned.
They’ll remember how you showed up.
What a Real Crisis Plan Looks Like
It’s not just a binder or a policy.
It’s a muscle you build before you need it — and a playbook you’ve practiced.
That means:
1. Immediate Access to Crisis Counselors and Incident Response Experts
Not next week. Within hours.
2. Trauma-Informed Leadership Coaching
Helping your execs and managers know how to speak, what to say, and how to hold space without freezing up or shutting down.
3. Communications Templates You Can Deploy in Minutes
Because crafting the right language in a panic is a recipe for regret.
4. Post-Incident Support That Doesn’t Vanish After 48 Hours
Because the real impact of trauma often shows up later — in performance, behavior, absenteeism, and turnover.
5. A Clear Path from Chaos to Recovery
Because employees don’t just need answers — they need to feel safe, supported, and seen.
At AllOne Health, We Plan for What You Can’t Predict
We’re not just another EAP. We’re your crisis partner.
We help organizations:
- Build, test, and update real-world crisis response plans
- Deliver immediate on-site or virtual support after an incident
- Train leaders to respond with calm, clarity, and compassion
- Provide expert guidance for the hours, days, and months after trauma
- Protect culture, trust, and business continuity when it matters most
Because in a crisis, there’s no second chance to get the first response right.
Ready to Stop Hoping Your Crisis Plan Will Work?
Let’s pressure test it.
Let’s build one that works in real time — with the right voices in the room and the right experts at your side.
Schedule a Crisis Readiness Consultation with AllOne Health
Because you can’t lead through trauma by Googling your way out of it.
