The Backstory 

The holding company for an international group of Main Street retail brands was publishing and updating its crisis plans as Word documents and only occasionally distributing revised versions via email.

The old-fashioned, ineffective paper-based approach to managing its crisis preparedness planning, meant content was frequently out of date, with names and contact details for team members who had left or changed roles.

An existing online tool was ineffective and as a result, unused.

Then, according to the company’s crisis team lead, “We came across RockDove Solutions and it’s In Case of Crisis platform. It all made so much sense. It was great and easy to use – like a big crisis comfort blanket.”

The Dilemma

Where to find a solution to the company’s many requirements for a crisis app.

The company’s crisis team had brainstormed what was needed if the organization switched from the clunky, inefficient paper-based system to a mobile crisis management app. As well as user attributes of quickly and effectively accessing updated information in the event of a threat, the team identified specific technical and design needs.

“The capabilities of In Case of Crisis checked all the boxes,” says the crisis lead. “It is a seamless tool which works across the enterprise. In particular, Single Sign-On is huge for us as no-one wanted to remember another password.”

The Solution

Publish the crisis plan documents on In Case of Crisis and train the team in its use – and deploy the app when the organization faces difficult situations.

The first step was to move the paper-based content in the crisis preparedness plans onto the In Case of Crisis platform.

“We started small, with just the enterprise plan,” explains the crisis team lead. “And then we continued to build out the content, with my team and others in the organization.”

Team members were trained on how to access the information and use the features to enable effective management of a difficult issue and initiate a quick response to an emerging crisis.

A moment of crisis presented itself all too quickly.

The app’s value was tested when there was a crisis event at one of the company’s stores in the Midwest.

“It was an immediate proof point,” recalls the crisis team lead. “The use of the app enabled us to react much more quickly than would have been possible previously. In Case of Crisis proved to be easy and convenient to use.”

The Results

Use of In Case of Crisis has expanded throughout the company and plays a crucial role in the pandemic response

Over time, more and more people and teams have been added to the In Case of Crisis platform. At the time of writing, the international fashion retailer’s version of the app has more than 500 users. These include the original users from the crisis team and, in addition, members of the Operations and Supervisory teams, plus Home Office employees.

Plan content and access is customized for each group of users, with separate workspaces for each team.

“The unlimited plans and unlimited users are a big deal for us,” says the crisis team lead.

The biggest test of the effectiveness of the company’s strengthened issues preparedness and the In Case of Crisis platform was provided by the onset of the global pandemic in March 2020.

Like so many other businesses, the company was faced with having to create virtually what had previously been handled by employees sitting in offices.

All the crucial information was gathered in a COVID-19 Playbook and shared via In Case of Crisis – briefing materials, safety & cleaning protocols, plus the all-important answers to questions like, “What happens if someone falls sick?” and “What changes will there be when we all go back to work?”

“It is so nice to have In Case of Crisis in place at a time like this. It’s the perfect solution and it’s never been used more than during these long months of the pandemic.”