Everyone now knows about the risks of a pandemic, but that is only one of many realistic and potentially catastrophic risks that organisations face. There will be future crises, and the board needs to ensure their organisation is prepared.

It is not enough to just identify the risks: being prepared means ensuring management have adequately developed and tested risk mitigation and response plans, then trained and practiced using multiple scenarios. Practice exercises and testing are often neglected but are essential for a strong and adaptable response.

For the board, preparation also means understanding and agreeing its own role and expectations. Our case studies revealed divergent views on the board’s role in the early stages of response, ranging from a relatively hands-off approach, to working very closely with management and adding as many minds to the crisis response as possible. By agreeing the preferred approach ahead of time the organisation can respond quickly and collectively
to a crisis event.

The board can support management by providing guiderails for the response. It is critical for management and the board to be clear on roles and expectations from the start. Be clear about delegations and boundaries so that management understand when they can proceed at pace and when further consultation with the board is required. The board needs to be kept informed so they are ready and able to provide management with direction or guidance on critical matters. With management initially focused on response, the board can provide perspective and work on framing the post-response strategy and long-term recovery. If the board sees inappropriate responses or gaps, then by all means, raise these with management. The board, however, needs to be careful to avoid taking over, undermining management confidence, or adding unnecessary burden.