BLOG | 6 Things Every Incident Response Plan Should Include

Every business hopes it never has to deal with a major disruption, but hope is not a recovery strategy.

Preparation is.

An incident response plan gives your team a clear process to follow when something unexpected happens. It helps everyone understand what to do, who to contact and what needs to happen next.

Here are six key areas every incident response plan should cover:

1. Roles and responsibilities

When something goes wrong, confusion can slow everything down. Even a capable team can lose valuable time if no one is clear on who is responsible for what.

Your plan should make it clear:

• Who makes decisions

• Who communicates with employees

• Who works with IT providers

• Who communicates with customers and vendors

For small and non-profit teams, this is especially important. One person may wear several hats, so everyone needs to know who steps in when a system goes down, a supplier needs to be contacted or staff need an update.

Clear roles help decisions happen faster and reduce back and forth. Your team can focus on recovery instead of trying to work out who should take the lead.

2. Emergency contact information

During an incident, small delays can quickly become bigger problems. Searching for phone numbers, vendor details or approval contacts is time your business may not have.

Your plan should include contacts for:

• Internal leadership

• IT service providers

• Software vendors

• Cyber insurance providers

• Legal counsel

• Key business partners

Keep this information simple, current and easy to access. An outdated number or missing supplier contact can cause unnecessary delays at the worst possible time.

For Tasmanian organizations, this may also include local service providers, key volunteers, board contacts or regional support partners. Having those details ready means your team can act quickly.

3. Communication procedures

Communication often becomes harder when systems are offline. Email, chat tools or shared platforms may not be available when your team needs them most.

A strong plan outlines:

• Internal communication methods

• Employee notification procedures

• Customer communication expectations

• Vendor communication processes

Your plan should include backup ways to keep people informed. This might include mobile numbers, SMS groups, alternate email accounts or a nominated person responsible for updates.

It should also make customer and stakeholder communication easier. Clear messaging helps you avoid mixed updates, silence or uncertainty when people are waiting to hear what is happening.

4. Critical business systems and priorities

Not every system needs the same level of attention during recovery. Some systems are essential for serving customers, managing donations, processing payments or keeping staff productive.

Your incident response plan should identify:

• Critical applications

• Essential business processes

• Recovery priorities

• Acceptable downtime expectations

If everything is treated as urgent, your team may try to restore too much at once. That can slow down the work that matters most.

Clear priorities help your team focus on the systems your organization relies on most. They also help leaders make practical decisions about what can wait and what needs attention first.

5. Recovery procedures

In the middle of an incident, your team needs steps they can follow straight away. Vague instructions create hesitation, repeated questions and avoidable mistakes.

Your plan should outline:

• Initial response actions

• Escalation procedures

• Recovery priorities

• Decision-making processes

These procedures do not need to be complicated. They just need to be clear enough that people know what to do next, even under pressure.

A simple, structured response helps reduce errors and keeps everyone working toward the same outcome. It also supports newer staff, volunteers or committee members who may not deal with IT issues every day.

6. Testing and review schedule

An incident response plan only works if it reflects how your organization operates now. New systems, staff changes, new suppliers or changes in funding can all affect how your plan should work.

You should regularly:

• Review procedures

• Update contact information

• Test recovery processes

• Evaluate lessons learned

Testing helps show whether the plan will work in a real situation. It can reveal gaps that are not obvious on paper and gives your team a chance to practise before there is pressure.

Regular reviews keep the plan useful. Without them, even a strong plan can become outdated before anyone notices.

Be ready before it happens

The best response plans are not built during a crisis. They are prepared in advance, tested regularly and updated as the organization changes.

When something unexpected happens, preparation takes away uncertainty. Your team already knows the plan, the contacts and the next steps.
Not sure whether your current plan covers the essentials?

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