Shelter-in-Place Tabletop Exercise for Banks

This exercise is part of our catalog of tabletop exercises for banks.

Scenario Overview

Participants serve as the management team of a fictional community bank headquarters located in a commercial office building. Without warning, a loud explosion shakes the facility and media reports quickly announce a bombing, with area buildings ordered to shelter in place.

As the situation unfolds, employees and guests are forced to remain inside the building while fear, frustration, and uncertainty begin to build. Radiation is detected, some employees need medication, and leadership must manage safety, communications, accountability, and the practical challenges of keeping people inside while preventing outsiders from entering.

This exercise challenges bank leadership to work through the operational and human issues that arise during a prolonged shelter-in-place event while maintaining order, protecting occupants, and planning for continuity of operations.

Why This Scenario Matters for Banks

Banks may be required to shelter in place during external security incidents, hazardous material events, or law enforcement emergencies that affect the surrounding area. These situations can quickly create employee fear, customer disruption, access-control problems, and difficult decisions about communications, safety, and continuity.

This exercise helps bank leadership teams evaluate how they would respond when employees and guests must remain inside the facility for an extended period while external conditions remain uncertain and operational pressure continues to build.

Exercise Objectives

• Evaluate leadership decision-making during an extended shelter-in-place event.
• Discuss employee and guest safety, accountability, and internal control measures.
• Review communications with employees, customers, and external stakeholders.
• Assess access control and perimeter security challenges during confinement.
• Examine continuity of operations while personnel remain restricted inside the facility.
• Identify decision points for transition from shelter-in-place to evacuation or recovery.

Typical Participants

• Executive leadership
• Operations management
• Facilities or branch leadership
• Security or safety personnel
• Human resources
• Communications or public affairs staff
• Business continuity or crisis management team members

Exercise Format

Conduct-It-Yourself Tabletop Exercises are structured, discussion-based simulations designed to help organizations test their response to disruptive events without the time and cost of a fully facilitated exercise. Participants are placed in the middle of a realistic scenario as it unfolds and must work through decisions, priorities, and consequences as a leadership team.

Each downloadable exercise package includes everything needed to conduct the session internally, including facilitator instructions, exercise overview materials, participant forms, a detailed scenario script, and a ready-to-run PowerPoint presentation that guides the scenario and discussion. The materials are designed so organizations can conduct the exercise as delivered or customize the storyline and supporting materials to reflect their own facilities, operations, and testing objectives.

Most exercises are designed to be conducted in approximately 2 to 4 hours. A typical agenda includes an exercise overview and scenario briefing, the facilitated disaster simulation discussion, group review and preparation for debriefing, and a structured post-exercise discussion to capture lessons learned and improvement opportunities.

Exercise Focus

• Emergency Response
• Shelter-in-Place
• Evacuation
• Continuity of Operations

Related Tabletop Exercise Scenarios

Organizations exploring this scenario may also find these exercises useful:

• Fraud & Sabotage Tabletop Exercise for Banks
• Cyber Crime Tabletop Exercise for Banks
• Pandemic Tabletop Exercise for Banks
• Gas Main Explosion Tabletop Exercise for Banks
• Tornado Tabletop Exercise for Banks
• Earthquake Tabletop Exercise for Banks
• Train Wreck Tabletop Exercise for Banks

Purchase & Download

This exercise is delivered as a downloadable package that includes facilitator instructions, scenario materials, and structured discussion prompts to guide the exercise.