In case of any kind of emergency, crisis is a scenario when unexpected incidents occur and may impact on human life or organization’s business operations either adversely or positively. It can be described as an event that has a major disruptive outcome. As soon as we learn about the occurrence of such a disaster, it is a great responsibility for us to take proper precautionary measures (prevention, preparing, and provision). For instance if you have faced any sort of incident in your office premises and then you know that you need to maintain social distancing while working from home, then make sure there are few areas where the person can go to wash hands and to use toilet facilities.
In this post, you’ll learn how to be prepared to face this situation and what’s the right way to go through it. In addition, you will learn why going through this experience can be beneficial in the end.
Crisis Management plans Several Stages
Crisis management plans include several stages like the preforming stage, preparation stage, and response stage, controlling the situation stage, avoiding panic, organizing activities and implementing the plan. We can further divide this plan into different phases according to its nature.
A. Preforming Stage
The preforming stage includes preparation, evaluation of the event risk factor, analysis to check the extent of the event risk, and implementation of contingency plan. Planning is required since we must understand the potential event risks in our location and how it will affect people in our workplace. To manage the preforming stage effectively, you may have different options like using one computer program with Microsoft Office package or Google Suite plus or using web development tools like HTML5, JAVASCRIPT etc or you can even get some training so it takes time but these packages provide better results.
B. Preparation
Once you plan the preforming stage, now comes the next stage which is preparation. There are many ways to prepare for the possible events, which come in our way. One of the most important things we may do preforming stage is to have an adequate supply of hand sanitizers and other disinfectants which will reduce the spread of germs and viruses. We also need to minimize the chances of getting Covid-19 by minimizing the movement in and out of our organization.
C. Planning your team members
You need to plan the team members who will assist in preventing the disaster. So plan their roles, qualifications and set the tasks to ensure their presence. Ensure that they complete their work and leave after completing the assigned task.
Preparation is another important aspect involved in this stage (preparedness) we can also plan for the following emergencies:
- Fire Safety Preparedness – What we may need, supplies, items and equipment for fire extinguisher so they can have more options to keep themselves safe from the fire
- Security Threat/Security Incident – How best we can protect ourselves like taking security threats. If fire break the doors and windows of the building, then we should try to stop fire in advance so that we can save people’s lives.
- Other Hazardous Conditions – During the evacuation, we need to arrange for all the workers and other persons who will have contact with fire and people who will be affected by the smoke.
- Disaster Risk Reduction Preparations – These are the steps required for the emergency preparedness and response, disaster risk reduction includes steps about emergency planning, emergency response and evacuation and rescue and rescue operations. Steps must also be taken for providing effective support for survivors and relief workers
- Business continuity and availability planning – A BCP covers risks including cyber attacks, pandemics, natural disasters and human error. However, it’s important to have in-depth coverage for each type of risk that your company faces.
- Emergency Power & Utility backup plan – Onsite backup power provides a reliable and cost-effective way to mitigate the risk of economic loss and societal hardship from power outages. Additionally, onsite backup power can be used as a redundant source for critical data in case of network outage.
- Disaster Risk Mitigation and Resilience Plan – mitigating event risk is an essential part of the planning process to ensure you’re ready to respond quickly when those unplanned moments do inevitably happen and are not caught off guard with limited resources at your disposal
D. Implementation Stage
The last part of planning is the implementation stage and it contains many elements which are required to execute the entire plan properly. Most importantly, it includes ensuring proper coordination between your stakeholders. They must be kept informed on any developments about the incident. Their efforts are necessary to mitigate any potential effects that the incident may bring. Moreover, they help in identifying what is needed and what cannot be done, as the companies do not easily provide them. Coordination in this stage is very crucial and therefore, it is important to create a good working rapport with them. With their help, you may have a look for alternative solutions and make sure that nothing is compromised.
A communications plan will help you define the key messages and objectives that you want to achieve with your audience. The more specific your plan is, the better able you’ll be to reach your target audience. For example, you could have a detailed plan for each type of crisis or you could have a more generalized one with clear action points. The next thing to determine is how you should communicate with all your stakeholders in order to reach your company’s goal, needless to say, quick, clear and frequent communication will be appreciated at a time of crisis. It’s important to stay calm when speaking with your loved ones during a time of crisis. It will also protect your organization’s reputation on how well you manage the safety of your attendees. This means that the insurance you need to buy can be much cheaper and more affordable.
Also, be proactive and start making a list of potential crises around your events now – whether that be a terror attack, a power outage or a fire. Do not wait until it’s too late to make your event disaster plan. Lastly, train your team members through life-like simulations of all the different crisis scenarios outlined in your plan. This will help you to find any weaknesses in your plan and train them to be prepared for any scenario.
Key Takeaways
Incidents like terror attacks are now a constant threat to society. This means that people are living in fear, on high alert and watching their backs constantly. Now, more than ever before, security is at an all-time high in regards to events – especially those running events in high-target city destinations. Knowing how to handle an event in times of crisis has never been more relevant. However, this situation can be very different when you are put in charge.
As an event planner, you may already have your own organization’s crisis management policies that you need to follow. The policies will help you decide what to do in different situations, and provide guidance on how to respond. The hotels and conference facilities you use will also have their own security and safety procedures that you need to carefully keep in mind. These are for your protection as well as for theirs. What about how you communicate with people at your event at the time of a crisis? Knowing who you should talk to, as well as how and when you do that communication can mean the difference between failure or success. This can be frustrating if you have to deal with difficult people or someone who just won’t take your call.
Let us know what you think about this list. We’d love to hear your views on this list. What other considerations should we include? Chat with us.