Are You Doing Enough to Address Risks at Your Events?
Panelists on an event stage.
Recent violent incidents at high-profile public events serve as a reminder that when you host gatherings that feature highly visible or political people or causes, your organization becomes a target in ways you cannot ignore. As someone who has overseen risk and security for major VIP events, I am here to say that while you cannot prevent everything, there are…
5 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO MAKE YOUR EVENTS SAFER AND MORE SECURE
MAKE RISK PREPARATION PART OF YOUR EVENT PLANNING STEPS. Planning events is understandably focused on the speakers, the run-of-show, the food, etc.. All these things matter, but so does risk management and emergency preparedness. Bake these steps into your event planning workflow so it is not overlooked until the last minute.
DESIGNATE LEADERS AND TRAIN TEAMS. Appoint one person on your events team to be in charge of risk planning and risk response during the event. Someone needs to own this responsibility and be authorized to make fast decisions on the ground. And take the time to educate and train your teams on what to look for and what to do in an emergency. Empowering them with knowledge and skills will make a difference when it counts.
INVEST IN SECURITY AND SAFETY RESOURCES. Too often the expense of managing event risk is seen as “overkill” or an unreasonable burden on an already tight budget. So be reasonable: the amount you invest should match the risks you face and should complement what you do not have the skills or training to do in-house. But you don’t want to have to explain *after* something happens why you thought security and safety was not worth paying for.
PRACTICE HOW YOU WILL HANDLE EMERGENCY SITUATIONS. Take the time to role play how you would handle a rapid response to a threat during an event, or an evacuation of a large event venue, before you actually have to do it. The gaps and issues you uncover can be fixed before they will matter for real.
SCAN THE LANDSCAPE FOR EMERGING THREATS. In the days leading up to the event, stay alert to things that could put your event at risk by monitoring the weather, the news, and the social media chatter. Knowing what to prepare for will give you a head start on dealing with it if something happens.
The time you spend BEFORE the event thinking through these issues will leave more time at the event for ensuring your guests have the experience you wanted them to have. And it will empower your staff with the confidence and tools they need to manage whatever comes their way.
