Introduction
Although we WOULD say this, engaging an event safety partner significantly contribute to ensuring the success and safety of your event.
However, to truly maximise their expertise, you need to understand how to work with them effectively. Some clients believe by simply involving event safety specialists they are afforded a magic comfort blanket. The belief can be that, should something bad happen, ‘it’s on the safety people’.
Frankly, that’s the worst way of viewing your safety people.
They are (we are) your partners.
Engage us. Trust us. Let us in and let us do our work.
Above all, if you let partners like us do our work, the way we do it, then we are a valuable asset. Not engaging us or not engaging WITH us properly, does you and your attendees a disservice.
In my experience there’s a little less of this attitude going around these days, which is good for us all. I think innovations like our process and how our full-time Digital Operations team contributes to what we do help. In fact, that is the case for us, at least.
Still. There’s work to do.
Here’s a guide on how to get the most out of your event safety consultants including simple steps you can follow in relation to each suggestion.
1. Define Your Needs Clearly
Conduct a Preliminary Risk Assessment
Before hiring an event safety company with which to work, first conduct an initial assessment of your event’s safety needs. Start by identifying potential risks, desired outcomes, and specific areas where you require expert guidance.
Yes. You’re likely not a safety professional, but you and your team DO know your event best. So, think about your potential risks. Additionally, consider things that may have happened previously. What worries you? What do you think might go wrong?
Indeed, doing this work internally ahead of sitting down with your event safety partner is a good idea.
Steps to Follow
- List Potential Risks: First, identify specific safety concerns related to your event/event type, venue, expected attendance, etc.
- Determine Goals: Next, define what you aim to achieve with the consultant’s help (e.g., risk mitigation, compliance, emergency planning, stakeholder relationship development, issue resolution).
- Scope of Work: Finally, draft a clear scope of work outlining the tasks and responsibilities you expect your event safety partner to handle.
Certainly, getting off on the right foot is important.
After all, each party needs to understand what’s expected. This helps to save issues down the line.
2. Choose the Right Partner
Research and Vetting
Not all event safety consultants or companies are created equal. For this reason, we always say that ‘we don’t suit every client and every client doesn’t suit us’.
For example, when we partner with a new client, it has to feel right. We have to believe we can offer real value to them and their event. In turn, they should believe we are the right ones for them too. Therefore, it needs to work for both parties.
Notably, we’ve worked with clients like Dublin Pride for 10 years, Dublin Zoo for 8 years, and MDLBEAST for almost 4 years already.
Thus, we want to be the right fit for our clients, that way our relationships are long-term. Ultimately, everybody wins when it works that way.
Ensure you select a partner whose expertise and experience aligns with your event’s specific requirements and challenges. Keep in mind, different providers specialise in different things.
Equally, be sure you think you will enjoy working with them. Undoubtedly, that helps a lot.
Steps to Follow:
- Check Qualifications: First, verify certifications, qualifications, and past experience in similar events.
- Ask for References: Next, request references from previous clients to gauge the potential partner’s performance and reliability. It is a good idea to talk to others in the industry too and not just their clients.
- Interview Multiple Candidates: Finally, conduct interviews to assess their understanding of your needs and their proposed approach.
It’s a big decision, choosing an event safety partner.
Therefore, it’s worth spending the time to make sure you get it right first time.
Do this early, so you can involve your event safety consultants early.
3. Establish Communication Expectations
Regular Meetings and Updates
Effective communication is critical to ensure your event safety partner’s work aligns with your expectations and timelines.
Naturally, these days, meetings don’t need to be in person. Moreover, updates don’t need to be by email. If your company uses Slack, create a new channel and add your event safety partner. Ultimately, make it work whatever way works best for you and your business.
Steps to Follow:
- Set Up Regular Check-ins: First, schedule regular check-ins to discuss progress, address concerns, and make necessary adjustments. Even when there’s nothing specifically to deal with, the regular contact will help develop the relationship.
- Use Collaborative Tools: Next, utilise project management tools for real-time updates and document sharing. We use both Slack and Teamwork, which, along with email, account for our communication channels.
- Appoint a Point of Contact: Finally, designate a primary contact within your team to streamline communication and decision-making. Again, this better allows for the relationship between the two parties to develop to your benefit.
Occasionally, we’ve run into challenges with clients at times precisely due to communication not being what it should be.
Indeed, it can be like a marriage in that it takes work. On both sides. Critically, keep in touch and be clear with one another at all times.
4. Share Event Information
Share Detailed Event Plans
To enable your event safety partner to provide tailored advice, it’s essential to give them access to all relevant information about your event.
But, here’s the trick though – the way we work, we want to know pretty much everything about your event. So, let US decide what’s relevant and not. We can’t input on things if we are not in the loop.
Be open with us. Furthermore, let us engage on your behalf with your other partners and key stakeholders. Basically, we need to know all about your event so we can identify elements that have potential H&S implications.
Steps to Follow:
- Event Layouts and Maps: First, share detailed layouts of the venue, including entrances, exits, and key locations.
- Plans: Next, provide existing plans and procedures for review and enhancement. Include any Post-Event Reports or similar from previous versions of the event.
- Stakeholder Information: Finally, offer contact details and roles of key stakeholders involved in the event. It’s critical we understand who the players are and how they feature. Detail any issues or relevant previous experiences with each of them too.
With information we can be more effective for you and your attendees.
Remember, sharing is caring.
5. Work Together on Risk Assessments
Joint Risk Analysis
Work with your event safety partner to perform comprehensive risk assessments, ensuring all potential hazards are identified and addressed.
Certainly, nobody knows your event as well as you and your team. Therefore, your input will be key in helping your event safety people do their best work for you.
However, on paper, some things can look like bigger risks than they are in reality. Perhaps, you may be too close to some issues, meaning they seem bigger than your event safety partner sees them. Consequently, you and your team will have that real-world knowledge of the event and the risk. It’s important that this knowledge informs the risk assessment.
For example, we worked on an event one time for which we ran various testing elements as part of the planning. During a TTX, we posed a particular scenario, believing we understood how the client’s team would react and deal with it. The client also believed they understood the same. However, their operational teams did something differently. We discussed and examined it, and what they did made sense. It just wasn’t what (1) their Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) stated or (2) what we’d included in the EMP.
Steps to Follow:
- Conduct Site Visits: First, arrange site visits with your partner to assess the venue in person. Multiple sets of eyes familiar with the event and its goals will be beneficial here.
- Engage Stakeholders: Next, include input from other stakeholders, such as venue managers and local authorities, during risk assessments. In particular, involve those who will be involved in delivering on plans informed by the risk assessment.
- Document Findings: Finally, create detailed reports outlining identified risks and recommended mitigation measures.
Remember – it’s YOUR event. Therefore, the likes of us, when we partner with you, are here to enable your vision to come to life. You should be involved in all elements, while also letting your event safety experts do what they do for you.
6. Develop and Test Emergency Plans
Scenario Planning and Drills
Emergency preparedness is crucial. Therefore, collaborate with your event safety partner to develop and test robust emergency response plans.
We discussed the importance of testing our event plans in this blog post.
Remember – you CAN do testing while the event is live. Sometimes, not all events and not all situations lend themselves to this, but many do. For instance, we do it nightly on the Wild Lights events we work on with Dublin Zoo.
Steps to Follow:
- Create Scenarios: First, develop various emergency scenarios (e.g., fire, medical emergency, severe weather) and corresponding response plans. Don’t just test the obvious things that everyone tests. Accordingly, consider your event specifically and test things unique to your event.
- Conduct Drills: Next, organise drills to test the effectiveness of the plans and identify areas for improvement. Develop ‘muscle memory,’ as it were, among your team and those of your partners.
- Review and Revise: Finally, regularly review and update emergency plans based on feedback from drills and any changes in the event setup. Remember, changes beget changes. If you change things in the planning or setup, it may well change how people deal with situations. Therefore, revise as necessary.
A key deliverable for your event safety partner in most instances will likely be emergency plans. Thus, be sure to get the most out of them in this regard. Test these and see how well they work for you and your event.
7. Integrate Safety into the Event and Culture
Training and Awareness
Foster a culture of safety by ensuring all team members and stakeholders are aware of and committed to safety protocols.
Safety should underpin all your planning work for your event. In fact, it’s not its own department or function that does its own thing. Instead, it should be ‘at the table’ from early on, advising other functions at all times.
Providing value throughout the planning process is a big part of what partners like us seek to do.
Steps to Follow:
- Provide Training: First, offer training sessions for staff and volunteers on safety procedures and emergency responses.
- Distribute Safety Information: Next, share safety guidelines and emergency contact information with all attendees.
- Encourage Reporting: Finally, create an open environment where safety concerns can be reported without fear of repercussions.
Awareness is important. Furthermore, people can’t report issues unless they know how to. Thus, we need to make reporting easy for people. Correspondingly, we want the learning from those reports so we can continue to improve things and keep people safer.
8. Review and Learn
Post-Event Analysis
After the event, conduct a thorough evaluation to identify successes and areas for improvement. This can help in setting new goals and priorities with your event safety consultant.
It’s important not to lose out on any learning from events and any testing you do. Indeed, knowledge is only power if it’s utilised effectively.
Steps to Follow:
- Gather Feedback: First, collect feedback from attendees, staff, and stakeholders on the safety measures and how well they worked.
- Review Incidents: Next, analyse any incidents or near-misses to understand what went wrong and how to prevent similar issues in the future.
- Update Procedures: Finally, use the insights gained to refine and enhance safety procedures for future events.
Good event safety partners will want feedback and will be looking to improve. Ultimately, what we do is hard. Therefore, any useful input, feedback, knowledge, or data that can help us do it better is most welcome.
Conclusion
Overall, by following the steps above, I believe you can get the most out of your event safety partner.
While I firmly believe good event safety providers provide superb value, you should be sure to realise that value.
Set yourself, your team and your event up for success by seeking to get the most out of your event safety partner.
Their goal, as yours, should be to run a safe and successful event. Nothing in here should be something a potential event safety partner will take issue with.
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