Is it revolutionary, evolutionary, or just plain groundbreaking? Yes. We also know incident management is a discipline – a refining one. One that’s helping event managers take control of their chaos.
Incident management might be the result of subtle changes over time (evolution); changes which introduced a need to control all the chaos. Or it could’ve been a catastrophic event – the wildfires of ’70 in Southern California – that led to the creation of this methodology. (Incident Management Systems were ultimately developed from the evolving needs of incident management – so our money’s on this one.)
However incident management came to be so prevalent. We can assure you it’s not going anywhere. It helps you save lives and money.
Of course we’re not FEMA or on a calendar with firefighters exposing our tanned muscles – but we know a few things about incident management.
And since we’re so familiar with venues and events, let’s stick to the good stuff (not muscles, events people… let’s focus.) Incident management is making waves in the event management industry. It’s upward trending in importance. Managers see incident management as a fundamental tool of their trade.
We don’t want you to miss the boat. So jump on the bandwagon and let’s see the truth about incident management and how it controls your chaos.
Incidents Show the Truth About Your Operation’s Effectiveness
“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” - Buddha
We’re not saying it’s the same as attaining enlightenment at the Mahabodhi Temple, but it’s still pretty handy.
Let’s consider the foundation of incident management – incidents. It makes sense.
We’d agree the definition of incident is “an event or occurrence.” Well, we’d have to agree because frankly that’s what the Dictionary says. (The Dictionary is always right.)
OK. With that said, it’s apparent incidents are always occurring. Hence, the frequency, location, and impact of incidents will gauge how well you (yes, you personally) have a handle on what’s occurring at your venue and events.
The need to understand incidents will never go away. See the importance?
We’re confident you get it. Moving on.
We’re advocates of incident management for a number of reasons.
Most importantly, it gives event managers a PEACE OF MIND. But where does it start? What does incident management do to afford you and your team ‘peace of mind?’
We figured it out.
Incident Management Gives You Awareness (Not Quite Like Buddha, But Close)
Your venues and events need incident management. Incidents are always happening. Bluntly, your job depends on you (and your staff) being aware of them – ALL of them. (Aha moment or what?)
Whether it’s fights, medical or maintenance issues, guest complaints, or the usual nonsense – knowing and communicating this info with staff gives you an advantage. (A tactical SEAL Team Six type of advantage.) What’s the advantage? It’s simple: you know what’s going on. Period.
Think about it. During your events so many factors are present. Sometimes too many things [incidents] are happening in the moment. If you’re using incident management – your back’s being scratched. Get it? (We’d scratch your back, but doubt you’d want to scratch ours.)
With that said, the first step in initiating your incident management awesomeness is identifying (being aware of) incidents taking place at your venue and events.
Start with being a remarkable leader. Practice how to identify and prepare for incidents with your team [incident management or response team]. Practice, and practice some more. Repetition and preparation pay off. Check out our blog on investing in role-playing here and see how it leads to safer events.
Buddha also said, “The mind is everything. What you think you become.” Role-play with your team and become an effective incident management team. Be ready and aware of incidents before and as they occur. Applying the 10 benefits of role-playing with incident management will certainly lead to safer events.
Documenting Is the Fundamental Path to Correction & Prevention
Documenting is the fundamental path to correction and prevention. And if Yoda was an event manager we think he’d explain it this way.
You and your team are aware of the road ahead. All possible snags are known. You’d say you’re pretty aware. (Insert Om [Aum] Mantra here.)
OK. Now what?
You’d like to be able to correct the incidents which already occurred. You’d also like to prevent them from happening again, right? (Yes, another rhetorical question.)
In order to do that, two things need to happen. Before you can get a handle on how to enhance your operation, you need to track everything.
You know about it, so be about it. Document it. Then you’ll own it. That way, you can analyze (next up) your incidents (as an effective ‘incident manager’).
Documenting your incidents gives you a historical record of everything that’s occurred, at your venue or during your events. Better yet, putting documentation protects you from the nasty nine letter word which makes us ALL shudder – liability.
And then you can take all the insight you’ve learned from tracking incidents, to measure it, analyze it, USE IT, and lower your blood pressure. (By no means are we medical doctors. But we suspect documentation helps.)
Analytics: Command and Conquer Using Canny Incident Management
Whether you implement an incident management solution or use an incident management process – you may have developed – to run the show. Let it be known. The only way to make your events legendary is by solving your biggest problems thru analytics.
Why Analytics? It’s a no-brainer. Analytics gives you the keys to the kingdom. (We’ve talked about this before right here.) Looking at your operational ‘mishaps’ amongst spreadsheets, graphs, charts, and pizza pies (not quite lunchtime, but we’re always thinking about food) lets you know your drawbacks.
Equally, it shows you what you’re doing right. That’s a good thing! Hey, you may even have a trick (or two) to share with us and your colleagues.
But don’t forget friends…if you don’t know it, you can’t manage it. So you have to document it first.
Use analytics to help you:
- Respond to more incidents in a little less time. We want to help you be securely and gainfully employed for a long, long time!
- Understand where your resources are being under- or over- utilized. Resource allocation is the key to efficiently executing your incident management processes.
- Know where reoccurring incidents exist in specific areas so you can send staff to mitigate effectively.
- Handle guest requests and complaints a few minutes sooner – that’s effort that gets noticed.
Manage your analytics to better manage incidents. Incident management doesn’t stop there. Measure your stats again and again for every event, all the time.
What We’ve Got Here is Failure to Communicate
We’re not suggesting we have the acting skills or talent to remake Cool Hand Luke. But we DO know the importance of communication.
Be our guest. Continue spending large sums of money on radios. However, we don’t recommend it. With events and festivals already starting up – it’s going to be a loud one! And if you can’t hear what’s going down through the screaming and beat drops, you could be missing out (not in a good way).
Arm your front-line staff with mobile apps to easily and effectively report incidents. This is the serious enhancement needed to incident management all together.
Equally, this will let you give your team real-time info on new trends you’re finding from your ANALYTICS…as it’s happening. (You’re handling incidents LIVE.) This is profound. (Whew, feeling a little light-headed from the profoundness.)
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” - Buddha
See how this all comes together? It’s like event management enlightenment.
Create an easy-to-learn set of communication procedures that include mobile apps, automatic alerts and notifications. And bonus, you’ll have created a painless and manageable way to train staff too. Then, you can automate information to empower your staff and watch communication among team members excel.
Smarter communication is ultimately the glue that gives your incident management initiatives the power to persevere in the face of smarter criminals and ever-changing technology needs. (That’s why we saved it for last.)
Implement incident management processes so you can identify, analyze, and correct what’s already happening to prevent it from happening again.
Give your team control.
Give yourself peace of mind.
Help Yoda believe.
Click here to see how we’ve developed an Incident Management System to help you control your chaos and create order for your venue and events.
