Risk Management and Today s Event Professional

Transcription

1 Risk Management and Today s Event Professional Are you prepared if disaster strikes? Four top event management professionals share their risk management insights. By Kelly Rehan, ISES Headquarters As an event management professional, your goal is to produce a flawlessly executed event. You build budgets, coordinate with caterers, photographers, A/V and décor professionals and florists, and make it all look like magic. If a performer is late, you have a plan. If vegetarian guests are served steak, you have a plan. But what if a true disaster, where attendees lives are at risk, occurs at your event do you have a plan? All over the world, tragic occurrences at events are becoming more common. Event management professionals cannot control whether these events occur, but they can put a plan in place to help them respond appropriately and potentially save lives. How are the industry s top performers approaching the topic of risk management? The International Special Events Society (ISES) asked four of its members from all over the world to discuss their experiences with risk management plans: Jane Hague, Head of Corporate Account Development at ExCeL London, London, UK Romaine Pereira, Managing Director at International Corporate Events, Sydney, Australia Heather Henderson Thomas, CSEP: Manager, Global Ops & Event Experience, Cisco Live, San Jose, Calif. Sally Webb, CSEP: Chief Executive Officer of The Special Event Company, Durham, N.C.

2 ISES: Are your clients asking you for more detailed risk management plans as a result of tragic world events that have occurred over the past few years? Sally Webb (SW): Sadly not. We almost always initiate the risk discussion relating to risk outside of standard procurement questions relating to insurance coverage. Jane Hague (JH): No, they don t prompt this topic. We do, however, discuss when an incident has recently taken place. Romaine Pereira (RP): I have not seen any quantitative variation to what we consider the norm due to and after the tragic world events over the past few years. Naturally in the short term, clients show immediate hesitation in hosting an event in countries/locations where these types of events have occurred. But to the question of requirement for detailed risk management plans, I believe that it is our responsibility as event professionals to keep our knowledge base and our own risk management, OHS and insurance compliances and policies updated. Based on the diversity of the event, the application of risk management is conducted with/through our internally checklist(s) or for more intricate events (e.g., exhibitions or outdoor events), we utilize the services of an external risk management professional to create the required documentation or manual with our assistance. ISES: Do you provide risk management information to your vendors in the pre-event planning process? JH: We provide a weekly (or daily, if required) Security Intelligence report from two external agencies. If anything is of concern to us or linked to an event, we liaise with the Police Events Liaison Officers seeking further intelligence, complete a venue security risk assessment and bring it to the organiser s attention. Our findings are explained, we inform of the additional measures we re putting in place and agree to their measures. For example, after the recent incident in Boston and the synergies with our marathon event, we didn t have enough intelligence behind the bombings, so we risk assessed and raised our venue security threat level to high. Both the venue and the marathon organiser increased the security presence. HH: Absolutely! All my suppliers are included in the distribution of the ABC Guide and expected to be well versed in its contents. We expect each and every staff member (internal and supplier partner) to be able to take care of attendee questions and act responsibly in emergency situations. SW: Yes. We ask for risk assessments from our vendors, and we incorporate the information into our overall risk assessment document prepared for our internal team and for the client. RP: Yes. As part of our initial pre-event planning with vendors and/or suppliers, we ensure that all parties are fully compliant with our policies and processes. We believe that sharing each other s information has an educational value to all parties.

3 ISES: When obtaining event insurance, have you noticed that the requirements and submissions changed? SW: Yes. The insurer now wants far more information on the event and scenarios of where the risk areas lie. Event cancellation insurance now has more limitations and exclusions for terrorism and force majeure than a decade ago, although this has increased steadily since 9/11 and not increased dramatically with recent events. RP: Yes. Event insurance renewals and applications have become more stringent, there is no one-sizefits all package. Costs have increased significantly, and liability coverage requires a great deal more information than we have seen in the past. ISES: Are you seeing reluctance on behalf of your clients to assume risk? Are they risk averse? Are they opting for tried-and-true over something that s cutting edge simply because of risk? (Note: Risk refers to exposure to liability, not monetary risk.) HH: No. As a company we, of course, want to adhere to appropriate levels of risk management to protect everyone s safety. But we also want them to enjoy the program. The best-laid plans can go awry for a multitude of factors beyond a tragic occurrence. It s best to think through scenarios, be prepared with appropriate plans and not need to act on any crises response efforts than to be caught without. RP: Based on the event type and diversity, as event professionals, we evaluate the associated risk factors, the liability and how best is should be administered and managed. We also clearly define the financial investment and who is responsible. This process applies to every event we manage. Clients are more often unaware of all of the risk factors that can be associated with their event, but when educated on the requirements and provisions, they are risk averse. Clients are more than happy to accept cuttingedge ideas as long as the risk and management are carefully considered and implemented. SW: No, we have not seen reluctance because we share process documents with our clients and discuss risk in detail during the planning stages of an event. Our clients are comfortable that we are risk aware, and being proactive in the assessments gives our clients confidence that we are taking every step to assess and minimize risk. JH: We aren t aware of any concerns regarding liabilities. It s only a topic for discussion when there s a current incident.

4 ISES: What kinds of topic areas are you now including in your risk management plans? Are these areas a result of terrorism and biohazards? RP: If the event venue is an indoor space, we now discuss the following key points with the venue management and apply this information to our working documentation and communicate it with all suppliers: Onsite security (how best it will apply during our event) Emergency evacuation plans (what is in place and what extras need to be implemented?) Onsite medical facilities (how accessible?) Secure areas for any hazardous material (what is in place?) JH: Our Risk Register includes force majeure/terrorism, this is catagorised as a major risk, but we have no intelligence to believe the venue is in threat. SW: We do not plan in any greater depth for terrorism and biohazards than we have in the past as they have always been a part of the risk discussion. Major areas covered in our discussions include: terrorism, force majeure, adverse weather, travel delays, non-appearance of headliners and speakers, ground transportation, production hazards, attendee risk, language barriers, health and safety regulations, contractual compliance, EMS accessibility, evacuation plans, hotel attrition, and financial risk. ISES: Are you working with clients or vendors who are educated on all areas of exposure? Would you not work with a client or vendor specifically because they did not ask you about risks and exposure? SW: We have educated our clients to assess risk on all of the programs they produce not just those outsourced to The Special Event Company but also to use our templates and methodology for their internal meetings and events. As we are the experts in our field, and they hire us for that very reason, we feel that the onus and responsibility lies with us to highlight areas of risk to our clients, not viseversa. JH: We work with all clients with varying knowledge of this type of exposure. The less knowledge our client has, the more we would want to assist and advise. RP: As event professionals, we have to be educated and up-to-date on the risks and processes of effective management. Clients are not always aware of the associated risks, so it is our responsibility to create awareness, educate and communicate these risks to them. We have long-standing associations with our vendors and only work with vendors who demonstrate full knowledge on all areas of risk and exposure.

5 ISES: What advice would you give to event professionals regarding risk management? RP: These are some questions that should be carefully considered prior to proceeding with planning your event: Who is responsible? (stakeholder/event professional/venue/supplier or vendor?) What are the main risks associated with the event? (identify, analyze, evaluate) Who are the audience, demographic and numbers? Where is the suggested location for the event? (indoors, outdoors, private or public space) What impact will the event have to the local community? When is the event held? (schedule and times) What permits, applications, approvals from regulatory authorities are required? o Who is responsible to acquire such applications and approvals? o Is there sufficient lead-time to prepare such applications? What type of hire and infrastructure is required? o Are your suppliers and/or vendors fully aware of risk management and compliances specific to the venue? o Have they worked in this venue previously? What structure and communication plan should you have in place at/during your event? What insurance coverage would be necessary? Who will develop an event emergency plan for your event? o Can it be developed and implemented internally? o Do you need to acquire professional external expertise? HHT: Engage professionals to help develop your plans. Work with your local city and venue representatives to ensure all parties are bought in to the plan, understand the communications chain and the response requirements and, ultimately, review the plan regularly to ensure all items are relevant to your specific event. JH: We advise to keep abreast of all current world-wide terrorist activities as we do (received in reports) and liaising directly with the UK Police. Assess the risk to their business and put appropriate measures in place. Share all information between the venue and the organiser alike, work together as a team to ensure a robust and consistent plan is in place. SW: Develop your own methodology for producing a risk assessment document and implement this as part of your overall planning procedures. This document needs to be far more extensive than a SWOT analysis. It is also prudent to share your risk assessment template and examples of completed risk assessment documents with your insurance company. They will look very favorably on you as a customer when they see that you are proactive in minimizing risk in your events. In the event of a law suit arising, it puts you and your company in a good position having documentation that demonstrates that you actively assess risk and take every step to minimize negative occurrences and accidents during

6 your programs. Protecting the safety of your attendees must be paramount in any risk planning and take precedence over all other areas of risk. Event Site Planning Checklist Specific to Risk Management Given the diverse nature and types of events, Romaine Pereira provided a checklist below that provides crucial elements event management professionals should consider. Entrances and exits number, location and signage Fencing/barriers, including those around site perimeter Emergency evacuations exit routes and evacuation area/zones Emergency vehicular access/parking/entry and exit routes Disability entry/exit routes within the event site, including signage Main power, water, gas control overhead power, trip hazard managed with signage and barriers First aid facilities accessibility Tenting, marquees, seating or other temporary structures are managed with all legal certification acquired, sighted and approved. Indoor/outdoor public address system Fire extinguishers and other fire-fighting equipment/marshals Secure area for hazardous and dangerous goods/substances Security area of high visibility, communications plan