mastertheevent.com

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Conferences
  • Events
  • Parties
  • Promotions
  • Resources
    • Event Planning Checklist
    • Event Planning Emergency Toolkit
    • Wedding Day Emergency Toolkit
    • Party Checklist
    • Drink Calculator
    • Room Capacity Calculator
    • Venue & Vendor Directory
    • Podcast
    • Write for us!

3 Crisis Management Tips for a Meeting Planner

September 17, 2014 By Andrew Maxwell 1 Comment

Share on Facebook Share
Share on Twitter Tweet
Share on Google Plus Share
Share on Pinterest Share
Share on Linkedin Share
Share on Stumbleupon Share
Send email Mail
a broken chain-link referencing crisis management tips for a meeting planner

photo by cyberalert.com

Oh yes, crisis management. For a meeting planner it’s become part of the job. Or has it? Many planners think that by covering disasters on an insurance disclaimer they’ve covered crisis management. While that may be true from a financial aspect, many would fail big time if an actual crisis occurred during their business meeting.

My, and my company’s, crisis management experience was put to the test on 9/11. We were operating a business meeting that was just getting underway when those horrible events occurred. However thanks to a very experienced operations manager, and a preplanned crisis management strategy, we were able to get over 300 delegates back to Chicago (from Toronto) while no airlines were operating. No small feat, might I add.

It paid to have a crisis management strategy in place.

Developing a crisis management strategy during an emergency can be, pardon the pun here, a disaster. The best planner in the world will tell you that it’s always best to plan for the worst and then hope it never occurs.

3 Tips for a Meeting Planner on Handling a Crisis during an Event

the word plan spelled with remnants of a destroyed house referencing a meeting planner needs a contingency plan

photo by 36readyblog.com

Have a crisis team. That doesn’t mean just have your event coordinator call 911 if there’s an emergency. Rather it means that real people are assigned real tasks. And make sure that their task are reviewed in any and all pre-con meetings. You need to assign; someone that will communicate and update your delegates, an individual to communicate with local emergency tasks forces, a backup plan that covers all of the what-ifs (i.e. delegate deaths, transportation issues, accommodation issues, food and beverage, overall delegate safety). Schedule meeting times at regular intervals so that each person can review their responsibilities where decisions can be made as a result. Remember you will be operating in a very fluid situation. Your team must be able to react accordingly.

Local suppliers. It’s imperative that a meeting planner receives supplier contingency plans. Now I don’t mean what to do if the food is cold or if there is none of your favorite scotch available. A planner will require their local suppliers to provide scenarios for any situations that would interrupt, or jeopardize safety of, the event itself. That’s why important that local suppliers are part of a pre-con meeting (in addition to the regular contribution that these suppliers will make to the overall meeting).

Communication. This is where social media can be helpful. However, in order for communication to be effective during a crisis, it’s important that relevant information is collected ahead of time. Starting with the meeting’s delegates: collect all of their contact information, including next of kin. Have someone on your crisis team establish, and communicate, social media accounts that will be utilized during the meeting. There needs to be regular communication with delegates during a crisis. Even if you do not have important updates to report, regular communication will assure your delegates that you are on top of the situation. It’s also crucial to have alternative meeting points, should the hotel or event venue be part of the crisis. The last thing you want is for your delegates to be scattered around an unfamiliar city with no way of meeting up communicated.

Additional crisis management resources:

  • US Department of State, crisis management services

  • Public Safety Canada, emergency management

  • EU, crisis response information

  • Australian Government, crisis information

Since 9/11, crisis management has become part of a meeting planner’s job. Organization and communication are crucial components to crisis management. Like the meeting itself, the planning for a crisis needs to occur before the event.

 

Share on Facebook Share
Share on Twitter Tweet
Share on Google Plus Share
Share on Pinterest Share
Share on Linkedin Share
Share on Stumbleupon Share
Send email Mail

Related posts:

  1. What Event Planning Supplies Do You Need for Your Conference
  2. Information on How to Become an Event Planner
  3. Interview with Dave Ferguson, from Perfect Event Proposals
  4. When to Schedule Events

Filed Under: Planning A Conference, Planning An Event, Tools & Resources Tagged With: business meeting, crisis management, event coordinator, event planning tips, eventprofs, meeting planner, meeting planners, meeting planning, meetingprofs, meetings

About Andrew Maxwell

Andrew is an entrepreneur who focuses on customer service and is respected for his attention to detail. His hospitality career began in hotels, working his way through various food and beverage positions. From there he excelled in hotel operations, holding several managerial positions including Senior Operations Manager with Canada's largest hotel.

Andrew's financial acumen and his ability to develop and enhance his companies business strategies helped propel his full service destination management company (DMC) into one of the largest databases of online resources for the meetings and events industry in North America.

He has a well established online presence. By networking on the top social media platforms Andrew has developed a large, organic, following.

Trackbacks

  1. 3 Crisis Management Tips for a Meeting Planner ... says:
    September 17, 2014 at 9:02 am

    […] Crisis management has become part of a meeting planner's job. Like the meeting itself, the planning for a crisis needs to occur before the event.  […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Directory

Find Event Services in Your Area

Category
Location

RESOURCES

Plan The Perfect Event

Loading

Recent Comments

  • Joy Butler on Why you Need to Spend More Time when Hiring Event Staff
  • Dr. Ronald G. Shapiro on Prepare for Your Awesome & Adventuresome Friend’s Birthday
  • Andy on Prepare for Your Awesome & Adventuresome Friend’s Birthday

Copyright © 2021 MasterTheEvent.com

About Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Media Kit | Site Map | Contact Us
X
Share this
Subject:
Message:
This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more.