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Back to Facility Manager
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By Meredith Craig Whether it is a case of the band being ready to go on right as the lights go out or a phone call from someone claiming to have placed a bomb in the facility, facility managers must always be prepared to respond to a wide range of crisis situations. With awareness of these ever-present dangers, and the memory of 9/11, most facilities have some form of crisis management plan in place which identifies who would do what in the event of a crisis in or around the facility. The key to a successful crisis response often is found in the communication which takes place during and after the crisis. This communication can make a big difference and the final result can be a more marketable facility. A few months ago, a survey was conducted of IAAM members to assess how those who are responsible for managing crisis in facilities utilize crisis plans and responses. The responses from 150 members yielded interesting results. Respondents overwhelmingly noted that the radio was the preferred means of communicating during a crisis. The majority of those who responded to the survey indicated that they preferred using the radio to contact the person who is in charge of activating the crisis response plan, to actually activate the plan, and to contact the other building personnel who would have to perform specific tasks during the crisis. Use of radios to communicate during a crisis has the advantages of being able to communicate in a large building, being able to communicate quickly and finally keeping those essential individuals abreast of the developments with the situation simultaneously, to name a few. While the radio was the overwhelming choice for communicating during a crisis, there were some differences in the next preferred options. Public address systems and verbal communication ranked closely as the second and third most likely choice for channel of communication while the phone followed behind in preference. However, the phone was the second choice specifically for contacting building personnel during a crisis. Communication after the crisis can be just as important as during a crisis. Crisis managers can have a difficult task as the message may need to vary depending on the audience being addressed. The survey asked respondents to identify how they would respond to stakeholders consisting of government agencies, the community, employees, patrons of the facility, and the media. With each of the five stakeholders, respondents indicated that they would first choose to confront the person/group who is releasing information about the facility and the crisis. An effective crisis response necessitates that the facility be represented by one unified and consistent message and voice. Therefore, it would be critical to approach an employee or affiliate of the facility who might be speaking to the press or public in general about the crisis. For stakeholders consisting of the community, employees, and patrons, the second most preferred communication strategy would be to use the power of the organization to persuade the person to stop revealing information about the crisis situation. However, in cases where the crisis manager is addressing the government stakeholder, for example, the facility is city or university owned, the manager would prefer to draw attention to other possible areas of responsibility for the crisis (other than the facility) and remind them of the positive aspects of the facility. For example, if a political convention was being held in a facility and it was sabotaged by political opponents, the crisis manager might explain to the city that the fault lies with the group that committed the sabotage and not solely with the lack of security provided by the facility. The manager would then explain that many other conventions had been held in the arena without incident and many more in the future will be held without incident as well. Drawing attention to the positive aspects of the facility is also the second preferred communication strategy for crisis managers when addressing the media. A common third or fourth strategy when communicating with the various stakeholders is to let them know of the actions being taken to prevent the crisis from happening again. For example, in the case of the political convention, the crisis manager could explain how additional security personnel would be used in the future, or how people would be more closely examined when entering the facility. The use of praise is the final communication strategy identified by some crisis managers. At times, crisis managers suggest it would be appropriate to praise employees for their work during a crisis or to praise the patrons for their patience and understanding during or after a crisis. Probably at no other time in our history has the need for careful crisis planning been needed in our nation’s facilities. With proper planning, practice, and prepared communication strategies, facility managers and others can greatly limit the harms and frustration that can result from a facility crisis. The effective handling of a crisis can produce many positive results for the facility and this in turn can make a facility more marketable. Those positive results start with effective communication. Meredith Craig is the event coordinator at the United Spirit Arena and Jones SBC Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. She may be contatced at meredith.e.craig@ttu.edu. |
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©
2002-2005
International Association of Assembly Managers |
