Some companies fail to deal effectively with a crisis, such as a terror attack, kidnapping or natural disaster, because of “confusing leadership arrangements”.
Travel buyers were told that the keys to crisis management were leadership and communication, during a session held by medical assistance specialist CEGA and security firm Solace Global at the Business Travel Show.
John Birch, senior crisis management consultant for Solace Global, said: “There is an expectation that employers will do everything they can to keep people safe and if they cannot keep people safe, then they should react in times of crisis.
“Having strong leadership and effective communication are the keys to protecting your organisation and your staff in a crisis.
“Are your leaders prepared to deal with a crisis: who are your decision makers in a crisis? Is it clear who’s in charge and able to make critical decisions?
“The bottom line is: it’s still your company and the decisions taken during a crisis are yours and you have to take responsibility for them. We can advise and we take responsibility for our advice.
“Some organisations have confusing leadership arrangements with nobody prepared to take the lead.”
CEGA and Solace Global have partnered to create the Intrinsic medical and security platform.
Birch said it was important to have “effective plans in place” which were regularly tested to make sure they were understood by employees.
“You need to exercise that plan and train your people about how it will operate in a crisis,” he added. “You cannot cross your fingers and hope it doesn’t happen to you. You need to plan and prepare.”
Martin Veale, head of risk operations for Solace Global, added: “What we aim to do is to prepare people – if you can avoid a crisis, it’s much better.
“We give them a toolset and keep them aware, so hopefully they can avoid some of those unnecessary incidents, which is much cheaper in the long run. We give people as much of a head start as possible.”