Protecting Your Attendees

When you’re dealing with a meeting, you’re also dealing with travel risk management, said Bruce McIndoe, president, iJET Intelligent Risk Systems. Planners need to identify and disclose the risks of the venue and the meeting as well as have a crisis management plan in place.

In looking at a venue, especially overseas, it’s important to think about fire and life safety, ambulance service availability and medical facilities, he said.

Also consider if there are health, safety, infrastructure or political concerns and monitor any potential situations, he advised.

See the Site in Action

Watch another group during your site inspection.  “Notice when lunch ends and 6,000 people come out. Do they funnel through a choke point into exhibit area? If someone trips, the 4,900 people behind them don’t know that, and the momentum becomes a force and a person gets trampled. This is where people can get hurt.”

Walk around the venue and ask yourself what are all the bad things that could happen, he advised. He cited the example of a lawn party with three marble steps with no barrier or control. “In one evening, there were three serious injuries.”  

Consider the Unique Needs of Your Meeting

Many conferences require protective services, such as guards and access control, but protecting proprietary information can also be an issue.

“For example, if you’re talking about a new product which is a competitive advantage, that’s an intellectual property and trade secret that you don’t want a competitor to come and hear about…and having a more private physically controlled venue can be key,” he said.

Examine the Program

Take time to think about what people will be doing. Will they be participating in activities like a wave pool with surfboards or other potentially risky activities? “That’s an important piece to think about,” said McIndoe.

It’s important to disclose the risk to all concerned. If someone wants to arrange a mechanical bull for the sales team, you’ll want to have people sign waivers acknowledging the risk of injury, he advised.

Whenever possible, mitigate against the risk, he said. “For example, a smart person might say that a mechanical bull might be a problem, and suggest an alternative such as bringing in professionals who will demonstrate, and not having your people do it.”

Plan for Emergencies

No amount of planning can eliminate the possibility of a disaster such as an earthquake or other crisis. That’s why it’s important to have an emergency management plan in place. That means having a list of proper authorities, medical services and other emergency responders at your fingertips, knowing how to get on a public address system, and having procedures in place for responding to incidents, evacuations and other crises that may occur during your event, he continued.

Key employees need to have that information and be trained specifically for the risks at the meeting. “Tell them what they need to do for crowd control….and not just to wear a special tee shirt,”  McIndoe said.