Crisis Management
Below is our breakdown for our crisis management. It breaks down everything we will do if we run into a crisis in the build up to or during the event night.
Crisis Management plan - B5 Events
Crisis Spokesperson
Tom Pleydell
Mobile – 07951864915
Email – tom.pleydell@mail.bcu.ac.uk
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Notification & Monitoring Systems
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In the event of crisis during our online event on the 18th March, we will have three channels put in place to provide quick, easy and efficient communication between stakeholders and the events team.
1 – WhatsApp – This will be utilised for crisis communications between the B5 Events Team and the Guest Speakers/Stakeholders. WhatsApp was chosen due to it’s wide use in the professional world, the ease of connectivity to mobile devices and also it being a quick & easy communication method.
2 – Internal B5 Events Group – Snapchat – This group will contain solely the B5 events team and will allow quick, easy and fast communication in both text and image form between the team in the event of a crisis.
3 – Email (Backup) – In the event of problems with other methods of communication – the use of email between stakeholders and the team will be our secondary method of quick and easy communication.
Anticipation & Response To Crisis
WIFI Issues
Problems with WIFI connections of guest speakers/host of the event may result in poor audience experience.
Response - We will be sending out a pre-made information pack with a guide to all speakers surrounding checking WIFI connectivity before the event. The event host & remaining B5 Team will also carry out these checks.
Microsoft Teams Servers
Issues with the Microsoft Teams Servers on the night of the event cause interruption to the event.
Response – Through the use of our RSVP mailing list we will inform all guest of our technical issues and then decide pro-actively on a potential delayed start time/new date for the event.
Guests Dropping Out
Last minute illness/problems with guest speakers could cause major disruption to the schedule and running of the event.
Response – Pre-event we have prepared 2 presentations from members of the team that can be put in place if any of the guest speakers drop out of the event.
Microsoft Teams Technical Issues
Guest speakers who are uneducated on how to share screens/technical ability on Teams could look unprofessional at the event.
Response – We will be creating an information pack for all speakers surrounding joining the event, simple Microsoft teams guide and how to share their screen successfully
Audience Interference
Unwanted noise/actions from members of the audience could disrupt the event if not dealt with quickly.
Response – In the event of audience interference the event/call host will be able to kick/mute people before they cause major issues..
Timing Issues
Guest Speakers going over their allocated time could cause issues with running time and audience retainment.
Response – Through clear communication to guest speakers about their allocated slot and professional event timing management on the night we will control the schedule.
Team Member Illness/ Last Minute Problem
One or more of our Team Members might have issues on the night connecting to the call, with illness or last minute emergencies.
Response – If on the night our event host is suddenly unavailable, another member of the team has been selected to step in and take over hosting with a pre-prepared/shared script. All other members of the team will be aware of everyone’s jobs and if one person cannot carry out their job another will fill in.
Mitigation/Pre-event Email
We will be sending out emails to all our guest speakers pre-event launch on 18th March asking them to check their WIFI connections, provide them with a step-by-step guide on how to your share screen and ensure the stakeholders can see their presentations. This will reduce risks which are out of our control and ensure the event can run as smoothly as possible.
Holding Messages
Multiple screensavers (holding messages) have been made to be placed on the teams call channel if we run into any technical issues on the night which shall make sure all the stakeholders know what’s going on and are aware, for example we would use this in the circumstance that one of our guest speakers lose connection and this shall be placed on screen while we are sorting out the disruption.
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Please see examples below:
Post Crisis Analysis
If our event does see a crisis occur then we as a team will carry out a Crisis Analysis. Through utilising post event feedback from the audience as well as our own evidence of crisis we will analyse the following in order to learn and take action following the problem. This will be done using an initial, live & learning assessment as seen below.
All feedback from audience members will be collected via the feedback section on our website.
