Effective strategies for event crisis management

When you plan an event, of course you want it to go off without a single hiccup, but it’s still smart to be prepared for the unexpected. No one likes to focus on what could go wrong, but having an event crisis management plan in place can arm you with an effective protocol if something goes awry.

Identifying potential risks and how to respond is essential for every event and can help you act with a clear mind, maintain a semblance of control, and give you the tools necessary to prevent, mitigate, and handle threats.

Let’s look at some effective strategies you can implement before a crisis and during a crisis. Creating a spreadsheet is a good way to organize the information listed below.

1. Identify risks (threats and disruptions) that could impact the event, including road closures and construction, renovations, hazards, location, weather, disasters, no-shows, cancellations, safety, food poisoning, security, technology, bankruptcy, operational, theft, and more.


2. Analyze the risks by assessing the impact. Determine which risks are more likely to occur and which are the most important. Include who will be most impacted by the risks (i.e., clients and/or guests).


3. Diagnose possible scenarios and outcomes each risk could pose. Call a team meeting to brainstorm anything you think could happen.


4. Develop detailed response procedures to recover from the scenarios and prioritize solutions. Include a list of important contacts and their phone numbers. Answer these questions:
• What actions should be taken?
• Who will lead the actions?
• Who needs to be notified?
• What resources are required?


5. Create communication protocols.
• What messages should be communicated?
• Who will disseminate the messages?
• What methods will be used to communicate?


6. Practice the plan with your team. Hold a training meeting to review or simulate scenarios and their early warning signs and follow the strategies you put in place. Emergencies are unpredictable and your plan must allow for flexibility and out-of-the-box solutions for adaptability.
   Giving your team permission to use their best judgement can serve you well if faced with an under-pressure scenario you hadn’t accounted for. After this meeting, document your results.


7. Revise the plan to improve your response after testing.


8. Distribute the plan to your team, so everyone is on board and keep a copy handy and accessible during the event.

If you use your event crisis plan, apply any lessons learned to your next crisis plan, so you can continue to be prepared in the future. Now that you’ve created your plan, consider partnering with Markel for your event insurance needs.

We hope these tips help you maximize your venue’s revenue. To help protect your space, your clients can purchase a Markel event insurance policy.

Markel offers event liability insurance to hosts and honorees, protecting from incidents such as property damage to the venue or injury to a guest. Up to $2 million in event liability insurance can be purchased by your client from Markel any time at least 1 day before the event. Policies start as low as $75.

By offering event insurance, it will not only protect your clients, but it can also protect you by potentially decreasing your own business liability risk for accidents due to negligence of the event host or honoree. Markel Specialty's event insurance is an easy and affordable solution for your clients – a free event insurance quote takes only a few minutes online or on the phone – that will help protect your clients (and you).

Free client materials! We can provide you with free brochures to help raise your clients’ awareness of the benefits of event liability insurance.