Managing Risk and Crisis Management

If you work in an environment that offers a high risk to personnel it's important that you are aware of Risk Management and Crisis Management procedures within your organisation.

What is the difference between Risk management and Crisis Management?

Risk Management is the simple procedure of identifying where issues might arise and putting procedures in place to prevent them from happening. In the workplace this might be as simple as providing goggles or protective clothing to workers. In more extreme conditions, for example convoy tracking in foreign countries, it might be installing GPS tracking technology into vehicles to help avoid serious conflict situations.

Crisis Management is the plan of action that is put in place should Risk Management plans not work as effective as they should. Once a situation turns into a crisis, the Crisis Management plan kicks into place.

So what makes a good Crisis Management plan?

In any crisis communication is absolutely critical. Usually a designated team or individual will manage the crisis from a central point and its imperative that information is relayed to the crisis management team to enable them to asses the situation and quickly make decisions. The time of decision-making is paramount. A few seconds here and there could make the difference between saving or losing a human life.

Risk Management and Crisis management should never be taken lightly. Many organisations have a dedicated team that constantly look at ways to prevent crisis, or manage crisis in the unfortunate event of it happening. The use of technology (hand held Radios, GPS tracking etc) has made Crisis Management very effective over the last few years. If you work with remote workers, aid workers or have convoy travelling on foreign land you should ensure that you are using the latest technology.

Although the price of Crisis Management technology has come down significantly over the last few years it might still be considered expensive. But then what is the cost of human life? Think about it.