is your organisation heading for disaster? 14 warning signs you should be looking for.

Travel risk is gives us some pretty unique challenges to deal with - it involves people, people who are away from their familiar circumstances and a whole host of third party suppliers that make our regular management structures more remote. This means when things go wrong cracks in our organisation are even more exposed and things can quickly spiral out of control. The key to survival lies in the ability to identify warning signs, address vulnerabilities, and build a resilient framework that can withstand the impact of unforeseen events. In this post, we will delve into the definitions of emergencies, crises, and disasters, and explore a comprehensive set of questions compiled by Bill Richards to assess an organisation's disaster preparedness.

defining crisis vs disaster.

So many definitions exist for these terms, and they’re often used interchangeably. You’ve also probably got your own organisational definitions, but in order to try and put us all on the same page for this article we’lll define them like this:

emergency.

An event outside of normal operations that may cause harm or threaten damage but can be resolved with a well-structured response.

crisis.

A large-scale event that threatens to overwhelm an organisation's ability to respond due to size, scale, or the magnitude of harm caused. Typically structured responses will be reactive and may not be 100% effective.

disaster.

The irreversible and overwhelming result of mishandling emergencies and crises. In a disaster, normal infrastructure and responses collapse or become ineffective, leading to potential loss of life continuing after the event.

the warning signs.

Looking at the disasters others have been through is one of the primary tools we can use to understand how we can protect our businesses. There’s an abundance of research out there into why crises escalated and led to such disasterous outcomes but sometimes its difficult to extract exactly how we can make meaningful changes in our organisations. One of my favourite pieces is from Richardson (1994) whilst it’s relevance might be questioned given its age now, I like how actionable it is - based on extensive research on organisations that faced disasters such as the Hillsborough Disaster, Kegworth Air Crash, and the Marchioness Disaster, Richardson used these events to compile a set of questions designed to assess your organisation's disaster preparedness.

Organisations that answer "yes" or "don't know" to several of these questions may exhibit characteristics of disaster-prone organisations.

1. Does your organisation interact with the public as part of its services or engage in complex and potentially dangerous processes?

2. Has your organisation been performing its existing role for many years, and does it have a good safety record?

3. Is there clarity on who has responsibility for safety issues within your organisation?

4. Are your safety personnel paid less than your accountants?

5. Is productivity a significant focus for your business?

6. Do you experience rivalry and conflict among different departments within your organisation?

7. Are you at risk of privatisation, deregulation, or facing intensifying competition?

8. Are your budgets being squeezed, potentially compromising safety measures?

9. Is there a clear hierarchy of management and specific responsibilities attached to each role?

10. Does your organisation need to renew or update buildings, machinery, or equipment?

11. Is your organisation recognised as a reputable provider of services and products?

12. Do people in your organisation possess experience and specialised knowledge to perform their jobs?

13. Has the senior management been in their positions for an extended period?

14. Do information or communication blockages hinder free communication within the organisation?

so what?

Only the smallest organisations will ever answer no to all of these questions - Frankly most organisation aren’t safe from disaster, it’s about being aware of the increased exposure you have, more yes’ = more exposure. Organisations who have faced significant disasters answer yes to more of these questions. They serve as “weak signals” or warning signs that something is bubbling away or could expose you in the even of major incident.

In the run up to The Hillsborough Disaster a number of weak signals suggested the possibility of a dangerous situation but were ignored - for example when challenged about using the smallest part of the ground for the largest number fo fans the Police decided not to change this policy before the game. Similar procedures had worked well the previous year and the dangers were not perceived to be sufficiently strong to warrant a change. Despite injuries and trauma occurring in that match.

but it wouldn’t happen to us.

One common theme among organisations involved in disasters is the pervasive belief that "it couldn't happen here," often leading to inadequate preparedness and response measures. This complacency impacts on neglecting planning and preparing for critical incidents. If you have more yes’ in the question set above you should be spending more time stress testing your response plans and running crisis exercises with both your office teams and in resort staff.

Being able to quickly respond to a major incident in resort and correctly escalating that to a crisis involving head office requires dedicated practice. Having a senior crisis response team that is well rehearsed in critical decision making and has a crisis framework to apply all increase your chances of a successful resolution.

conclusion.

As organisations navigate the complexities of their operations, recognising warning signs and addressing potential vulnerabilities is crucial for disaster preparedness. The questions posed by Bill Richards provide a valuable framework for organisations to assess their level of preparedness and take proactive steps to build resilience. By fostering a culture of safety, embracing change, and being receptive to weak signals, organisations can position themselves to withstand unforeseen challenges and avoid the devastating consequences of a disaster.

References

Richardson Bill. 1994. “Socio-technical Disasters: Profiles and Prevalence.” Disaster Prevention and Management 3: 41–69.