An emergency response system constitutes the response teams’ means to locate and move resources and people to emergency sites. In essence, moving people and goods to mitigate or eliminate consequences.
If you read our latest article on executive protection movies, then you probably know it’s all a sham. Emergencies in EP don’t happen as often as you would expect. No matter what Liam Neeson fans would have you believe, troubles are incidental rather than a frequently occurring pattern. Nevertheless, an emergency response system should be in effect even if there is no emergency in the first place.
Let’s put it this way. If you are traveling to Siberia with your SUV, you apparently should bring ample rations and car equipment. There is no emergency at your starting position, but something could happen somewhere between your offset point and final destination.
Just because all is well with your car in the garage, you don’t assume that it will never break down while outside. It definitely is going to at some point.
The same applies to emergency response systems in executive protection and other industries. You start by assuming that you will need to know how to move resources around once trouble appears. You don’t just stand there and wait like a sitting duck.
What You Can and Can’t Do with ERS
If somebody targets your client physically or there is an earthquake, you better have a sound ERS to combat any situation. One way to do that is by implementing travel risk assessments. However, there is much more to it than we already mentioned.
For instance, emergency response tends to be a process comprising assessment, planning, action, and review. As we have established earlier in different EP articles, this four-step process is vital to executive protection as a profession.
With that said, you should do everything you can to stop an emergency from arising. Like, employing tools and preparing thoroughly. That’s because it’s easier and cheaper to prevent malicious actions than to react to them. Simply put, emergency response involves any systematic response to an unexpected or dangerous situation.
Through the lens of executive protection, emergencies are incidents that threaten the health, safety, and welfare of clients. Furthermore, principals don’t have to be the prime targets ― anybody else around can be that. But if the client is close to a public square where a terrorist attack is about to happen, take heed.
Your emergency response system must take into account any potential risks. These include floods, earthquakes, and other disasters or accidents, big or small, that can happen anywhere. Yes, active shooter situations as well.
Like everything else in EP, anyone can get the appropriate training to become an emergency response expert. Once they equip EP agents with the know-how, they can shield the principal wherever they find themselves. In the open, or a factory, in a hotel or a car. Anyplace.
The Necessity of Training and Preparation
Without training, there is no emergency response plan. Without an ERP, there is zero security for your principal. And without that, there is no executive protection industry. And we don’t want that, right?
Assuming that’s the case, let’s take a look at the five vital pillars to keep in mind before choosing a training course. Here we will discuss some crucial points to consider while preparing to become an ERS expert.
Know Who’s On Your Team
Firstly, get familiar with the responsibilities and roles of everyone in the workplace. No worker is an island, so find out who’s who and what in the company. Who works with whom, who does what, and everything else that seems remotely relevant. Furthermore, all employees, whether CEOs or cleaners, must have specific roles and responsibilities.
To ensure the safety and well-being of the working station, they all must have a task to perform in an emergency. If someone on your team knows how to perform CPR, then assign them a similar role. In case someone is injured or falls ill, this person will be a life-saver.
Implement Protocols and Promote Adequate Behavior
Secondly, as soon as your company’s workforce enrolls in an ER training course, they will learn how to behave during accidents or disasters. As a result, people will suffer fewer injuries, and the company’s property will be safer.
Thirdly, if we were to list 100 organizations, they would likely all have unique communication protocols. That depends on company size, wealth, and vulnerability.
You provide emergency response training to employees who then know who to report to if they notice a red flag. Workers are the first line of defense when an accident occurs, outside or inside the company.
Hence, if there is miscommunication or confusion among employees, it can result in fatalities and property destruction. A short exchange of words may be the difference between somebody dying and everything running smoothly.
In the words of the American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker Jim Rohn: “Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know.”
Whatever your employees feel, they should put it out there. Better be safe than sorry. A system of notification, warning, and communication procedures is the next best thing for any company. That way, you ensure nothing slips through the cracks.
People Talking in Burning Buildings
Fourthly, what do you do when there is an emergency and telling someone about it doesn’t suffice? In devising an emergency response system, workers must learn how to use adequate equipment. When they don’t know where to find it, they are putting everyone at risk. And if they don’t know how to use it ― well, let’s just say something will surely go wrong.
Lastly, executive protection agents may not be nearby at all times. That’s why the entire company needs to know how to react. And one way to do that is learning how to evacuate buildings, the principals, and their staff. There are specific conditions under which employees should evacuate.
Say an attacker plants a fire in your company and has a sniper placed outside. What do you do in that case?
Exactly ― you need emergency response training to be in the position to respond to any of these questions.
It doesn’t matter what your current role is. Whether you are an EP agent or an executive, always adhere to protocols and strictly follow procedures.
That’s your best bet to become resilient and stay safe.
