Every minute counts in emergency response

When I tell people I work in emergency response and crisis communications, their first question is almost always, “What does that mean?”.

At its heart, emergency response is about preparation. It’s about having a crisis response plan tailored to your organisation for what could be the worst day in your company’s history. It’s about putting your people first and foremost and it’s about identifying risks before they become a crisis.

While emergency response is often associated with the oil and gas industry, it can apply to almost every organisation. Any business with employees, customers, stakeholders or assets has the potential to face an incident that can result in reputational damage should it not be handled appropriately.

BIG Partnership’s Emergency Response team offers a comprehensive process-driven crisis management and emergency response service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

With the bulk of the oil and gas industry based in the north east of Scotland, many of our clients are energy companies, but we also work with a range of other sectors, including aviation and maritime, construction, manufacturing and the public sector. Regardless of the industry, the aim is to help organisations respond quickly, communicate effectively and make informed decisions while under pressure.

Central to all emergency response is communication. In today’s world, news travels faster than ever thanks to mobile technology, social media and 24-hour news channels, all of which allow information (both factual and inaccurate) to spread rapidly around the globe. How we respond to emergencies, and the speed of that response, has had to adapt accordingly.

Being prepared has never been more important and having robust emergency response procedures and crisis management structures in place is key. Companies which communicate quickly, accurately and consistently have more chance of reducing the risk of misinformation and speculation.

Our role is to work alongside our clients and their wider emergency response teams to ensure the efficient and effective flow of information. We prepare holding statements and press releases, manage media relations, develop key messages and respond to enquiries.

The way an organisation prepares for and responds during an incident says a lot about its culture, its leadership and how it values its people. The industry-recognised PEAR model – People, Environment, Assets and finally Reputation – reflects this by putting people at the heart of every incident. Considering the wellbeing of those affected by an incident should always be the priority in any response, shaping all decisions and subsequent communications.

Beyond the immediate incident, we also support the Business Support Team/Corporate Management Team, helping them to ‘see round corners,’ offering advice and support where it is most needed, helping senior teams address the wider business implications of an ongoing event, such as reputation management, forecasting emerging issues and ensuring communications align with business priorities.

Any incident or crisis requires organisations to deal with a range of stakeholders; as well as the media, there are employees, families, emergency services, government, investors, regulators, shareholders, customers and suppliers to consider. Each requires accurate and appropriate information delivered in a timely fashion, often under intense public scrutiny.

Working in emergency response requires the ability to remain calm under pressure, think strategically, make decisions quickly and work collaboratively. In the most serious incidents where there may be injuries or loss of life, professionalism, empathy and excellent communication skills are key.

At BIG, we pride ourselves on providing the highest quality of service combining practical incident experience with rigorous training which allows us to provide our clients with a safe pair of hands. Emergency response is not just about managing a crisis once it has happened. It’s about preparing for it before it does happen because when it does, every minute counts.