Preparedness Plan 101: Building a 5-Year Safety Strategy

Back in my Navy days, we would engage in strategic planning that often stretched years into the future, with layers of detail that would make even the most enthusiastic planner catch their breath. I loved the rigor of mapping out possibilities and finding ways to turn complex, long-term goals into achievable action steps. When I transitioned into the civilian world, it was surprising to see how unusual it was to plan for more than a year or two out – especially when it comes to emergency response and business continuity. While I understood the urgency of addressing immediate needs, the absence of a long-term vision sometimes left gaps that only careful, multi-year planning could fill. 

In developing a Preparedness Plan, we have the opportunity to find a balance: creating a roadmap that’s comprehensive yet adaptable, stretching over five years to truly support sustainable, resilient systems. It’s not about overloading with endless contingencies but about having a solid strategy in place that fosters partnerships, strengthens response capabilities, and aligns with the long-term goals of each event or venue. Now that’s a planner's dream come true and here’s your strategy to get it done:

Step 1: Align Safety Goals with Key Operational Objectives

The first step to building a successful 5-year strategy is to align safety and emergency planning with your organization’s broader goals. Whether your primary focus is operational continuity, guest experience, or community engagement, your preparedness efforts should support those priorities.

• Identify key targets of growth including improving business continuity, guest experience, or compliance with regulatory standards.
• Define safety key performance indicators (KPIs) such as drill participation, average incident response times, or staff training completion rates to track progress.
• Integrate safety with operations to ensure that training and development strategies complement, rather than disrupt, operations. 

Step 2: Partner with Local Agencies and Emergency Services

Collaborating with local agencies – including law enforcement, fire departments, EMS, and public health – enhances preparedness by aligning your preparedness plan with community resources. These partnerships are a central component of a coordinated response during emergencies.

• Establish communication channels through regular meetings with key agency contacts, making sure to identify primary liaisons on both sides.
• Work together to develop joint protocols that cover common scenarios such as severe weather, fires, or medical emergencies.
• Conduct multi-agency drills to identify gaps in response protocols and opportunities for increased collaboration. (See step 3 for more info!)

Step 3: Build a Training and Drill Schedule

A successful preparedness strategy relies heavily on consistent training and drills. Staff, vendors, and contractors need to know their roles and responsibilities, and the best way to develop this knowledge is through meaningful practice. Over the next five years, plan to conduct a variety of drills and exercises to cover a range of potential scenarios.

• Year 1-2: Focus on foundational drills such as fire, evacuations, security incidents, severe weather, and medical emergencies.
• Year 3-4: Introduce more complex scenarios like multi-hazard drills and test cross-department collaboration. For example, a power outage during a storm that impacts communication equipment.
• Year 5: Evaluate your progress by conducting a full-scale exercise that simulates a major emergency, testing your entire preparedness plan.

For every drill, exercise, or training activity, be sure to evaluate performance and conduct debriefs to identify lessons learned and areas for improvement.

Step 4: Develop Engagement Plans for All Stakeholders

Meaningful engagement with stakeholders is often the most challenging step on the path to long-term success. In the realm of emergency preparedness, stakeholders often include full-time staff, temporary workers, volunteers, vendors, and first responders. Your 5-year plan should include strategies for building relationships so that every stakeholder is involved in preparedness efforts.

• Incorporate safety and emergency response as a core part of onboarding and annual refresher training.
• Share your emergency response plans with vendors and contractors, making sure they have a good understanding of their roles during an emergency.
• Create communication plans for keeping stakeholders, particularly guests, informed about safety protocols both before and during events. This could include “know before you go” emails and clear signage on-site.

Step 5: Monitor Risks and Adapt Your Plan

Over five years, risks will change, and so should your preparedness strategy. Use risk assessments and regular reviews to keep your plan current and responsive to emerging threats.

• Evaluate potential hazards such as weather, public health concerns, and security threats, adjusting your plan as needed.
• Track incidents, near-misses, and lessons learned from other events to improve your safety measures.
• Set a schedule to review and update your MPP to reflect new risks, feedback, and changes in operations.

Step 6: Use Technology to Your Advantage

Leverage technology to streamline communication, improve incident response, and manage safety data. Make sure to incorporate the usage of relevant technology in drills, exercises, and training initiatives.

• Use incident management platforms to gather data, manage communications, and track resources during emergencies.
• Collect and analyze safety data via cross-platform tracking systems to identify trends and improve preparedness.
• Explore emerging tools like artificial intelligence, virtual training platforms, and alert and warning software to identify integration opportunities early on.

Step 7: Strategize for Sustainability and Succession

Sustainability and succession strategies help to keep preparedness plans effective over the long term. The goal is to maintain continuity even if key staff members leave or operational priorities and procedures change.

• Include a mechanism to capture detailed records of procedures, contacts, and protocols.
• Identify staff members at all levels of the organizational structure who can take on leadership roles in safety planning and response efforts.
• Schedule check-ins with new staff to ensure they are fully integrated into the plan and trained in their roles.

If you’re ready to develop or refine your 5-year safety strategy, we’d love to help. Our team at Joffe is committed to partnering with you to build safer, more resilient events and venues. Together, we can turn planning into action and ensure the well-being of everyone involved.