Focusing on safety, risk, & wellbeing when planning corporate events
Whenever we start a new year, we should always take a fresh look at our processes and procedures: what can we refine, where can we improve, and how can we try something new. And nowhere is this more evident than in the world of corporate event planning. There’s always a new destination to explore, or emerging trend to try out. But one thing you should never forget to review? Your corporate event safety, risk, and wellbeing policy.
To get more insight into what you should be considering, we spoke with Kate McMahon-Campisi, Business Leader for FCM Meetings & Events North America, to gather the following top three tips for 2024.
1. Communicate your unique safety & risk policies
Whatever meetings & event agency you work with should have a firm understanding of how to manage and ensure your attendees’ safety, but the most important thing for an agency to know is how your specific organisation approaches safety and risk management. At the end of the day, you can’t leave your agency team in the dark – by providing them with a thorough, detailed safety and risk policy, they can make sure to build your requirements into their event planning. Kate said the best time to present your organisation’s policy is during the agency’s safety and risk assessment; this way, all your boxes are ticked, and everyone is on the same page.
2. Don’t forget wellbeing
Your event safety and risk policy should include parameters around attendees’ comfort and wellbeing. It’s important to remember that not every attendee is the same, and everyone will experience your events differently. You should make sure to capture your attendees’ special needs and accommodation requests (all within compliance standards – work with your event and HR teams to determine what you can/cannot capture). This can be everything from dietary requirements, all the way to health needs. Kate gave the example of someone who takes medication that needs to be refrigerated – it would be the event organiser’s responsibility to ensure the attendee would have easy access to refrigeration.
3. Inclusivity & equity remains a focus
DE&I isn’t a passing trend, so all corporate event safety and risk policies should focus on ensuring they are fostering inclusive environments for attendees. A crucial step towards inclusivity is ensuring disabled attendees can navigate your event with ease, so make sure to check up on your venue’s accommodation standards and certifications before booking. Different countries have differing accessibility laws for venues depending on location, the age of the venue, and the event type. It’s also important to note that even if a venue is certified as accessible, is the overall experience equitable? Kate gave a great example here: an elevator makes events more accessible for wheelchair users, but if that elevator removes them from the natural ebb and flow of the event, it may not be an equitable experience.
Conduct an event safety & risk checkup
As a new year kicks off, make sure you take a fresh look at your corporate event safety and risk policy. No doubt you will find opportunities for improvement and optimisation, ensuring you host corporate events that are productive, fun, and best of all, safe. And if you need some help, FCM Meetings & Events are here to lend a hand.