3 Simple Steps

Written by Eileen Connors

There are three simple steps you want your employees to do during a crisis event. I realized this right before I took the stage at the Laugh Factory. 

In 2016, my company was marching in the LA Pride parade. I woke up to the news of the Pulse nightclub shooting, which was the largest mass shooting in the U.S. at the time. The incident details were still coming in as I drove to the parade. My brain was whirring. Was it part of a coordinated attack? Would it in inspire a copycat attack? LA Pride was a well-known event attended by thousands of people that could be a tempting target. I realized that if an attack occurred, our employees would need to take care of themselves. We needed to prepare them and time was running out.  

My company was mustering our 300 marchers at the Laugh Factory, near the parade route’s start.  Everyone was on edge and nervously discussing the Orlando nightclub shooting. I found the executive in charge of our group and suggested the strategy I had devised on my drive to the parade. If an incident disrupted the parade, we needed every marcher to do these three simple steps:

• Step 1: Take action to protect yourself.

• Step 2: If others need help, assist. 

• Step 3: Check in with the rest of the group when you can.

I announced these simple steps from the stage and closed by having all the marchers add the company’s emergency contact number into their cell phones so they could check if an incident occurred.  

Though I came up with these three simple steps on the fly they became the foundation of my emergency preparedness philosophy. Even as I transitioned to a new employer, I was able to get these three simple steps included in the orientation that every new employee attends. 

I encourage you to use these three simple steps as building blocks to create a culture of preparedness within your organization. 

Eileen Connors is an Advisory Board Member and Resiliency Coach. If you would like to contact her to support your organization’s emergency planning, email her at Eileen@theresiliencyinitiative.com.