How can you improve your emergency training with lessons learned?

1 What are lessons learned?

Lessons learned are the knowledge and insights gained from reviewing and evaluating your actions and outcomes during and after an emergency situation. They can help you identify what worked well, what did not work well, and what can be done better next time. Lessons learned can also help you avoid repeating mistakes, enhance your strengths, and address your gaps and challenges.

2 Why are lessons learned important?

Lessons learned are critical for improving your emergency training. They can be used to update and refine your plans, policies, and procedures based on the latest evidence and feedback. Additionally, they can help you align your training objectives, content, and methods with what is actually needed. Lessons learned also allow for realistic and relevant scenarios, simulations, and exercises to test skills and capabilities, as well as reinforce best practices, standards, and principles across your organization and partners. Ultimately, lessons learned help foster a culture of learning, collaboration, and innovation among staff and stakeholders.

3 How to conduct lessons learned?

Conducting lessons learned is an important part of emergency training, and the After Action Review (AAR) is one of the most widely used and simple methods. This structured and facilitated process involves four key questions: what was supposed to happen, what actually happened, why did it happen, and what can we do better next time. An AAR can be conducted at any stage of the training cycle, as well as at different levels of the organization. The main steps for an AAR are to plan and prepare by defining the scope, purpose, objectives, participants, facilitator, recorder, gathering relevant data and information, setting the time, place, and agenda; conduct by following the four questions and recording main findings; follow-up by distributing the AAR report, implementing action items, monitoring progress, evaluating impact and effectiveness.

4 How to use lessons learned?

Conducting lessons learned is only half of the equation; you also need to use them to improve your emergency training and performance. Therefore, it's essential to prioritize and categorize lessons learned based on their urgency, impact, and feasibility. Additionally, assign a responsible person or team, a deadline, and a budget for each lesson learned and track the status and outcome using a dashboard or tracker. Sharing your lessons learned with colleagues, partners, and stakeholders is important too—you can use various platforms and formats for this purpose. Lastly, review your lessons learned periodically and update them based on new information, feedback, or changes. Don't forget to update your emergency plans, policies, and procedures accordingly.

5 How to overcome challenges?

Despite the benefits of lessons learned, you may face some challenges in conducting and using them. Common issues include lack of time and resources, lack of commitment and support, and lack of skills and tools. To overcome these challenges, you need to plan and allocate sufficient time and resources for conducting and using lessons learned, communicate and engage your management, staff, and partners in the value and process of lessons learned, and train and equip yourself and your team in the skills and tools for conducting them effectively. Furthermore, make lessons learned a regular part of your emergency training cycle, a collaborative and constructive exercise, and seek guidance from experts or peers.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?