Incident Management - learn fast, but don't get furious!

I'll always remember an incident that occurred shortly after I started a Head of Site role. I'd gone out for an ice-breaking lunch with some of my colleagues to get to know more about them and the business.

I vividly recall driving back from the pub (diet cokes only) and, as I turned into the industrial estate, seeing the whole office stood outside at their assembly points. I wound down the window and asked one of my colleagues what was happening. They told me that the fire alarm had sounded, so they'd evacuated the building, and they'd been waiting for at least 10 minutes since then to find out what was going on. "Who's the Incident Manager?" I asked, and my colleague in the front passenger seat replied quite sheepishly "I think it's probably you, Jon"!

It wasn't the best way to find out about one of my additional responsibilities as Head of Site. It was certainly a baptism of fire and I had to think on my feet, but thankfully it turned out to be a false alarm, and there were no serious repercussions.

I'd obviously been the victim of circumstance and a poor process, so I was determined to learn from the experience and prevent a recurrence. Following a Post Incident Review, we made the following changes:

• Drew up a list of people who could act as Incident Managers (effectively, my direct reports and me), and provided them with robust training.
• Agreed weekly in advance the Incident Manager(s) for the following week.
• Displayed the name of the duty Incident Manager in Reception.
• Made it the responsibility of the duty Incident Manager to arrange cover if they needed to leave the building.
• Rotated Incident Management responsibility for fire drill exercises, so everyone had the chance to build up their confidence and competence.
• Kept an Incident Manager's bag at Reception containing the tools of the trade (megaphone, hi-vis jacket, clipboard etc) in case we needed to evacuate the building.
• Confirmed the out of hours arrangements.
• Published the revised procedure.
• Added Incident Management awareness to the Induction programme.
• Reviewed and tested our plans regularly.

Tips for managing incidents

I've managed quite a few incidents (and false alarms) throughout my career - loss of systems, power cuts, supply chain issues, adverse weather conditions (including golf ball-sized hailstones), small fires, staff shortages and even one where a colleague was stuck in a lift.

Proactive planning and preparation definitely make incidents easier to manage, but I've still gained experience and learnt valuable lessons from every one of them. For example, I now know that you don't tell someone who is stuck in a lift that the engineer will be here in 20 minutes because they might think that's a long time to wait and start to panic. It’s best to avoid giving any timescales - simply reassure them by saying help is on the way and you'll soon have them out of there.

I was thinking about the advice I'd give to someone managing an incident for the first time and I came up with the following list:

• Stay calm under pressure and reassure others - be assertive, not aggressive.
• Remain in the present, don't look back - leave any retrospection for the Post Incident Review.
• Provide clear instructions - check for both understanding and commitment.
• Ensure there are no egos in the room - work together as a team.
• Be prepared to react to the changing situation - learn fast and keep learning.
• Listen to the experts, but make your own decisions and take responsibility for your next steps.
• Be decisive and inspire confidence - never procrastinate.
• Record all actions and decisions clearly and concisely.
• Keep the wider team informed - provide regular updates.
• Revisit and revise your business continuity plans after the incident based upon the lessons you've learnt.

I've summarised the above list on a slide. Please click on this link to view it on SlideShare.

If you're new to incident management, I hope you've found this article useful. If you're an experienced Incident Manager, what would you add to the above list? I've got my clipboard ready!