Could It Happen Here? Talking about Somebody Else’s Accident.

Last summer’s deadly Grenfell Tower fire gave risk management expert Peter Sandman cause to consider whether a tragedy in one place should give encouragement to owners and managers of similar facilities reason to proactively talk to their stakeholders about similar risks.

Conventional wisdom usually leads most to avoid drawing comparisons – or any attention whatsoever – to similar situations.  Why alarm people, why raise the issue at all when stakeholders haven’t already brought it to management’s attention?

Peter Sandman thinks management should talk.  According to Sandman, “Whenever something bad and newsworthy happens to a facility that resembles your facility, it’s time to communicate with your stakeholders – with employees, neighbors, journalists, and whoever else is likely to notice the resemblance and start to worry.”

Sandman then goes on to make a case that good risk communications (which is what you do before something happens; crisis communications is what you do after something happens) requires talking to your stakeholders about somebody else’s accident – proactively, even if nobody is asking awkward questions and demanding answers.

To read Sandman’s piece, click here.