Introduction
Unexpected events, which pose a significant threat to the health of vast communities, happen every day. In order to prevent them or minimize the negative consequences, an emergency management program should be implemented in each business. However, in order to provide better efficacy of these plans, the engagement of employees is essential. They should be acquainted this the correct reaction and order of actions. In addition, their suggestion may be beneficial, as they have to cope with all the hardships of different incidents in practice. Consequently, the necessity to make workers interested in the process of elaborating and improving emergency programs is evident. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present effective methods of engaging employees’ participation in a position of a local emergency manager.
Conducting Seminars
First of all, in order to engage employees in emergency management planning and program, it is vital to ensure that they are aware of its importance and content. For this reason, conducting seminars devoted to employees’ and organizations’ safety in life-threatening situations could be a sufficient solution (Mid-America Regional Council, 2016). The aim of such meetings should be to explain the necessity of emergency planning and present its content. Predominantly, the programs are written in formal language, using special vocabulary, preventing ordinary readers from proper understanding and making them absolutely uninterested in this topic (Mid-America Regional Council, 2016). Therefore, as an Emergency Manager, during such seminars, I will be responsible for presenting information in a way that is easy to understand. As a result, employees will be more likely to be interested in participating in emergency management, as they will comprehend its significance and content.
In order to promote the importance of an emergency program, it is vital to provide the listeners with real cases. Situations where lack of knowledge and planning resulted in negative consequences for employees and companies may be especially persuading. Using unsuccessful examples, it is also possible to explain the correct behavior and the actions included in a company’s plan. When employees comprehend emergency management principles, they will be more motivated to follow them and participate in their improvement (Mid-America Regional Council, 2016). In case the audience is provided with real situations, they will definitely understand the necessity of adhering to emergency management planning.
Supplying Perks for Participation
Another strategy of engaging employees in emergency management implies establishing a perk system, which will embolden participation. The process of elaborating a comprehensive emergency program and finding the most appropriate solution for various incidents requires significant time expenditures and additional research. Therefore, as an Emergency Manager, I should not underestimate the effort of workers and provide them with perks. They could involve help with purchasing equipment, covering expenditures on education or sport, or additional payment. The number of perks depends on the contribution of a particular employee (Mid-America Regional Council, 2016). In addition, it could be a perfect opportunity for staff members who seek ways of increasing their salary.
Thus, the strategy of supplying perks may stimulate employees to show their activity, as they will understand that their efforts will be valued. However, it should be noted that this approach will be successful in case it is applied in combination with seminars. Employees could propose effective decisions only in case they are aware of the program content, its objectives, and specifics in general (Mid-America Regional Council, 2016). Consequently, the combination of both strategies will provide double results for engaging employees in emergency management.
Examination of The Emergency Program
The best way to motivate employees to get acquainted with emergency programs and management is to make it a part of company standards. A system of examinations aimed at checking the knowledge of employees on the Emergency program content should be established (Mid-America Regional Council, 2016). At least this measure will stimulate workers to have an in-depth insight into this issue, and, as has been described above, it appears to be a key factor for engaging them (Mid-America Regional Council, 2016). Furthermore, employees will be motivated to learn about the emergency program and propose effective improvements on its base. Apart from this, it will allow providing better safety in case of incidents, as all the staff members will be aware of essential actions and their roles in emergency management.
Conclusion
Therefore, it is possible to provide maximum results locally in case all the approaches mentioned in the paper are implemented together with a company policy. Seminars will be helpful for informing employees on the content and importance of the Emergency program. Moreover, they are useful for clarifying the aspects which are hard to be understood. The perk system will stimulate workers to participate in the process of elaborating sufficient solutions. Conducting examinations will guarantee the acquaintance of staff members with the content and objectives of the program, which is a key factor for engaging them in emergency management. Consequently, the described methods may present an effective strategy for making local employees interested in this topic.
Reference
Mid-America Regional Council. (2016). Community engagement action guide. Web.