A Senior Health and Safety leader and I were running through a demo on how RAYVN can help to run simulations, drills and exercises. She was delighted with the solution’s capabilities, but she had some thoughts on what effective training really means. 

‘It’s tempting to push teams to their limits as responders,’ the Health and Safety leader said. ‘But is that really the best strategy?’ While all of these aspects of training can be valid and useful–including stress-testing processes and doubling down on roles and responsibilities–there are real risks when training foregrounds failures.’ 

‘Tell me more,’ I said. ‘What does effective training mean for you?’

And she told me that identifying weaknesses is important, yes. But a sole focus on stress-testing for failure can be counterproductive. When people repeatedly fail, they tend to lose confidence, revert to bad habits, and may even become discouraged. Indeed, teams and employees may feel overwhelmed by failures. In turn, the teams may feel less prepared and ready to respond when an incident does strike. 

‘What if emergency response exercises were designed to build confidence?’ the Health and Safety leader asked.

Build Confidence: A More Effective Approach to Preparedness

We talked for some time about what it means to develop training that aims to build confidence. And the manager highlighted some of the reasons why she has seen real success emerge when emergency preparedness focuses on preparing teams to succeed. 

When participants feel confident in their capabilities, tools and processes, she told me, they're more likely to:

• Remember Their Training: Confidence allows individuals to access and apply their training effectively under pressure.
• Adapt to Unexpected Situations: Confident teams are better equipped to handle unforeseen challenges and adapt their plans as needed.
• Maintain Composure: In a real emergency, composure is critical. Confidence helps individuals remain calm and focused.
• Perform Optimally: Confidence translates into better performance and a more effective response.

So that raises the question: how can we design exercises that inspire confidence rather than foster fear? 

5 Ways to Create Confidence-Building Exercises

To learn more about creating confidence through training, I spoke with Erik Skaara, Co-founder of RAYVN, who has decades of experience in emergency preparedness, including participating in the design and running of simulations, exercises and drills. 

Erik shared five ways any team can train to build confidence: 

• Start with Success: Begin with scenarios that allow participants to succeed and build momentum.
• Progressively Increase Complexity: Gradually introduce more challenging elements as participants gain confidence.
• Focus on Skill Development: Emphasize the development of specific skills and techniques.
• Provide Positive Feedback: Acknowledge and reinforce successful actions and decisions.
• Celebrate Learning: Frame ‘failures’ as learning opportunities and encourage reflection.

Designing effective training programmes is important. But so too is the right technology to support teams. With an easy-to-use platform such as RAYVN, emergency responders can quickly gain the skills and confidence to collaborate effectively in real-time. An intuitive solution frees up emergency response teams to focus on managing the incident itself. 

Empowerment happens out in the field through training that builds confidence: when drills, exercises and simulations allow people to come together to demonstrate emergency preparedness. When training helps teams learn to pull together, everyone develops trust and confidence in one another. 

The ability to pull together with confidence is crucial. With the right training, when an incident strikes everyone feels prepared and ready to act: whether that means following the plan step-by-step or adapting to deal with an unexpected situation.

To put it simply, when every second counts, confidence matters.