Recently, I met with a Director of Risk & Resilience to review the roll-out of RAYVN across the organization. He was pleased to say that the process had run smoothly, thanks to the intuitive solution as well as the RAYVN learning hub. ‘Now everyone has access to the plans. We’re all set up. Roles & responsibilities are clear,’ he said. ‘Like a well-oiled machine, we’re ready for any challenge.’

'Congratulations!’ I was pleased as I’d seen first-hand what a difference it made to deploy a digital solution for real-time incident management. In just a few short weeks this Director’s organization had gone from taking a fragmented and haphazard approach to emergency preparedness to readying a proactive, fully coordinated, and well-trained team.  

‘But how do we keep up the momentum, so that the plans stay current and the team in top form?’ the Director asked.

‘As with any high-performance team,’ I said, ‘you need to train to stay sharp.’ 

And that's when we got side-tracked, started talking about ‘The Invincibles’–what it truly takes to remain undefeated–which naturally led to a discussion of my favourite team, Arsenal, and the joy of watching Saka play this season. 

Just kidding—that's when we identified practical ways to drive continuous improvement in emergency preparedness. Still, we can all take away insights from football about the importance of training, the need to review plays to improve for the future, and the special magic that comes from an unrelenting dedication to excellence. 

Train to Win

‘Regular training exercises, health & maintenance checks, and performance tweaks will keep your RAYVN implementation in running order and help you stay on top of your game,’ I told the Director. Of course, I was still thinking about how any football team runs regular drills and trains to build agility, endurance and teamwork, but now it was time to focus on our field of expertise: critical event management. 

Here are 7 tips to help any team stay sharp, relevant, and ready: 

1. Regular Scheduling: Don't let exercises become an afterthought. Integrate them into your calendar with a frequency that aligns with your risk profile and operational tempo. This could be quarterly, bi-annually, or more frequently for high-risk areas.
2. Varied Scenarios: Avoid running the same exercise repeatedly. Introduce different scenarios that test various aspects of your plans and your team's response capabilities within RAYVN.
3. Focused Objectives: Each exercise should have clear objectives. What specific plan elements or RAYVN functionalities are you aiming to test?
4. Thorough Debriefings: The real value of any simulation or drill lies in the post-exercise debrief. Facilitate an open and honest discussion about what went well, what didn't, and what can be improved. Document these learnings and identify any actions needed.
5. Actionable Improvement Plans: Don't let the debriefing be the end of the process. Translate identified areas for improvement into actionable tasks with clear ownership and deadlines. 
6. Iterative Updates: Based on the post-exercise debriefs and the resulting improvement plans, regularly update your RAYVN plans, processes, and configurations. This ensures your system remains a living document that reflects your evolving understanding and capabilities.
7. Ongoing Training: Identify any recurring training needs highlighted during exercises and implement targeted training sessions to address these gaps.

Checklist: How to Maintain Momentum 

While exercises are paramount, a well-oiled RAYVN implementation requires sharp management and regular attention to maintain peak performance. 

Here is a quick maintenance checklist to make sure you are best equipped for any challenge: 

• Review User Permissions: Ensure user roles and permissions within RAYVN remain aligned with team responsibilities and security protocols.
• Stay Current with RAYVN Features: Keep abreast of new features and updates released by RAYVN. Consider how these new functionalities could enhance your existing processes.
• Data Hygiene: Periodically review and cleanse your RAYVN data to ensure accuracy and relevance. This includes contact information, asset details, and pre-configured information.
• Perform Integration Health Checks: If RAYVN is integrated with other systems, regularly verify the health and functionality of these integrations.
• Think Beyond the Squad: Collaboration is a key feature of RAYVN. Review your entire emergency response network periodically to ensure the relevant members of the C-suite, key stakeholders, partners, support staff and more can participate as needed.

To get the best from your emergency response team and solution, a hybrid approach works best. Combine regularly scheduled checks with ongoing performance tweaks to drive a culture of continuous improvement.

Invest in Resilience through Continuous Improvement

Maintaining your RAYVN implementation is not a one-time task but an ongoing investment in your organization's resilience. By prioritizing regular exercises and embracing a culture of continuous improvement, you ensure that your team remains proficient, your plans stay relevant, and your RAYVN deployment remains a powerful driver of effective incident management. 

And here is something we can all learn from football. Proactive defense strategies can avert risks and combat threats. Equally, you need to build a strong team: to train hard, stay focused, and execute seamlessly, skillfully, the perfect strategy and play on the day. That’s how you build resilience, keep up the momentum, and remain undefeated.