november 2017 | Safety and Security
CWT Global Forecast Meetings & Events 2018
There is nothing to balance when it comes to safety and security. Security should be high on the planning agenda. You have a duty of care to protect your attendees throughout the duration of the event. Indeed, it’s likely that in some jurisdictions, your legal duty of care requirements will increase. Physical security A good starting point is to choose a location where people feel comfortable. This is true for every type of meeting or event but it’s particularly true of incentive events. Unsurprisingly, people aren’t as motivated if they think they’ll be uncomfortable in the reward location. There are some places you wouldn’t consider for any type of travel, but we’ve also seen incidents in major event locations in recent months. Those incidents have had an impact in the immediate aftermath but the downturn doesn’t last long. In the current climate, visible security – in the form of security guards or ID checks – can actually add to the attendee experience, if only as reassurance that safety has been taken seriously. At a lot of events today, security is like domestic flights in the US 20 years ago, when you could just walk up to the gate without going through any form of check. That’s changing. Security is now included as a significant part of the planning process and there’s been an industry-wide tightening of procedures. Cybersecurity There is a similar compromise to strike with cybersecurity. Ideally you want to provide Wi-Fi that’s easy to access but cybersecurity is about limiting access and/or protecting it. It is an increasing concern at corporate events but it needs to be balanced with the fact that technology is such a great enabler. While there isn’t a huge appetite to reduce technology’s impact, event agencies are helping mitigate the potential risks without being too intrusive. Cybersecurity measures include physical security, close monitoring and even corporate security. An incident at the head office can compromise an event as much as any local attack—a malware infestation or attendee data leak, for example. You can also change the Wi-Fi password every day, notifying attendees through the event app. Global spending on cybersecurity products and services will exceed $1 trillion cumulatively over the next five years – from 2017 to 2021. Cybersecurity damage will cost the world $6 trillion by 2021. Source: Cybersecurity Ventures |
