5 KEYS SO THAT YOUR DRILL DOES NOT BECOME A CRISIS 

“There is no time, there is no time, we are going to start killing passengers.” The scene is dramatic, a group of hooded, heavily armed terrorists on board an airplane subdues the passengers who are obviously terrified and helpless hiding in the seats. The threats continue: “Obey the instructions … Why are you moving? … Lower your fucking head.” A pair of flight attendants dressed in the airline’s uniform observe the scene. Radio communications are heard requesting help to start a negotiation, which suggests that it is the hijacking of the aircraft. The camera makes a pan, there is no longer any doubt, the letters of the ‘Interjet’ brand shine and take up all the space. Despite the severity of the scenes, the passengers in distress are in the background, and now the only protagonist of the video is Interjet. 

The recording is made public and runs like wildfire on social media. There is misinformation, rumors quickly spread that it is a real terrorist attack, criticism rains, there is fear. Interjet is a trending topic on Twitter most of the day, as well as #Interjet #LadyBomba hashtags. There is no certainty if it’s fake news or if it’s a real terrorist attack. The haters take advantage of the situation to show their discomfort, and past bitterness resurfaces. In recent months, Interjet’s public image has been going through a bad time: bankruptcy rumors, flight cancellation and delay, poor service, and unfortunate comments from its staff have generated constant trending topics for several months. 

After the controversy, Interjet reacts, through a press release on its social media, reports that the video is a “real-scale simulation” for the rescue of passengers, held on October 5 at the Ciudad del Carmen International Airport , Campeche, Mexico, coordinated with the three government levels. 

What lessons does this unfortunate event leave us? … First, we must point out that the drills are part of the crisis prevention programs and plans for companies and public agencies concerned with the safety of their operations and the well-being and protection of their key audiences; they are carried out periodically as part of its corporate culture to form high-level teams that are prepared for the timely attention of any contingency that violates the viability of an organization. 

Organizations that routinely conduct these types of drills offer greater certainty of how to react successfully to an eventuality than those that do not have them integrated into the prevention protocols of their corporate culture. 

The drills, in a controlled environment, confront a work team to possible crises with the greatest possible realism, to train them and extract several lessons that will later be formative in daily operation. A drill is equivalent to trusting, it offers a space where people can take risks, the team can make decisions and take correct or wrong actions. Only in this way it is possible to discover problems and variants that were not considered, new and valuable ideas are generated with the intention of establishing useful rules and integrating them into security and crisis response protocols. It’s an excellent opportunity to form high-level teams, to test the skills of its members and their performance in highly stressful situations, it’s also an opportunity to strengthen cohesion and trust among the team, since it also promotes a group exercise of self-awareness, which encourages the exchange of points of view, feelings and reactions of the people who interact. 

What went wrong with the Interjet drill? … Here are 5 Keys to take care of so that your drill does not become a crisis. 

1. Drills should be part of the corporate culture of crisis prevention and management in organizations. Carrying out drills should not be a novelty, but a constant one, this helps the process to look normal and create an atmosphere of cooperation within the organization. 
   
   
2. Form high-level teams for crisis management. Addressing a crisis requires decision making, implementing a strategy and carrying out actions, but above all, having a functional and reliable team. When summoning staff to form a crisis management team, you should consider: 1) Level of responsibility and hierarchy, 2) Technical knowledge 3) PROBITY AND COMMITMENT. 
   
   
3. Drills are conducted on a discretionary basis and in controlled environments. While it is true that within a corporate culture of prevention, the entire organization must be aware that drills are held and their cooperation is convened, many drills must be held in closed environments where only key personnel must participate, mainly when it comes to sensitive issues and there is handling of confidential information. IF THERE IS NO ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE OF PROBITY AND COMMITMENT OF THE DRILL PARTICIPANTS, THE TEAM MEMBERS MUST SIGN A LETTER OF CONFIDENTIALITY. 
   
   
4. A drill has to be planned minute by minute and strategically coordinated by a team of facilitators. In a drill there are two teams: one that organizes, knows what is going to happen and provokes it (The Facilitators); and another team that is unaware of the situation and will react to solve the problem (Crisis Committee). Facilitators must ensure and convey the confidence that everything that is said and happens during the drill will only be known to the people who participate. It is a learning exercise and only in confidence will the team take risks on their words and actions. In a controlled environment, in addition, the place where the drill will take place, material resources such as printed information, cell phones, video recordings, etc. must be delimited and under surveillance. ANY LEAK OF INFORMATION MAY BE MISUSE, SPREAD IN THE MEDIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA, GENERATING UNCERTAINTY AND DAMAGE TO THE ORGANIZATION, SINCE THE CONTEXT IN WHICH IT WAS GENERATED IS UNKNOWN. 
   
   
5. Once the drill is over, the lessons are extracted, the team’s performance is analyzed and the prevention protocol is reviewed. During a drill, it is common for working documents to be prepared, such as positions, action plans, “fictitious” calls are made and a video record of the team’s performance is carried out an evaluation at the end of the exercise. The only record that should be left at the end are the conclusions of the experience and lessons left by the drill, the actions suggested to be carried out, the vulnerable areas to be reviewed and the feedback from the participants. ALL WRITTEN AND AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS RESULTING FROM THE DRILL MUST BE DESTROYED TO AVOID ANY MISUSE OF THEM.