Whether your Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is inherited or created from scratch, it must be practical, efficient, and up to date—not put on the shelf to be ignored.

In this episode, Barry Morgeson, Business Continuity Director at Ryan Specialty, draws on his two decades of experience to offer actionable insights and recommendations for crafting a Business Continuity Plan that achieves ROI across the business.

Listen in to learn: 

• Why you should prioritize revenue-generating business verticals when building your BCP
• Why you need internal champions to help your BCP succeed
• How to identify the “must-haves” versus “nice to haves” for your BCP
• How to develop a personalized approach to planning to maximize adoption across departments

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

Get every episode delivered straight to your inbox by subscribing at https://www.alertmedia.com/podcast/.

No organization wants to be unprepared for a crisis, but many internal and external obstacles can hinder its ability to manage and respond effectively. If these challenges are not identified and addressed in advance, companies risk damaging their brand and unintentionally conveying the wrong message in an emergency scenario.

In today's episode, we're joined by Melissa Agnes, Founder and CEO of Crisis Ready Institute, an organization dedicated to enhancing crisis resilience through training and industry standards. Melissa shares "The Five Crisis Ready Hindrances" and explains why you can't beat emotion with logic in a crisis.

Listen in to learn:

• How to get your organization "Crisis Ready"
• How to lean into vulnerability in crisis communications
• How to lead with empathy and emotional intelligence during a crisis

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

Get every episode delivered straight to your inbox by subscribing at https://www.alertmedia.com/podcast/.

In today's intensifying threat landscape, organizations must go beyond a check-the-box approach to achieve positive safety outcomes.  

For Andrew Dingee, pilot, safety expert, and author of Delivering the Right Stuff, an effective safety culture is achieved through a systems approach—that catches human error while preventing blame. In this episode, Andrew shares how to: 

• Optimize checklists for busy workloads 
• Apply Thinking, Fast and Slow concepts to achieve safe workflows 
• Streamline incident reporting for continuous improvement 
• Develop a culture that embraces owning and learning mistakes 

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia. 

Get every episode delivered straight to your inbox by subscribing at https://www.alertmedia.com/podcast/. 

When disaster strikes, thousands of American Red Cross employees and volunteers work tirelessly to provide immediate aid and assist in recovery. However, the Red Cross must ensure the safety of their own team before they can help others.

Jennifer Pipa, VP of Disaster Programs at American Red Cross, oversees the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of disaster services programs. In this episode, she offers her expert advice on how emergency managers can improve their organization’s preparedness and response programs to better protect their people.

Jennifer discusses:

• How to use situational awareness to pivot and adapt response protocols
• The importance of monitoring and identifying threats to proactively prepare and inform impacted individuals
• Why you should continuously assess and improve your communication strategies
• How organizations can support their local communities and American Red Cross chapters before and after a disaster

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by following The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or subscribing directly on our website.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Jason Moreland, Senior Meteorologist at AlertMedia, fills in for Peter this week to break down the official 2022 hurricane season forecast.

From what to expect to how to prepare, Jason offers his expert advice to help organizations save time, minimize impact, and protect their people, no matter where they work.

In this episode, Jason explains:

• Detailed forecast predictions and how they compare to past seasons
• Tips for safeguarding critical infrastructure and employees
• Recommended resources to stay informed of storm updates

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by following The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or subscribing directly on our website.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Austin Pets Alive! is not your average animal rescue organization. It has multiple locations, hundreds of employees and volunteers, and has saved nearly 100,000 animals over the last decade.

But the organization has a number of safety and security challenges to overcome, like workplace hazards in an older building, dispersed workers and pets, severe weather, and location-based security concerns. Stephanie Bilbro, Director of Lifesaving Operations at Austin Pets Alive!, and her team have created unique solutions to these challenges that any organization can learn from and apply.

Stephanie describes many of these solutions in this episode, as well as:

• Why two-way communication is crucial in an emergency
• The importance of involving frontline employees in preparedness planning and after-action reports
• Creating adaptive protocols versus fixed protocols
• Working with partners and third-party organizations to conquer logistical challenges

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, we are fostering discussion around psychological safety in the workplace.

Dr. Tracy Brower, Sociologist and Author, joins the show to explain the sociology of work — the scientific study of the relationship between people and their jobs. Understanding the sociology of work can help organizations improve the psychological safety and mental health of their employees, as well as their company’s reputation and bottom line.

We discuss:

• The significant data and research that demonstrate how work can impact employees’ mental health and happiness
• Why prioritizing employee well-being is a business imperative
• Actionable advice for creating a psychologically safe work environment
• How leadership can help employees avoid burnout
• Why employees at every stage of life appreciate a reimagined safety culture

Visit www.tracybrower.com for more resources on the sociology of work, mental health in the workplace, and psychologically safe work environments.

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Today’s hybrid work environment has altered the traditional employee-manager relationship. Leaders can no longer rely on in-person interactions to know how their employees are feeling and performing in their roles.

How are great safety leaders adapting to ensure a physically and psychologically safe work environment for their people?

Michael Teape, Owner and Lead Training Consultant at Teape Training International explains:

• The most important skills a safety leader should develop to effectively lead a hybrid workforce
• Why emotional intelligence and empathy can be more important than strategy and processes when managing employees
• Applying the SCARF model to stimulate meaningful conversations with your direct reports
• How over-communicating can help you identify and support employee needs

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Maintaining workplace safety is a challenge in its own right, but at the Dallas Zoo, wildlife adds an extra layer of complexity.

What does it take to keep workers, guests, animals, and the 106-acre park safe and secure while still providing the fun, memorable experience the Dallas Zoo promises?

Diana Worden, Director of Safety & Security at the Dallas Zoo explains:

• The unique challenges of keeping visitors, employees, volunteers, and animals safe year-round
• How the zoo embraces a positive safety culture with buy-in at every level of the organization
• The importance of regular safety training that is fun and engaging
• Why maintaining relationships with emergency services and outside agencies is crucial to support safety and security initiatives

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

As The Great Resignation continues, investing in your employees and their happiness is more important than ever.

Jenn Lim, Co-Founder, CEO, and Chief Happiness Officer at Delivering Happiness, believes that companies should build a workplace culture where employees can experience meaningful happiness, feel psychologically safe, and personally align with the company’s core values.

When organizations double down on their people, it comes back to them financially.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Jenn and Tony Hsieh (the late CEO of Zappos) created the framework for Delivering Happiness
• Why workplace happiness leads to better employee retention and more profitable business
• The importance of adaptive intelligence within a leadership team
• Why aligning purpose with profit is a competitive advantage and differentiator for organizations

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Workplace safety is more important than ever, yet employees’ perceptions and opinions are often missing from the conversation.

To help change that, AlertMedia surveyed more than 2,000 American workers to uncover how safe employees feel at work and if their employers’ efforts to protect them are meeting their expectations. AlertMedia used the findings of this survey to create its inaugural State of Employee Safety Report.

Danielle Sherman, VP of Communications at Material, the research firm behind the survey, joins the show to share how the results can help organizations improve the safety and well-being of their employees.

We discuss:

• Which emergencies and disasters employees are most concerned about experiencing in the workplace
• How prepared employees are to respond to those emergencies
• If employers’ safety communications are meeting employee expectations
• What employers can do to help their people feel safer at work

For more insights and findings, download the full 2022 State of Employee Safety Report.

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

The healthcare industry has been under constant pressure since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Lori Price, Emergency Management Coordinator at Memorial Health System, has witnessed firsthand the challenges that healthcare facilities have faced over the past two years, from how to maintain daily patient care during a pandemic to crises like cyber attacks and severe weather.

In this episode, Lori shares how Memorial Health System has responded to these challenges and how the organization is improving emergency management processes for the future.

We discuss:

• The benefits of an all-hazards approach to emergency management
• How Memorial Health System responded to a recent cyber attack
• Why it’s important to offer a variety of safety trainings and drills
• How changes to human behavior can decrease the likelihood of disasters

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

HR teams seek to empower employees with the tools and resources they need to be successful at their jobs while ensuring their safety and well-being.

Saad Qureshi, Human Resources Manager at Campbell Soup Company, believes that a one-size-fits-all approach to human resources is not effective. Instead, HR professionals should involve employees in the conversation to learn what works and what doesn’t.

In this episode, Saad shares the tactics Campbell’s uses to improve culture and enhance employee engagement.

We discuss:

• The evolving responsibilities of HR leaders
• Tactics for improving employee engagement
• How a focus on employee safety boosts retention
• The importance of mental health resources for HR professionals

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

April is Workplace Violence Prevention Month, an important reminder for organizations to pause and analyze their readiness for workplace violence prevention and response. 

Bryan Strawser is an expert in helping organizations uplevel their workplace violence prevention programs and adapt to stay resilient in the future. His consultancy, Bryghtpath, helps companies improve their corporate security, intelligence gathering, business continuity, and crisis management efforts.  

In this episode, Bryan shares:  

• Pitfalls to avoid in managing workplace violence prevention programs 
• How to develop centralized reporting processes 
• When and how to communicate workplace violence incidents with employees  
• How to evaluate and mitigate workplace violence threats cross-functionally

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia. 

Get every episode delivered straight to your inbox by subscribing at https://www.alertmedia.com/podcast/. 

Emergency preparedness shouldn’t be viewed as an expense. It’s an investment in your ability to provide your customers with goods and services no matter what happens—and ultimately, that ability will lead to the growth of your business.

Al Berman, President of DRI Foundation, explains how organizations can experience the ROI of emergency preparedness through real money and hard savings.

We discuss:

• Tips for talking to executives about the business impacts of preparedness
• The importance of reviewing your insurance coverage to make sure it benefits your organization
• Moving past a fear-based approach to business continuity to focus on competitive advantages
• How to measure the effectiveness of your preparedness program

Email Al Berman at aberman@drii.org.

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Many organizations don’t realize that building safety codes were designed to ensure human survival and nothing more. They don’t guarantee that your building will be operable or even occupiable after a disaster.

A building needs to go beyond that minimum safety standard to support business continuity.

In this episode, Tracy Kijewski-Correa, Structural Engineer and Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame, explains the steps that organizations should take to enhance building safety and maintain operations following a disaster.

We discuss:

• Why the loss of life and property is often preventable
• Setting safety goals to thrive, not just survive
• The competitive advantage of exceeding minimum safety codes
• How organizations can help create market demand for safer construction

Mentioned during the podcast:

StEER Network

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

A great safety leader possesses more than just business continuity, security, and risk mitigation skills. To be a well-rounded leader, individuals must also develop soft skills and a holistic mindset to help keep their employees and business safe.

In this episode, Rick Kelly, Senior Vice President of Global Safety, Security, and Business Continuity at Chubb, explains why emotional intelligence is an important aspect of effective leadership and how he prepares the next generation of safety leaders for success.

We discuss:

• Rick’s approach to cultivating leadership in a multi-generational workforce
• The skills and experience Rick looks for when hiring future leaders
• Why incorporating servant leadership helps reinforce Chubb’s safety culture
• Advice for professionals looking to pursue a career in safety or security

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Journalists face increasing risks today. From civil unrest and military coups to stalking and online harassment, responding to and reporting on events can come with a lot of danger.

That’s why Ian Phillips, Vice President of International News for The Associated Press, was tasked with launching a new initiative focused on the safety, security, and mental well-being of journalists.

In this episode, guest host Sara Pratley speaks with Ian about his new role and his advice for ensuring the safety of any traveling, dispersed, or lone workers.

We discuss:

• The evolution of journalist safety
• The need for risk analysis when traveling to hotspots
• The benefits of partnering with industry peers on safety
• AP’s initiatives to support employee mental health

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Many protests and demonstrations are planned in advance, but civil unrest often occurs spontaneously, creating unique challenges for organizations nearby.

In these situations, safety professionals have little time to identify potential threats and ensure employee safety.

However, there are response and mitigation strategies that every organization can put in place to protect their people, maintain business continuity, and stay informed during fluid situations.

Suzanne Bernier, President at SB Crisis Consulting, explains how both organizations and individuals can prepare and respond.

We discuss:

• Unique challenges associated with protests and civil unrest
• Mitigation and response strategies to protect your business and people
• The importance of having a crisis communication plan and a skilled spokesperson
• Safety tips to consider when attending a mass gathering

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Brian Cooke, Corporate Security Manager of International Security Operations at Marathon Petroleum, joins the show to explain how organizations can build a comprehensive travel safety program that protects traveling and dispersed workers, no matter where they are.

We discuss:

• The excess of threats that could impact traveling workers
• How to educate employees about travel risks
• The start-to-finish process of mitigating risks for traveling employees
• A simple methodology for developing travel risk profiles for each traveler

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Managing safety and security for the Vegas Golden Knights is a huge job. It involves safeguarding their NHL and AHL arenas, as well as the restaurants, coffee shops, and retail stores contained therein.

Joanna Packard, the Golden Knights’ Director of Safety and Security, joins the show to explain what it’s like to secure these facilities and protect thousands of fans, guests, and employees during hockey season and year-round.

We discuss:

• The unique safety and security challenges in arena facilities
• The nuances of managing events of varying sizes and audience demographics
• Policies and procedures that help employees identify and respond to crises
• The benefits of learning from emergencies at other organizations

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Any organization can benefit from operating at a high level of readiness.

Besides supporting employee safety and business continuity, it’s also critical for ensuring the resilience of the surrounding community.

In this episode, Justin McInnis, President and Elected CEO at Texas Search and Rescue (TEXSAR), explains how his team achieves and maintains a constant state of readiness through sufficient training, support, equipment, and resources for their employees and volunteers.

We discuss:

• How TEXSAR mentally and physically prepares volunteers for difficult missions
• On-site safety for search and rescue workers
• The importance of mental health support for the response community
• The long-term benefits of achieving a constant state of readiness

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Business resilience is not about bouncing back. It’s about bouncing forward.

This is exactly what Michele L. Turner, Author and Head of Global Business Resiliency at Amazon, realized and channeled into her book, Lessons Learned: Short Stories of Continuity and Resilience.

In this conversation, Michele shares concepts and anecdotes that can help business continuity practitioners build better resiliency programs for their companies and communicate more effectively with their stakeholders.

We discuss:

• Methodologies for creating sustainable resiliency strategies
• The framework of The Three Cs: Clarity, Communication, and Cost
• How to “slow down to speed up”
• The importance of active listening in the planning process

Contact Michele on LinkedIn or Twitter.

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

A paradigm shift is taking place.

As younger generations enter the workforce, employees desire better integration of life and work—and if they don’t receive it at their current job, they aren’t afraid to leave.

As a result, companies are becoming more aware of the emotional and psychological well-being of their people.

David Hassell and Shane Metcalf, Co-Founders of 15Five and hosts of the HR Superstars podcast, join the show to discuss how organizations can make psychological safety a top priority.

We discuss:

• HR challenges that business leaders are facing today
• The benefits and impacts of psychological safety
• Strategies for fostering a psychologically safe environment
• How to communicate clear cultural expectations

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Tornadoes can damage or destroy anything in their path in seconds, leaving lasting impacts. With climate change driving tornado outbreaks year-round, organizations must continually review and update their preparedness and recovery plans. 

Warning Coordination Meteorologist Jennifer Dunn and her team at the National Weather Service combine forces with storm spotters and on-the-ground reporting to ensure everyone in a storm's path receives life-saving information as quickly as possible. 

Listen in to learn:  

• Key takeaways from 2023 tornado activity 
• How the transition out of El Niño influences tornado conditions in 2024 
• Tornado risk factors for organizations 
• Tips for effective severe weather emergency plans  
• How to alert employees to act fast in a tornado emergency 

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia. 

Get every episode delivered straight to your inbox by subscribing at https://www.alertmedia.com/podcast/. 

Creating a strong emergency management program starts with people, not planning.

Vincent B. Davis, Founder and President of Preparedness Matters, is committed to helping organizations improve their emergency preparedness and response programs by encouraging them to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the process.

After all, diversity is not just about racial disparities, it’s about bringing a group of diverse individuals to the table to offer different perspectives on preparedness and how to respond to disasters.

In this episode, Vincent discusses:

• How past roles at Walgreens, Amazon, and FEMA inspired him to help other organizations diversify
• Intentionally recruiting, hiring, and mentoring people of diverse backgrounds
• Steps for eradicating racism in emergency management
• Why organizations should strive to build a sense of community around emergency preparedness

Mentioned during the podcast:

https://www.vincedaviscem.com/

https://www.thenativefamilydisasterhandbook.com/

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Many companies struggle with crisis communication because they don’t have tools in place to manage it.

Communication expert Jeff Hahn recognized this barrier to entry and set out to demystify the field of crisis communications with his book, Breaking Bad News: 12 Essential Crisis Communication Tools.

In this episode, Jeff shares a framework that can help companies successfully navigate a crisis event.

We discuss:

• The most common roadblocks many organizations experience
• Helpful steps for successfully navigating a crisis
• Tips for effective internal and external communication
• Why options are better than answers in crisis management

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Sometimes businesses need to look back to move forward.

Guest host Sara Pratley, Vice President of Global Intelligence at AlertMedia, joins us for a special bonus episode to reflect on the threats organizations faced in 2021 and how they can help companies prepare for 2022.

She discusses:

• Physical and economic threats that are on the rise
• Extreme weather event predictions
• The increase in cybersecurity threats
• How global events can have local impacts

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

With the rise of remote work and mounting ransomware attacks, securing your organization against cyber threats has never been more crucial.

In this episode, Dax Streater, Director of Cybersecurity at LCRA, shares essential cybersecurity and risk mitigation strategies that every organization should consider to protect their people, data, and assets.

We discuss:

• Potential ripple effects of a cybersecurity incident
• Why cybersecurity should be a focus for all departments within your organization
• Tips for training employees on cyber hygiene
• Why effective communication is essential for successful cyber incident response

Resources mentioned:

• NIST Cybersecurity Framework

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Many organizations operate under the assumption that the future will look fairly similar to the present. The reality is—that’s not often the case.

With disasters increasing in size and frequency, it’s critical to consider how disruptive changes in the broader environment can impact your people, mission, and operations.

David Kaufman, Vice President and Director for Safety and Security at CNA, shares how companies can overcome preconceived notions and recency bias to develop adaptive capacity in their emergency response efforts.

We discuss:

• Bridging the gap between theory and reality in emergency planning
• The confluence of trends leading to bigger and more frequent disasters
• How the relationship between the public and private sector impacts response
• Why rigid plans can be detrimental to emergency management

Reach out to David at kaufmand@cna.org or on LinkedIn.

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

The workforce has evolved. Studies show that many workers don’t want to return to a traditional work environment.

Some say the nature of work changed, but according to today’s guest, what actually changed is the values of today’s workers. They want to be seen, heard, and appreciated at their jobs.

Bonnie Canal, Founder and Managing Partner at The Resiliency Institute, joins the show to explain why embracing this paradigm shift will allow companies to attract and retain top talent.

We discuss:

• Why management should be more flexible in how they define “work”
• The importance of remembering that employees are humans
• How to establish a culture that reflects employee values

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Indio, California, is known as the “City of Festivals.” It is home to major music festivals like Coachella and Stagecoach as well as numerous other arts, food, and sporting events.

When one of these events takes place, the population of Indio doubles, making it vital to have an adequate emergency plan in place.

Dennis Day, Emergency Operations Center Manager for the City of Indio, shares how his team engages in year-round efforts to prepare for festivals and major events.

We discuss:

• Adapting preparedness efforts in response to population growth
• How Indio protects its citizens, festival-goers, and visitors during events
• The importance of building relationships to improve emergency management

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

It’s not easy to secure huge campuses, multiple buildings, and hundreds of employees and visitors. Emergency communications can be a complicated challenge for organizations with a large geographic footprint and a steady flow of people coming in and out of their facilities.

David Markley, Director of Operations at Grace Covenant Church, joins the show to share the tools and strategies he uses to effectively communicate with his employees, volunteers, and congregation during emergency situations.

We discuss:

• The benefits of maintaining a “defense mindset”
• The importance of disseminating critical information quickly and accurately
• How two-way communication improves incident outcomes
• Why organizations should not wait to implement a modern emergency communication solution

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

FEMA has supported businesses and communities before, during, and after disasters for more than 40 years. It provides emergency assistance that includes ongoing coordination, integration, planning, and training exercises to improve organizational resilience.

Robert Glenn, Director, Office of Business, Industry, and Infrastructure Integration at FEMA, explains how businesses can receive disaster assistance, help their communities, and better prepare for emergencies.

We discuss:

• How a disaster gets declared
• The resources and services FEMA provides
• How businesses can apply for disaster assistance
• Important lessons for preparedness and recovery

Contact the Office of Business, Industry, and Infrastructure Integration at ob3i@fema.dhs.gov.

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Safety professionals provide a valuable service to an organization. Their job is to protect the people, the business, and the company reputation, and they must ensure that everyone is working toward the same safety goals.

Mark French, Senior Health, Safety, and Environmental Manager at Dalkia Solutions and owner of TSD Amalgamated Safety Consulting, joins the show to explain why more organizations should embrace the philosophy that safety is a service.

We discuss:

• How building trust with employees motivates them to be safe
• Why a sustainable safety culture requires both creative thinking and integration
• How safety leaders can better engage their workforce around safety

Check out these resources we mentioned during the show:

• Leading and Learning Through Safety
• MarkAFrench.com

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Throughout his 30+ year career, Bart Brown has led teams of hundreds, securing both the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and critical national infrastructure. 

In his current role as Vice President and Chief Security Officer at Frontier Communications, the keys to creating an effective security organization are adaptability, scalability, and automation.  Listen in to learn:  

• Which processes to outsource versus keep in-house 
• How to lead the change from manual SOPs to automation 
• The importance of public-private partnerships and external relationship-building 
• How to scale a security function up or down based on the situation 

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia. 

Get every episode delivered straight to your inbox by subscribing at https://www.alertmedia.com/podcast/. 

Salesforce released its return to the workplace plan in April 2021, which the company refers to as “Success from Anywhere.” It allows employees to choose the model that best suits their needs, whether that’s working from home, the office, or both.

The plan revolutionized how Salesforce employees work. However, it presented new challenges for safeguarding the physical and mental well-being of the organization’s global workforce.

In this episode, Stasha Wyskiel, Senior Director of Resilience, Global Safety, and Security at Salesforce, shares how her team navigates employee safety for 60,000 employees across 28 countries.

We discuss:

• The specifics of the “Success From Anywhere” plan
• Safety and security challenges of a dispersed workforce
• How Salesforce’s Global Operations Center assists employees no matter where they are

Reach out to Stasha at swyskiel@salesforce.com.

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

To celebrate the first anniversary of the show, we invited Brian Cruver, founder and CEO of AlertMedia, to discuss his storied career path as an entrepreneur and how he arrived at the idea for AlertMedia.

In this episode, Brian describes the circumstances that led to his passion for creating businesses that help people during emergencies and how they influenced his decision-making while building a purpose-driven organization.

Establishing core values like “simplicity is a strength” and “customers come first” is essential to the company’s success, according to Brian.

We also discuss:

• His scientific method approach to starting a business
• The importance of transparency within an organization
• Why ease of use is essential in an emergency communications tool
• How he keeps products and employees mission-focused

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Loss prevention in the retail industry is more complicated than ever. LP professionals must constantly peek around the corner to identify potential disruptions to their business and mitigate the associated risks. That means implementing an asset protection plan that prioritizes employee safety before anything.

This is the case at Sally Beauty, and it isn’t just lip service.

Jim Mires, Vice President of Loss Prevention and Safety, shares the steps his team takes to protect an increasing number of lone workers, partner with industry peers to solve problems, and achieve alignment on the company’s safety culture from the top down.

We discuss:

• Safeguarding employees across thousands of locations
• Implementing security devices and new policies to protect lone workers
• Why effective communication is about speed, accuracy, and knowledge
• Networking and sharing information with peers in the industry

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

It’s challenging for any organization to prepare for every possible emergency.

For that reason, many businesses use an all-hazards approach to emergency management, focusing on the impact of the incident—not the cause.

In this episode, Keith Berthiaume, Enterprise Emergency Preparedness Program Manager at Boeing, joins us to discuss how an all-hazards approach works across Boeing’s large geographical footprint to ensure business continuity.

Keith discusses:

• Boeing’s five distinctive preparedness programs
• Implementing a Crisis Management Group
• How to prepare for a global incident
• How Boeing established a unified command and coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Check out this article on Boeing by Security Magazine, as mentioned in the episode.

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Mergers and acquisitions are common in business. When they occur, it is paramount to create a holistic plan that unifies culture and operations, including emergency preparedness.

In this episode, John Brooker, Director of Industrial Security for Space and Airborne Systems at L3Harris, describes how his team consolidated existing plans to develop a cohesive, standardized crisis management program for all locations.

We discuss:

• How their newly-merged company handled the switch to remote work
• Upgrading infrastructure and technology for more collaborative crisis planning
• How to create and disseminate a standardized crisis management plan
• The importance of including your entire team in the development and execution of your emergency response plans

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

When you work at a vital blood provider for multiple hospitals and healthcare facilities, people depend on your services — especially during emergencies.

In this episode, DeKeitra Fitzgerald, Claims and Safety Manager, and Richard Dunn, Security and Resilience Manager, from Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, share the strategies they use to ensure they can provide the community with those essential services when they are needed most.

Topics covered:

• Security challenges at donor facilities
• How they prepare their organization and the community for a major event
• Resiliency management and disaster mitigation initiatives

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

With 50 facilities and nearly 80,000 employees spread across the continent, Toyota Motor North America has a lot of ground to cover with their emergency communications.

Hannah Kinnett — a member of the emergency management and business resiliency team at Toyota — explains how they leverage mass notifications and a level system for emergency alerts to accelerate incident response times.

Topics covered:

• How Toyota’s resiliency team operates
• The most common emergencies at Toyota’s manufacturing plants
• The level system used for emergency management alerts
• Backup routes for emergency notifications

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for The Employee Safety Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

This week marks the 20th anniversary of September 11. To honor that anniversary, we invited Joe Dittmar, a 9/11 World Trade Center survivor, to share his incredible story of that fateful day. Joe offers lessons learned about situational awareness and crisis management, as well as the importance of communication.

Joe is a founding member of the Naperville 9/11 Memorial Commission and an advocate for the Always Remember Initiative. Over the past 20 years, he has shared his experiences and insights into one of the most significant events in U.S. and world history.

We hope you gain value from hearing firsthand what it feels like to be in the middle of an unprecedented crisis and to navigate a chaotic situation with minimal information.

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Content Warning: This episode includes sensitive information about mental health conditions and suicide, including risk factors and warning signs, which may elicit an emotional response in some listeners. If you need support at any time, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. To learn more, we spoke with Maggie Mortali, Senior Program Director at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), about the importance of mental health and suicide prevention programming in the workplace. Maggie shares why businesses play a critical role in mental health and how they can set the tone for the well-being of our workforce.

We discuss:

• How mental health and suicide prevention education creates a stronger workforce
• Risk factors or warning signs that could indicate an employee needs help
• Guidance on how to incorporate suicide prevention programming into your Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Mental health resources available to all organizations

Check out AFSP’s events and initiatives supporting National Suicide Prevention Day, Week, and Month.

Connect with Maggie on Twitter.

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

September is National Preparedness Month, recognized each year by FEMA to raise awareness for emergency preparedness by promoting business, community, and family disaster planning.

In honor of National Preparedness Month, we invited JoAnn Dankert, Senior Safety Consultant at the National Safety Council, to share some safety tips and guidance from the NSC. JoAnn has more than 30 years of diversified experience helping organizations fully integrate EHS practices into their business operations.

Topics discussed:

• Most common preparedness challenges faced by businesses
• Conducting risk assessments, drills, and exercises in the workplace
• Involving your neighbors in your emergency preparedness plan
• How to effectively communicate with employees, leadership, and emergency responders

Learn more with these resources:

• FEMA.gov
• OSHA.gov
• Emergency.cdc.gov
• Ready.gov/kit
• Emergency Preparedness: Are You Ready for a Disaster?

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

In the two years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, global supply chain disruptions, ballooning inflation, and unpredictable risks to employee safety have left organizations scrambling to adapt. 

Today, as several global conflicts rage on with no end in sight, a new era of misinformation challenges resilience leaders to rise to a new level of vigilance—one that requires human-gathered and human-vetted intelligence—to succeed. 

AlertMedia’s Senior Vice President of Global Intelligence, Sara Pratley, sits down with Ian Phillips, Director of the News & Media Division at the United Nations, to discuss: 

• The organizational impacts of conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and the Sudan
• How the UN supports on-the-ground reporting in war zones  
• What to expect amidst concurrent global conflicts for years to come 
• How to fight misinformation with verified intelligence 

Check out the Oscar-winning documentary Ian mentioned here. 

Get every episode delivered straight to your inbox by subscribing at https://www.alertmedia.com/podcast/. 

It doesn’t take a major newsworthy weather event to produce dangerous weather impacts. It’s critical for businesses to understand the weather hazards in their area and develop a risk management plan accordingly.

Jonathan Erdman, Senior Digital Meteorologist at The Weather Channel, shares his insights and experiences with weather risk management in this episode.

Topics discussed:

• Tactics meteorologists employ to encourage people to act on warnings
• Lower-level weather risks that are often overlooked
• Strategies that businesses can adopt to improve weather preparedness
• How research methods and technologies have changed to improve forecasting

Follow Jonathan Erdman on Twitter.

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Valley View Hospital is located in a remote, mountainous Colorado town and is accessible by one major highway. Mudslides, wildfires, and winter weather are prevalent in the area and often shut down the highway for prolonged periods of time, hindering access to the hospital.

In this episode, two safety leaders from Valley View Hospital, Josh Anderson, Manager of Safety, Security, and Emergency Management, and Stacey Gavrell, Chief Community Relations Officer, join us to discuss how they manage patient and employee safety in this at-risk environment.

We discuss:

• The unique challenges with Valley View Hospital’s location
• How to gain leadership buy-in for tools used to improve safety and communication
• Why after action reports are crucial for preparedness

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Applying collaboration, curiosity, and continual improvement to your corporate security program allows for iterative processes and strengthened procedures that can impact life safety.

Bridget Guerrero, a security operations professional with more than 30 years of experience in security and intelligence, joins this episode to discuss how to improve corporate security through "The Three C’s."

Bridget talks about:

• Her career as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• Knowing when to push boundaries and take risks
• Why having a feedback loop is integral to a strong security program
• How to apply The Three C’s for peak program performance

The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.