https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/blog daily 1.0 2023-08-04 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/blog/3f7zw53n84onkia2i12l2hf8mubbvc monthly 0.5 2020-08-09 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/blog/8pp2067msmddgna4rttndv9pgls8b7 monthly 0.5 2020-08-21 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/blog/crisis-in-context-1 monthly 0.5 2020-08-21 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/blog/crisis-in-context-2 monthly 0.5 2020-08-27 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/blog/crisis-in-context-3 monthly 0.5 2020-09-03 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/blog/crisis-in-context-4 monthly 0.5 2020-09-10 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/blog/crisis-in-context-5 monthly 0.5 2020-09-17 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/blog/crisis-in-context-6 monthly 0.5 2020-09-24 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/blog/what-next monthly 0.5 2020-10-20 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/blog/shutdown-survey monthly 0.5 2020-12-07 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/blog/five-predictions-for-crowd-management monthly 0.5 2021-03-08 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/blog/the-recovery-register monthly 0.5 2023-08-04 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/blog/innri-hringur monthly 0.5 2021-09-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f256c1a3cdaa0690e009759/1631537267766-JL1CG6NM23RWNQPYBUS7/Husavik.jpg Blog - ‘Innri Hringur’ - Make it stand out Husavik, Iceland (Image: Rachel Mackay) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f256c1a3cdaa0690e009759/1631537843010-8NZDZ7FV7UBBTFIJ8VQ7/Cape+Hotel.jpg Blog - ‘Innri Hringur’ - Make it stand out The Cape Hotel, Húsavík (Image: Rachel Mackay) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f256c1a3cdaa0690e009759/1631537925181-P0JDHOBG8PXGLAFVM0DR/Iceland.jpg Blog - ‘Innri Hringur’ - Make it stand out Some of the Iceland Eurovision collection (Image: Rachel Mackay) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f256c1a3cdaa0690e009759/1631538077130-AAXJJC2N6EK6QAZUAHHE/Palace+Team.png Blog - ‘Innri Hringur’ - Make it stand out The Kew Palace Host team (Image: Rachel Mackay) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f256c1a3cdaa0690e009759/1631537536103-BTWUO0D6GSDG5JVJ4C90/Dadi+Freyr.JPG Blog - ‘Innri Hringur’ - Make it stand out Dađi & Gagnamagiđ jumper and instrument, Húsavík Eurovision Song Contest Exhibition (Image: Rachel Mackay) https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/blog/delivering-the-visitor-experience monthly 0.5 2023-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f256c1a3cdaa0690e009759/fcd6c618-f9d8-460c-a5ac-6e7543bf2166/Mackay+Pre-Order.png Blog - Delivering the Visitor Experience - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/testimonials daily 0.75 2021-03-15 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/contact daily 0.75 2023-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f256c1a3cdaa0690e009759/1691163857458-JJ39V6O8CPI51L7ES43L/image-asset.jpeg Contact - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/about-me daily 0.75 2023-11-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f256c1a3cdaa0690e009759/1596291574019-9JOFUPY2T9ABOYRO8N2Q/IMG_5338.jpg About Me - About me. My name is Rachel Mackay. I’ve been working in the museums and heritage sector for over 20 years and I’m passionate about enabling attraction operators to provide great visitor experiences. Whilst on furlough from my day job of managing Kew Palace, I spent much of 2020 focusing on helping heritage charities rebuild and recover from the Covid-19 shut down. I spent lockdown providing consultation services on reopening plans, business planning and crisis management, and have produced a variety of training resources to support staff returning to work. I also concluded a Masters research project analysing how museums and heritage organisations in the UK have responded to the pandemic from a crisis management point of view. Since then, I have moved to a new role as Head of Hampton Court Palace for Historic Royal Palaces. I have also written a book, Delivering the Visitor Experience, which is a practical guide to creating, managing and developing unforgettable experiences at your museum or heritage site. https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/guide-for-front-line-managers daily 0.75 2023-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f256c1a3cdaa0690e009759/1596296083922-8PPMNK28XZTB5WQQJVLG/10.png Toolkit for Front Line Managers - 10 Tools for Supporting Front of House During the COVID pandemic, it was clear that many front line managers were worried about how best to support FOH staff returning to work. Recommendations for “the new normal” were changing all the time in our post-lockdown world, and so was what we were asking of staff. As with any new challenge, it’s important to be mindful of the what FOH staff may be experiencing, respect their knowledge and ideas, and consult at every stage. It’s a lot! So, I created this simple toolkit for ensuring you are supporting your FOH team back to work. To build it, I consulted FOH staff on Twitter and in the real world, and I’m bringing my own experience of working both FOH/BOH as well. It was originally created for COVID, but I think the tips could be applied to any challenging and changing situation. The toolkit was illustrated by the extremely talented Jamie Strachan, who can be found on Instagram under @stracjay Feel free to use and distribute, and please let me know what you think! https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/crisis-management-research daily 0.75 2021-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f256c1a3cdaa0690e009759/1596296214044-ED0JFIPNHAPK14SKXMLT/Word+Cloud.png Crisis Management Research - An analysis of the UK museum and heritage crisis management response to the Covid-19 pandemic I have spent the last few months researching the crisis management of the Covid-19 pandemic in UK museums and heritage sites. The aims of this research were: To compare crisis management of coronavirus in museum and heritage sector to previous incidents – what themes/trends emerge? What can we learn from this? To fully understand the experience of first responders, operational and frontline staff, who are often overlooked in academic studies yet play such a key role in crisis management To articulate what lessons the sector as a whole can learn from the Covid-19 crisis and how this can inform emergency planning in the future. I’ve published a series of articles based on my research, and what we can learn from it. The series is called Crisis in Context, and you can find it in my blog. https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/404-error daily 0.75 2023-08-04 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/practical-resources daily 0.75 2023-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f256c1a3cdaa0690e009759/1598281539737-4PYKUE9YQ35ZS0F5XF0L/image-asset.jpeg Practical Resources for Crisis Management - Site Shutdown Template Was your museum or heritage site ops team caught off guard by lockdown? Use this handy checklist to make sure you’re fully prepared for the next unprecedented shutdown, whether its due to war, alien invasion… or another pandemic. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f256c1a3cdaa0690e009759/1598281593809-RA4MOS3BVA7TGHO3DLGQ/image-asset.jpeg Practical Resources for Crisis Management - Training Resources Crisis management is like a muscle: you need to exercise it if you want it to work when you need it. Use these scenarios to practise thinking about the unthinkable. How to use: Below are links to some general scenarios that should work for any museum or heritage site, as well as some specific ones for historic houses or outdoor attractions. Get your crisis management team together and go through one these scenarios at least once a quarter - make sure only one of you knows what happens, and interject with the suggested progressions as your tabletop exercise continues. Some of them might sound pretty unlikely - but how unlikely did a pandemic sound in 2019? The point is to practise exercising those decision making muscles so that when something does happen, you are used to having to think in a critical and flexible way. If you have any ideas for other scenarios, feel free to email them in to me using the Contact page! https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/a-conversation-on-crisis daily 0.75 2020-09-08 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/conflict-resolution daily 0.75 2021-01-11 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/visitor-journeys daily 0.75 2020-09-23 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/cpd-resources daily 0.75 2023-08-04 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/mental-health-and-foh daily 0.75 2021-01-11 https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/recovery-register daily 0.75 2023-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f256c1a3cdaa0690e009759/1615828471291-RGBMRS839809DPABRV0J/unsplash-image-HJgaV1qjHS0.jpg The Recovery Register - Trustee Ready! Now that we have alll embraced remote working, location is no longer a barrier to attracting the Trustees you need. All of the below experts have indicated that they are happy to be approached for Trustee roles, so why not reach out and boost your board! James Downs Head of Security, Natural History Museum Paul Griffiths Director, Painshill Park Trust Paul Kitching Head of the Natural History Museum at Tring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f256c1a3cdaa0690e009759/1615828619445-2VID04BAL7P7XNWJSTKY/unsplash-image-MOO6k3RaiwE.jpg The Recovery Register - Specialist Networks There are many free-to-join specialist networks in the sector that can also support you with resources and point you to great freelancers in the industry. Why not explore the below: Cultural Sector Facilities Management Hub Visitor Experience Development Forum Visitor Attractions Group (LinkedIn) https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/business-planning daily 0.75 2021-03-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f256c1a3cdaa0690e009759/1617183471653-DU7YB5SN7YR52T3OQYT3/unsplash-image-uCMKx2H1Y38.jpg Business Planning - Business Planning A robust business plan is an essential part of building our recovery after COVID. Ideally, museums and heritage sites should aim to cover their core business costs through core income - something that’s fallen away over the past year as we have become more reliant on grant funding to cover income gaps. Creating a new business plan can help you get back on track and grow your organisation. Going through the business planning process is a critical requirement for many funding applications, it can help refocus our thinking and it can help get teams and boards on the same page. But it can be hard to know where to start, especially for smaller, volunteer run museums. Below, you can download a free, simple business plan template to help you get going. And if you need more assistance, don’t forget to check out The Recovery Register for experts who can help. https://www.therecoveryroomblog.com/supporting-challenging-content daily 0.75 2021-08-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f256c1a3cdaa0690e009759/1628003348270-XS1BC6S66NCGIWJZLY5Q/Picture+1.png Supporting Challenging Content - Supporting your teams. Museums and heritage sites can do powerful things when they target visitor emotions. But when we deal in challenging content, we have to look after our visitors and staff. Click below to download Our Stories, Our Visitors, Our Selves; a model for looking after front-facing teams when telling challenging stories.