How to Identify Risks Within An Organisation
How to Identify Risks
In this article, we look at how organisations can identify risks and ensure that they are managed effectively.
” The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks. “
– Mark Zuckerburg
Whilst taking risks can be a progressive thing for an organisation, there are simply just some risks that we just don’t want to take.
Risks that put the health and wellbeing of staff, customers, or anyone else, in danger, are ones that organisations must frequently implement measures to identify, address, and manage.
Organisations around the globe utilise risk management to:
- Provide analysis of potential threats
- prevent injuries or illness
- Meet legal requirements
- Create awareness about hazards and risks
- Create an accurate inventory of available assets
- Justify the costs of managing risks
- Determine the budget required to remediate risks
- Understand ROI
5 Step Risk Management Process
There are 5 simple steps that are widely accepted as an effective approach to risk management. These are:
- Identify Risks: consider all of the actual and potential, internal and external, risks at each level of the organisation
- Identify Who: consider the people that may be at risk as a result of the operations of the organisation
- Assess Risks: assess the risk and determine appropriate management procedures to mitigate
- Record Findings: make a record of the risk and the associated management procedures
- Review Risk Assessment: regularly review the risk assessment process
Risk Management Best Practices
Below we highlight some successfully proven risk management practices that can help to identify risks within an organisation.
- Interviews with key employees, management, and key stakeholders;
- Periodic presenting of risk topics to board committees tasked with governance and to staff tasked with the day to day operations of the business where the risks may be present;
- Integrating risk assessment into the organisations strategic planning processes within the different departments;
- Involving upper management in planning, executing and reviewing risk management procedures;
- Risk scenario modelling for considering the “what-ifs” that could drastically impact operations; and,
- Quantifying impacts to understand what resources would be required to address and mitigate identified potential risks.
Risks In 2022
The top risks today can be identified by considering the major challenges that organisations around the world are currently facing. These include:
- Covid-19
- Increasing Reshoring
- Finding and Keeping Labour
- Navigating Changing Laws
- Growing with Increasing Demand
- Addressing Tax-Related Issues
- Maximising Automation
- Integrating Software
- Handling Increasing Competition
- Continuing to Make Margin
ISO 31000 Risk Management
ISO (International Organisation for Standardization) is an independent, non-governmental organisation representing the National Standard Institutes of over 150 countries. They develop and publish international standards in response to the needs of the international market and global expert opinions.
ISO 31000 is not a certifiable standard but it does provide significant guidance around risk management. In an extremely uncertain environment, having effective procedures in place to manage potential risks can position your business to perform well.
QSM Group specialises in helping organisations, in all different industries, implement the guidance provided by ISO 31000. Contact us today to streamline and optimise risk management within your organisation.