Tag Archives: Oil and Gas / Energy Insurance & Risk Management

Dec 19 2013
Leave a comment
Business Insurance, Risk Management

How to Effectively Manage Enterprise Risk

According to a recent survey for the Risk & Insurance Management Society, more than half of risk professionals are using enterprise risk management (ERM) programs in their companies. Of nearly 1,100 risk managers, insurance buyers and other risk professionals that featured on the survey, 63% of respondents stated they have ‘fully or partially integrated’ ERM strategies into their risk management programs. Of course, the bigger the business, the bigger the number of risks. However, enterprise risk management is becoming increasingly popular among businesses of all shapes and sizes as it effectively ensures that risks are evaluated and avoided while any credible opportunities to achieve the company’s objectives are seized. But it’s not always easy finding the right ERM strategy for your business. By following these simple steps however, ERM can be made easy.risk reduction strategy

Determining your Objectives & Risk Appetite

Before you can go about identifying potential risks that could threaten your organization, you must address your risk appetite and outline a clear set of objectives. Determining the objectives of your ERM strategy will help you develop a philosophy towards risk management. What determines these objectives will be your organization’s risk appetite. Implementing an effective Enterprise risk management strategy is a process. You won’t be able to make changes over night. Defining your risk appetite and philosophy towards risk management should top your ERM agenda so that you can set about outlining objectives and subsequently identifying what risks you need to be wary ofs.

Identifying risks

In many ways, the identification of risks is exactly what your Risk Management Strategy is designed to do. Risk events that could negatively impact on the company and it’s objectives are the biggest consideration of the enterprise risk management process. These risks, internal and external, must be identified and assessed so that you can prepare for and protect against them. By considering factors such as likelihood and potential impact is surest way of assessing how they should be managed.

Responding to potential risk events

Once you have a clear indication of what risks may negatively impact on your business, you can go about setting out a preventative strategy, aimed at mitigating the possibility of a risk event occurring. The enterprise risk management process should not only be used as a preventative measure however, it should also give businesses the technical know-how of responding to these potential events. Some responsive measures include avoiding, accepting, sharing and reducing risks. Whichever step the company chooses to take depends entirely on the outlined objectives and risk appetite of the company.

Consistency

All of the above steps would be rendered completely useless if the company’s enterprise risk management strategy was not applied at every level of the organization, on a consistent basis. Employees at every level must be trained in on the risk management plan. By applying policies and procedures that allow risk response to be effectively carried out, you can brief your entire staff on company policy with regards ERM. In order to ensure every inch of the operation is under the one roof, a strong communication strategy must exist across a company, at every level.

Once an effective enterprise risk management strategy has been established, changes will occasionally need to be made to keep the plan up to date with the constant changes within the company. Other factors such as emerging risks and reputational risk management may also impact on the ERM strategy so it is important to remain flexible and open to policy changes. First and foremost though, it is important to set out your strategy as outlined above. In doing so, you can easily ensure the protection of your Business and the safety of the brand.

Risk Management can be challenging for businesses, particularly with continuously emerging risks. By getting yourself a free risk assessment, you can protect your business against the challenges that lay ahead.

 

Coy Sunderman is a risk advisor specializing in risk solutions for construction businesses, oil & gas operations, manufacturers and distributors/wholesales. Coy is a Certified Work Comp Advisory and holds his CIC (Certified Insurance Counselor) designation.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Oct 30 2013
Leave a comment
Healthcare Reform

Small Employer Tax Credit Changes for 2014

The small employer tax credit was created in 2010 upon the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Next year, a few key aspects of the tax credit will change.

For 2014 and later taxable years, the maximum credit increases to 50 percent of premiums paid for taxable small employers and 35 percent of premiums paid for tax-exempt small employers. But those credit percentages are based on the average premium in the small group market in the rating area where employees sign up, instead of the specific premium chosen by employees.

Also beginning in 2014, the health care tax credit is only available to an employer for two consecutive taxable years, and cannot start before the 2014 taxable year. Finally, the new rules require employers to obtain group coverage through an Exchange to claim the credit.

Please contact Texas Associates Insurors for more information on the small employer tax credit.

 

 

Dana Rostro is the Director of Employee Benefits Sales and Operations at Texas Associates Insurors.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Oct 09 2013
Leave a comment
Health Insurance, Healthcare Reform

Impact of the Government Shutdown on Healthcare Reform

The U.S. Constitution requires Congress to pass a bill establishing a federal budget, often called a spending bill. For a spending bill to pass, the Senate and the House of Representatives must all agree upon the bill, which must then be approved by the President. When Congress is unable to agree upon a federal budget, or when the President vetoes it, before the budget cycle ends, a government shutdown occurs.

Due to Congress’ inability to reach an agreement on a spending bill, a government shutdown began on Oct. 1, 2013, following the end of the federal government’s fiscal year. Although the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has passed a spending bill that maintains spending levels, the bill does not provide funding to implement the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Democratic-controlled Senate has refused to take up any bill that does not fully fund the ACA.

What happens during a government shutdown?

Similar to a lockout in the private sector, during a government shutdown, the government stops providing all “non-essential” services. This means that many government functions will stop, and many federal employees will be furloughed.

However, military personnel and essential employees will not be furloughed. In addition, other “essential” government functions and services will continue. These functions and services include:

  • Social Security, Medicare and certain types of veterans’ benefits;
  • National security, including the U.S. military and embassies;
  • Public safety, including air traffic control, emergency medical care, border patrol, federal prisons, most law enforcement, emergency and disaster assistance, overseeing the banking system, operating the power grid and guarding federal property;
  • All agencies with independent sources of funding, including the U.S. Postal Service and the Federal Reserve; and
  • Members of Congress, including essential Congressional staffers (but not those that are non-essential).

Which government agencies are affected?

Nearly all federal agencies will be affected by the government shutdown in some way. The Administration’s Office of Management and Budget has detailed contingency plans that describe each agency’s course of action.

The government estimates that roughly 800,000 federal workers will be furloughed as a result of the government shutdown.

Department of Health and Human Services

HHS said that a government shutdown could mean furloughing 40,512 workers, amounting to 52 percent of HHS employees.

However, the effect that the shutdown will have on each office will vary based on whether the service is essential. For example, those running the Suicide Prevention Lifeline would stay, but those in charge of investigating Medicare fraud would be furloughed. In addition, some parts of HHS will only be partially shut down.

Department of Labor

A majority of the DOL’s employees will be furloughed. About 13,350 employees will be furloughed, amounting to 82 percent of the DOL’s workforce.

Internal Revenue Service

Nearly 90 percent of the IRS’ workforce, or 86,200 workers, are expected to be furloughed. Although Social Security benefit payments, automated revenue collections and daily cash management for the federal government will continue, the IRS will stop performing key functions, including audits, examinations of returns, processing of paper returns and call-center operations for taxpayers with questions.

Certain essential employees, such as law enforcement, will not be furloughed, along with some positions that are paid for by funds outside of Congressional appropriations.

How does the government shutdown impact the ACA?

The government shutdown has very little, if any, impact on the health care reform law, despite efforts to defund the law. Because funding for the ACA was passed by Congress in 2010, the health insurance Exchanges still opened for enrollment on Oct. 1, 2013, and won’t be affected by the government shutdown.

Although the Exchanges are operational despite the government shutdown, technical difficulties may still occur due to a high volume of traffic. When attempting to access Exchange websites on Oct. 1, consumers experienced wait times, glitches and error messages indicating heavy Internet traffic.

IT contractors are currently working to fix the issues. However, the shutdown affects non-essential government workers, which may include some of the IT staff.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Sep 19 2013
2 Comments
Business Insurance, Risk Management

The Importance of Increasing Risk Management Funding

According to a recent report conducted by professional services firm Deloitte, heightened regulatory scrutiny and greater concerns over risk governance have led a large proportion of the world’s financial institutions to increase their risk management spending. The survey on risk management practices which is titled ‘Setting a Higher Bar,’ found that two-thirds of the surveyed financial institutions reported an increase in spending on risk management and compliance in 2012, reflecting a 55 percent increase since 2010.Risk management flow chart on paper

The report went on to indicate that operational risk has been a continuing challenge for many institutions. It attributes the lack of ability to measure operational risk as the key factor that has caused resounding apprehension among organizations with regards operational risk management.

With Risk Management funding on the rise but cautiousness lingering on, it is important to understand why you should invest in operational risk management so that you can look out for your business with a clear conscious and ensure your money is being well spent.

Risk identification

Being pro-active and examining potential hazards, whether they are short or long-term, and how they could negatively impact your business, is crucial in Risk Management but it’s much more than a ‘one-off’ trip. Many Insurers will argue that Risk Management is more of a journey than a destination and in order to ensure your Business process remains ‘loss-free’, you have to persist and ensure the Risk Management process is continuous and consistent. This comes from adequate funding and an investment of both time and energy.

Protection against emerging risks

It has recently emerged that reputation is considered the most difficult risk to manage for businesses. While this may be true, it does not have to be the case. Investing time and effort into Risk Management can help you protect against emerging risks such as reputational risk and Social Media Risk, both of which can be difficult to protect against in our ever-changing world. Adequate training coupled with extensive research can help you mitigate the chances of experiencing a social media blunder or indeed seeing your reputation suffer. This is no cost-free procedure however, and will require continued investment so that you can stay one step ahead of the risks.

Review Process

The Risk Assessment review process is not always regarded a priority for businesses, but without it, you can never fully understand how operational your system is and what kind of results it is delivering. While many insurers will recommend an annual review process as an adequate measure, if you are serious about operational risk management and are determined to see positive results, an ongoing review process should be atop your list of priorities.

By introducing a consistent review process, you will be able to evaluate where you are going wrong with your Risk Management Strategy and what exactly you are doing right. It also helps in managing and mitigating the emerging risks we discussed above, making regular modifications and updates easier to carry out. This too will require ongoing funding to effectively implement but considering the potential damage a loss occurrence could do to your business, it can only be regarded as a modest investment.

Operational Risk Management can be a tricky business, and for many businesses, it is just that. But, it doesn’t need to be. Discarding an apprehensive approach begins with understanding your requirements, establishing the hazards and identifying who may be harmed and how. Ensuring the long-term safety of your Business and your Business process requires a consistent level of funding, effort and attention.

If you are in need of Strategic Rick Management advice, get a free consultation from one of our experts.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Sep 12 2013
Leave a comment
Risk Management

4 Biggest Risk Management Challenges

In many ways, Strategic Risk Management is understanding that failure to adequately account for a number of related risks can negatively impact on you and your business. While organizations are increasing Risk Management funding and ultimately developing their understanding of a ‘loss-free’ process as opposed to a ‘risk-free’ one, hesitancies with regards Risk Management remain, limiting the potential progress of companies. risk management

Risk would not be so-called if there was 0% chance of a loss event occurring. However, in identifying and analyzing the difficulties created by implementing Strategic Risk Management, we can overcome obstacles and focus on success.

Below, we have outlined the 4 biggest challenges faced by organizations in developing and implementing Strategic Risk Management.

Defining Risk Appetite

Defining risk appetite is arguably the most important step to achieving success with your Risk Management Strategy. By tracking risk assessments, setting quantitative and qualitative criteria, and taking into consideration a risk’s unique impact on financial metrics, external relationships, and most importantly, strategic goals, it is easy to weigh up what you are setting out to achieve with your Strategy. In addition, identifying your requirements and the potentiality of various risks within your business will help you to devise your long term and short term Risk Management goals.

The application process

The application of Strategic Risk Management varies considerably with Industrial circumstances and requirements. Risks in the workplace will depend on the nature of the workplace, with Credit Risks, Property Damage Risks and Health and Safety Risks are all components that will vary depending on the work you are involved in. While these risks will vary in prevalence depending on Industry, the application process remains unchanged.

Through defining your Risk Appetite and identifying the risks that threaten your Business, you can work on applying your Strategy to ensure potential risks don’t come back to negatively impact on your overall process. This begins with training, an established review program and a solid communications structure within the organization.

Internal Communications

While the success of Strategic Risk Management starts with establishing what you’re after and subsequently developing a way of tackling those risks, the potential success/failure hinges on the Communications structure within your organization. Often in crisis situations we see a simple breakdown in communication as the determining factor. This is one of the biggest Risk Management challenges facing Businesses and other organizations as it is often taken for granted and pushed to the background behind some more ‘obvious’ demands.

Developing a solid communications structure starts with engaging stakeholders and finishes with ensuring each and every employee is in the know when it comes to company policy.  If employees are unaware of how their responsibilities relate to the bigger picture, strategic goals may remain abstract as opposed to actionable. It is often advisable for organizations to delegate responsibilities among employees so that everyone takes on the responsibility of actively managing risk.

Quantifying Success

Risk Management is very much a grey area with the numerous considerations that need to be made in its development and implementation, but its success or failure is easily identifiable. Obvious signs like a crisis or risk event will clearly demonstrate the failure of Strategic Risk Management, however quantifying successes can be a much more difficult process.

Establishing a coherent and conclusive evaluation process can help you to learn what is going right and what could be improved. This is part of the overall review process which allows you to remain one step ahead with your Risk Management process.

While implementing Strategic Risk Management is not a simple step by any means, there is no reason it can’t be made easier through a calculated step by step approach, taking obstacles into account and consequently moving to evade them.

We offer free expert advice on Strategic Rick Management for Businesses so you can manage risks effectively and ensure the success of your business.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Sep 05 2013
Leave a comment
Risk Management

Equipment Breakdown Insurance

What to do when you business equipment breaks down?

equipment breakdown insuranceWe often times take our working business equipment for granted. When something breaks down, however, we find ourselves in a state of panic and work brought to a sudden standstill. There are a number of things that can cause equipment to breakdown, from a power surge damaging your network, to an employee error. Equipment breakdown insurance protects against breakdowns caused by power surges, motor burnout, boiler malfunction, and operator error.

Coverage

Protection provided by equipment breakdown insurance can pay for:

  • The cost to replace spoiled stock or materials
  • Costs associated with the time and labor to repair or replace equipment
  • The cost to repair or replace the damaged equipment
  • Other expenses due to limit loss or speed restoration

Cost

The cost of equipment breakdown insurance depends on how much you buy. When determining the amount and limits of coverage you will need, it’s important to consider all the possible situations that could occur, not just the face value of the equipment being covered. For instance, what if you experience property damage as a result of equipment breakdown? What if your business has to shut down for a certain period of time? You can begin to imagine how breakdown losses can start to add up.

Property Insurance and Warranty

The majority of standard property insurance policies do not provide insurance for equipment breakdown. Likewise, warranties only cover so much.

Warranties are restrictive. They will typically only cover new equipment for a certain amount of time, and only for specific type of breakdowns and failures. Also, warranties will not pay for lost business income or equipment damage due to operator error. Unfortunately, operator error is the cause for many equipment breakdowns.

Whether or not you choose to insure your business equipment is ultimately up to you. Depending on the size of your business and value of your equipment it may be wise to purchase additional equipment breakdown insurance to go along with your property insurance.

If you have questions about equipment breakdown insurance, ask an expert here.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Aug 08 2013
Leave a comment
Business Insurance, Risk Management

3 Reasons Employee Vigilance is Vital in Your Risk Management Strategy

Most of us have an unconscious list of risks that we expect to meet in our workplace every day. If pressed, most of us could list the obvious risk management measures that are in place in our workplaces. We can see the handrails and warning signs to prevent slip/fall accidents and we know all about the ergonomic importance of good posture.

But there are some workplace injuries we don’t automatically see a solution for, and some that we don’t even consider when we assess our day-to-day risks. Some of the top 10 workplace accidents occur outside that subconscious list of daily dangers.

The irony is, they are on the list of common accidents, specifically because they fall outside that list. These are accidents that have one unified risk management solution; be vigilant. While a comprehensive risk management strategy means finding solutions, these accidents demonstrate the role employees must play in their own safety.

Falling Objects

While your risk management strategy will include provisions for the proper storage of heavy objects and the provision of safety gear. That said, it is inevitable that objects will be dropped, as you can never 100% guarantee safe carriage of any item. Once that happens there is a risk of injury and the difference between an injury and simple damage to the object will be the reaction of your employee. If they react quickly to move or catch the object (depending on size) they will avoid injury.

Reaction Injuries

Even then, it may not be enough simply to react, your employee must react appropriately. Reaction injuries like muscle damage or body trauma can occur when an employee tries to avoid another injury. Grabbing a rail may prevent a fall but sprain a wrist or dodging a falling object may mean running straight into a door.

Walking Into Injuries

Not that employees need to be dodging a hazard to walk into things. Completing this list of unlikely risks that cause common accidents, the ‘walking into’ injuries are more common in the workplace than vehicle accidents, machine entanglements and repetitive stress injuries. When you aren’t looking where you are going, everything becomes a hazard.

Each of these examples, taken from the list of the top ten most common workplace injuries, require well-trained and risk-aware employees. When you set your risk management strategy, it’s vital that you important that you include every single risk. And teach your employees to react appropriately to every hazard. Especially the risks they’d least expect.

For more information on risk management, or a free risk assessment, you can ask one of our insurance experts for free. 

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jul 18 2013
Leave a comment
Business Insurance, Risk Management

Manufacturers – Protect Your Organization When Discontinuing Operations

Selling part of your business or discontinuing a product line is a complex process. However, you are not free from liability or risk once the process is complete. If your goods are still sued after you exit the market, you are still liable for any potential personal injury or property damage resulting from those products.

When choosing to discontinue operations, many companies make the mistake of not purchasing insurance coverage to protect against defense and indemnity expenses that accrue after the business closed or product line is obsolete. As a result, they are left vulnerable to a potential lawsuit.

Organizations that discontinue operations and consequently layoff employees also face personnel issues and legal hurdles. To avoid complex legal headaches, business owners must be knowledgeable of their compliance obligations.

Product Liability

Once a product becomes available to the public, its makers become liable, even when the company is sold, merges with another organization or when the product is no longer produced. You are liable for any product you manufactured that is currently or was once on the market, regardless of the current state of your business operations.

Purchasing an insurance policy that protects against risks when discontinuing business operations is a must, as CGL policies do not cover injuries or damage that occurs after the business is sold or closed. Business owners should take the necessary precautions to protect themselves by purchasing a Discontinued Operations Insurance policy and by adhering to the following recommendations:

  • Get to know industry standards and applicable legal requirements. Before leaving your business or ceasing operations, determine how you must legally do so. For instance, you must give notice to creditors, the specifics of which vary by jurisdiction.
  • Devise a run-off business infrastructure. By doing so, you can handle future claims that result from incidents that occurred before the business closed. It is wise to devise risk management solutions in anticipation of a problem; you will already have remedies in place. Also, if defendants have difficulty locating you, this may be seen as an evasion of responsibility and could result in punitive damage for bad faith conduct. A run-off plan will mitigate those risks. It is also smart to let customers know why you are closing your doors or discontinuing a product line.
  • Create an infrastructure based on your needs. The creation and design of your company’s infrastructure will depend on how the business is shut down. Also, companies operating in highly regulated fields will have more obligations and the structure must accommodate losses far beyond when the business is closed. While creating an infrastructure, consider hiring a consultant who can provide guidance concerning future claims. You may also benefit from the expertise of loss auditors, legal counsel and product liability experts.
  • Provide guidance to those who remain. If you are only closing part of your business or discontinuing a product line, run-off your responsibilities before doing so. Provide legal advice, risk management and commercial guidance.
  • Maintain solid business records. Document when and where products were manufactured and to whom and when these products were sold. Your organization should also document the product development process, quality control measures, testing procedures, vendor lists and supplier lists. If you sell your business, keep all of the records from that transaction.
  • Create problem resolution systems. This may include consumer hotlines, complaint reporting procedures, incident forms, etc. Also determine why merchandise was returned to your company to potentially identify any potential product defects.

Personnel Liability

In addition to the concerns about product and consumer liability, there are also employee liability issues that must addressed when discontinuing operations, specifically with regard to layoffs and terminations. While this may be a trying time for your organization, it will be significantly worse if a terminated employee files a lawsuit against the company, so it is best to be prepared.

The following are safeguards to consider when conducting layoffs in conjunction with discontinuing operations at your business:

  1. When employees are let go, ask them to sign a waiver promising not to sue (known as a separation agreement). Be mindful of the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990 (OWBPA), which mandates that workers over age 40 have a minimum of 21 days to sign the release and another seven days to change their decision after they do so. If you pressure workers to sign before this time, you are at risk of a lawsuit. Under OWBPA, you must also provide 45 days to sign a waiver for multiple workers being laid off at the same time.
  2. Consider the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which requires companies in certain circumstances to give employees notice before a layoff. More information is available at http://www.doleta.gov/layoff/warn.cfm.
  3. Offer severance packages based on the employees’ titles and lengths of service, as opposed to offering a universal package for all employees being laid off.
  4. Do not blame employees for things that they did not do or make false accusations as a way to justify a layoff.
  5. Conduct layoffs within a short period of time.
  6. If you must discontinue operations for financial reasons, high-ranking employees should also take some cuts as well. This shows remaining employees that everyone is making sacrifices for the company.
  7. Provide job counseling, resume writing guidance and job searching assistance to employees being let go.

Discontinuing your business’s operations presents may liability issues with regard to your products, services and employees. To learn more about the insurance solutions designed to mitigate those risks, contact us today.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jul 11 2013
1 Comment
Risk Management

5 Common Mistakes in Implementing Risk Management

We learn more when we make a mistake than when we get something right. For this reason, we can learn just as much about a topic by reading about mistakes as we can from hearing success stories. So with this in mind, in the hopes of learning a little more about risk management, let’s look at 5 common mistakes made in implementing risk management.

No Overall Risk Management Strategy 

Micro-managing your risks may work in the short-term, but with no overall strategy, your risk management is lacking direction. This direction helps keep your risk management on track and sets a precedent for how future risks are dealt with.

Short Term Risk Management Review

It’s very common for businesses to get caught up in the identifying, evaluating and strategizing of risk management that they run out of steam and forget the assessment element of the process. Once a strategy has been in practice for a period of time, this is the right time to really assess just how effective it is. Neglect this step, and small issues can quickly become major problems.

Skipping Departmental Input

Each department has a role to play in effectively identifying risks throughout the company. The importance of input from throughout the company cannot be stressed enough. They possess unique insights into the operations of each aspect of business. Without their input, crucial risks can go unmanaged.

Fear of Failure

We design our risk management strategies in the hope we won’t have to deal with failure, however we can’t count it out. Failure is always an option, because as we know we stand to learn a lot from our mistakes. Being too afraid of failing means we don’t take risks and don’t try anything different.

Imbalance of Proactive and Preventative Risk Management

Risk management comes in many forms from proactive measures such as training and preventative measures like purchasing insurance. A common mistake would be to rely too much on one over the other. Finding a balance means risks are minimized through thorough employee training and the potential consequences should this fail are also lessened with the right insurance in place.

Whether we make mistakes, or someone else does – this can provide us with a lot of guidance for the future. Have you ever made a mistake in your risk management, what did it teach you?

For more information on avoiding mistakes when implementing risk management you can ask an insurance expert

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jul 01 2013
1 Comment
Bond Management, Business Insurance, Employee Benefits, Health Insurance, Risk Management

How Does Risk Management Create Value?

Risk management isn’t just a defensive tactic designed merely to keep something bad from happening. Effective risk management can also be constructive and encourage the creation of something positive. This positivity is a culture of value and self-awareness.

How to create value with risk management

Risk management doesn’t have to be a secondary addition to your business strategy, it can be incorporated into your overall business plan to give you direction and help you make the best decisions.

Balancing risk avoidance activities and responsibilities throughout the company makes it so that everyone is aware of what the risks are and how they are to approach them. Rather than a strategy dictated from up above, risk management becomes more of an open discussion that includes input from multiple areas. Not only is a fully comprehensive view of risk management at work in a company, it’s all-inclusive for management and employees alike.

Risk management allows for risks to become opportunities

Executives and board members are likely to have a much longer list of worries than their average employee would. Especially in the digital information age and with the popularity of social media for example, reputational risk is of real concern to many companies

Managing these types of risks, risks that have many variables, as part of your business strategy allows for large scale projects such as social media monitoring to be broken down into smaller manageable tasks and spread throughout the company. Employees can become more involved in the company’s risk management. It also potentially makes for more effective risk management if employees are encouraged to make suggestions for improvement or development.

Risk management best practice

To best understand how your risk management can bring value to your business, you need to understand how these risks can affect you. Generally they fall into four areas – strategic, operational, financial and compliance. How would your business plan get thrown off? What would loosing the use of a key piece of machinery mean to business? Often times the answers will come from those who would be directly affected by these risks, frontline staff.

Proactively managing these risks not only gives management, but all members of staff piece of mind that risks have been comprehensively assessed.

The value risk management creates can be viewed in many ways. It’s including employees of every level in the protection and management of the company. It’s tying business strategy with risks avoidance and management for efficient planning and strategizing. It’s creating opportunities for everyone to get involved and strengthening the company’s defenses against risk.

If you have risk management questions, click here to ask an expert

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
← Older posts