Management buy-in to aid decision making
Gaining senior management buy-in to the risk management programme is crucial. If management is onboard and understands the importance of risk management and how it can affect the overall business performance, then they will help instil new processes and practices to ensure everyone has a risk focus. Talking about risk at a strategic level is a great way to do this.
Having the correct procedures in place that can be monitored and audited allows for greater peace of mind and means that senior management will be less likely to be in the firing line if something does go wrong.
Training
Creating a network of risk coordinators or champions will help filter the risk message throughout the organisation. Risk management may not have been conducted or even been considered by many people within your organisation before. It is important that training is provided to guide people through the process of identifying, monitoring, mitigating risks and using the information gained to make informed business decisions.
Another important facet of this network is the ability for the organisation to retain invaluable knowledge should someone leave. Too often, great work in rising ERM up the agenda is lost when a vital member of staff is lost ‘“ good knowledge transfer and hand over is key.
