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Introduction

The management of risk is clearly the responsibility of senior management in any substantial company or organisation. This course looks at understanding risk and discusses the process in detail. Prior to attending, delegates are required to undertake a self-audit of their own area of responsibility for analysis and discussion during the course of the workshop.

Designed for:

Senior and middle management wishing to understand the topic in detail and to understand how to apply the process.

Workshop Content

Techniques for mapping risk have several common features.

Risk identification. This seeks to identify all types of risk to the business without any attempt to prioritise, suggest solutions or discount any particular item. Therefore, things from minor theft to the plane falling out of the sky will sit side by side. To get the top down view of senior management, I would suggest a facilitated risk identification workshop. Prior to this workshop, delegates are supplied with matrixes for SWOT (strength/weaknesses/opportunity/threat), PEST (Political/environmental/social/technological) analysis and the Porter's five market forces model. These are used as thought provokers and checklists of a general business nature. Each person attending would be asked to consider risk in their area of responsibility and from an industry specific viewpoint as well as from the more conventional view. The workshop would also introduce a bottom up perspective, with discussion on how to get the view of risk from the middle, lower and operative perspective.

Risk Assessment. Following risk identification, the next step is to assess each for frequency and severity. This would be the basis of the second facilitated session. A consensus opinion is required on each risk of the likelihood and impact of the event happening. This leads to Risk Consolidation, typically a matrix with four quadrants representing levels of severity and impact.

The final stage in the process is Risk Portfolio Management. This requires the senior management to perhaps take an unconventional look at the business from a number of perspectives. The balanced scorecard approach from Kaplan & Norton can be helpful in some circumstances and this is discussed. This leads to decision making and actions, contingency plans and insurance etc.

This particular course forms the ideal basis for facilitating and assisting a senior management team to actually carry out a risk assessment process.