Risk Assessment Basics

Protect your company and the community through risk assessment

No matter what industry you're in, risk management can help you minimize loss while protecting your bottom line. Understanding risk assessment basics can help you whether you're hiring an outside risk management consulting firm, providing risk assessment services to other companies, or designating an employee to serve as your risk assessment manager.

Ideally, risk management programs consider risks both from and to the company. Management of risk includes:

1. Examining how your policies and practices impact individuals, the community and the environment.
2. Identifying potential risks to your company, and how they can be avoided.
3. Considering a wide array of risk management alternatives.
   

 

Seek risk analysis advice and support from a professional organization

Professional organizations can connect you to fellow risk management professionals, provide information on risk management solutions, and direct you to risk management training.
Try: The Society for Risk Analysis focuses on bringing together professionals from diverse disciplines and sectors. The Risk Management Association is for credit and lending professionals, and the Public Risk Management Association offers support for public sector risk management professionals.

Look for specialized risk management information

Risk management is a broad category that includes everything from identifying risk to creating policies that address it. It also includes risk to and from the organization. And, risk analysis and management will vary widely depending on your industry, whether you're in health care or construction. For the most accurate and relevant risk management solution, find information that addresses your situation.
Try: At the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website, read a guide to ecological risk assessment. The University of California website features a section on Information Technology risk assessment, including components of a risk assessment, an overview of risk assessment methodology, and an online risk assessment tool.

Consult risk management firms

Some larger companies have a full-time risk assessment manager, but if you run a smaller business, or if you have infrequent risk management needs, you may fare better to hire a risk assessment firm.
Try: Cardinal Risk Management can help you develop a risk management program, or validate your current risk management solution. ABS Consulting specializes in enterprise risk management.

 

• Dedicate equal time to management of risk both by and to your organization. It's essential that you protect your company by safeguarding everything from your private information to your financials, but it's equally important to be a good corporate neighbor, by minimizing any negative impact you may on your community and environment.
• If you want to keep risk management in-house, provide ongoing training for the employees responsible for this process. In many cases, a simple refresher seminar may be all that's needed to keep your employees on top of the latest trends and practices in the field.

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