Risk Management Techniques and Strategies for Risk Managers

Udemy Editor

Risk management and risk management techniques have become a vital and sought after skill within most industries. The management of risk is an essential part of any organization. From your local coffee shop to multinational organizations, every business owner needs a strategy to identify and manage potential risks to ensure business survival. Risk has become so important within commerce that it is now a separate field of study. Employees qualified in risk management are highly paid and in demand. The Project Management Institute offer a risk management certification for students interested in learning about risk management. To learn more about the PMI’s risk management certification, enroll in the PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)® course. It will introduce you to the principles of risk management including procedures and tools to identify, analyze and control risk within an organization. It covers the topics included in the PMBOK guide used for the PMI RMP exam. It also contains questions and quizzes to allow a student to test knowledge and prepare for the RMP exam.

Risk management is essential for most industries and the specific risk management approach can often be determined by each industry, but there are a number of basic approaches and tools in risk management that apply in any industry. The basic approaches that apply to all industries are:

1. Risk Identification

2. Risk Analysis and Assessment

3. Risk Control

4. Monitoring Risks

Risk Identification Techniques and Tools

Most risk management programs and risk managers begin by identifying the risks that threaten a particular organization or situation. Prevention is better than cure and this risk management technique is aimed at identifying risks before they materialize, with a view to minimizing the risk itself or seeking ways and means of reducing the potential outcome of the risks, should the identified risk scenarios materialize.

There are a number of common tools and techniques that are used by risk managers to help them identify possible risks to the organization or product. There tools and techniques are often used in combination to ensure that all potential risks are identified within the organization. Risk managers also try to ensure an environment where employees feel open about discussing potential risks without reprisal or consequences. Tools commonly used by risk managers to identify risks within an organization include creating and controlling:

· Brainstorming sessions

· Collection of event inventories and loss event data

· Interviews with staff

· Facilitated workshops

· SWOT analysis

· Risk questionnaires and surveys

· Scenario analysis

Risks identified by a risk manager generally fall into four categories namely financial risks, strategic risks, operational risks and hazard risks.

For a comprehensive overview of what risk management entails, check out the Risk Management course. This course is aimed at business owners who want to implement a viable risk management process within their organizations. The course covers the principles of risk management and the techniques taught can be applied to any organization. The course will teach you how to identify risks, how to analyze them and how to take corrective action to reduce and control risks.

Once a complete list of risks has been identified and compiled, then the risk manager needs to begin a comprehensive analysis and assessment of each of the risks identified.

Risk Analysis and Assessment

Risk analysis and assessment involves evaluating the various identified risks or risk events, to determine the levels of risk posed by that particular identified component or event, and to quantify the risk in order to assess the level of prevention or control that is required by that risk.

Analysis includes who might be harmed and how that may occur. Groups of people are generally identified when dealing with who might be harmed, rather than listing people by name. Groups commonly include customers, employees or the general public. It is important to identify how they may be harmed to assess the potential consequences of each identified risk event. The type of harm can contribute to the level of management and control required by that particular risk event.

“What if” type scenarios are often used in risk assessment and analysis to provide valuable insight into the various risks that have been identified. Assessment can also include quantifying risks in terms of the financial costs to provide insight into which risks pose more of a threat to the organization or to the groups identified in the risk assessment. There are also a number of quantitative software applications that a risk manager can use to help determine the potential costs of the identified risks.

It is also important to consider the implications of control within the risk assessment process. The ease with which the risk can be avoided, the costs involved in risk avoidance and the costs associated with risk events, need to be considered and balanced to ensure the best possible profile for each type of risk is developed.

If you are interested in adding risk management to your skills as an employee, then sign up for the Professional Risk Manager (PRM) Certification: Level 1 course. The course includes over fifty lectures that will help you prepare for the PRM exam. It will help you open the doors to a lucrative career in risk management. The course will teach you the complete range of risk management concepts. It will help you prepare for the globally recognized certification as a risk manager registered with PRMIA or Professional Risk Managers International Association.

Risk Control

Once the identification and assessment processes are complete, it is time to create the structures and processes to control or avoid risk. The processes and structures will be determined by the type of risk identified and the type of analysis associated with the risk. Risk control includes identifying procedures for risk avoidance, loss control, risk transfer strategies and potential risk retention.

Risk avoidance will include setting up procedures and controls that allow the organization to avoid the risk completely. Avoidance strategies include dropping hazardous products or removing potentially hazardous situations from the organization completely. Risk avoidance can be one of the most successful strategies for risk management but not all organization risks can be avoided. For ones that cannot be avoided, the risk manager needs to identify loss control measures and risk transfer strategies. A good risk manager should also consider risk retention and the consequences of risk retention as well.

Risk Management as a Lucrative Career Option

Risk management forms part of most industries these days. The construction industry relies on risk managers to ensure construction projects are built safely and are built with safety in mind. If you are interested in learning more about project risk management then sign up for Project Risk Management – Building and Construction course. The course includes over fifty lectures that will teach you about the risk management process on construction projects. It includes information on the International Risk Management Standard and various construction contracts, and how they can be used on projects to manage risk on the project. The course includes lessons on how to manage risk, how to make decisions when faced with risk and how to prepare a risk report.

For students interested in risks within the IT environment, the IT Risk Management course offers over eighty lectures that review IT risk and IT Risk management. It will introduce you to IT risk management procedures, components of IT risk, IT risk methodologies and it will help you understand the process of IT risk management.

Are you interested in a career in risk management? More resources and articles for potential risk management professionals include: