Risk management is the process of identifying, assessing and managing potential issues that could have a negative impact on an organization’s business operations and financial performance. It involves being mindful of potential risks and what could go wrong — both the expected and the unexpected. Risk managers must be aware of all forms of risk in their area of responsibility — and beyond, if possible. They should know how those risks would affect the business and what steps to take or what contingency plans to activate to reduce risks and avoid business problems.
Similar Posts
Business understanding
To identify and estimate risks to a company, risk managers need to understand how the business works. They can’t say finance doesn’t matter because they’re in IT, or vice versa. Business understanding is a must — especially if the risk manager aspires to join the C-suite in the future.
Is risk management a soft skill?
Risk management is a complex and comprehensive process. It’s definitely not a soft skill — or, at least, not just one. There are many types of risk, including compliance, security, operational, financial and reputational risks. Risk managers require a combination of both hard and soft skills to successfully address all the various risks. For example, compliance is a…
Strategic thinking
No sports team ever wins by only playing defense — and that applies here, too. If risk managers look at how things affect the business as a whole, they might come up with a better way for their organization to operate. Part of a risk manager’s job is to see the big picture — and…
Financial knowledge
Risk managers need to know the potential cost of network outages and security breaches, as well as the likely financial impact of other business risks. Ultimately, financial risk will get everyone’s attention in the C-suite and individual departments. The costs of lost productivity, lost income and financial penalties can be crippling to a business if…
Regulatory knowledge
If there’s one thing governments do well, it’s regulating things. Regulations are constantly being added and updated. Risk managers must invest some of their time to stay up to date on all the changes and understand new and evolving regulatory requirements.
Problem-solving skills
Risk managers also need to be able to solve problems. While some risks might require passing the issue on to someone above a risk manager’s pay grade, others often will be left to the risk manager to solve. As a result, they need to like getting their hands dirty from a problem-solving standpoint.