Risk is a fact of life for businesses of all kinds – large and small. If we’re lucky, we might see it coming, so that we have an opportunity to formulate a coping strategy. But how can managers and employees be best prepared to deal with the unexpected? Iain Wright, CFIRM, Outgoing Chair of the Institute of Risk Management, has some informed observations on the subject.
Q Thank you for your time today, Iain. To start with, can you share some information with us about the IRM, and how your members dealt with risk mitigation with regard to COVID-19?
We found that, out of the 959 respondents, 32% of organisations had not considered pandemic risk or anything similar before it happened.
A The Institute of Risk Management (IRM) is the leading international professional body for risk management. We are an independent, not-for-profit organisation that champions excellence in managing risk to improve organisational performance. We do this by providing internationally recognised qualifications and training, publishing research and guidance, and raising professional standards across the world. Our 8,000 members work in all industries, in all risk disciplines and across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors in more than 100 countries.
The role of risk management is to help organisations achieve their objectives in an uncertain world. In 2020, that world was turned upside down as a long-observed, although perhaps not sufficiently managed, risk – global pandemic – became a live issue.
We were pleased that nearly one thousand of IRM’s members and contacts around the world were able, at such a busy time, to contribute to our pandemic response
