Training and Education for Developing Risk Management Capabilities
Risk managers hold great responsibilities and take on a variety of important roles to contribute to the success of their companies. In most companies, risk management is deeply connected with strategic thinking, the mission and vision of the organization. However, there is an apparent gap between risk managers and employees regarding the primary roles and responsibilities of risk management. The persisting doubt is whether the role should be largely defensive or more anticipatory. Bridging this gap needs attention on key focus areas meant for developing risk management capabilities for an organization’s overall success.
One of the important areas that needs attention to bridge this gap is training, education and development of a positive relationship between C-Level executives, risk managers and employees; their cohesive agreement on the understanding and capabilities needed to lead risk management.
Employees rarely collaborate willingly with risk management initiatives. They may be resistant to adopting new risk management processes. This results in unclear accountability of risks with importance of risk management not being understood.
Apart from strengthening ERM capabilities and integrating ERM into strategic planning, training & education is the most important focus area for managing risks in an organization. Training & education is potentially a valuable opening to facilitate deeper exchange of ideas between employees, risk managers and the senior management of an organization. While many corporate leaders feel comfortable tackling the risks they encounter, there is a greater need for teaching the entire workforce basic risk frameworks and concepts, and how to deal with uncertainty.
Targeted training helps a risk management workforce to raise the intensity of interactions with operations and shared services. This helps personnel who undergo training to align themselves with industry standards. Learning to speak the “unified business language” increases the involvement of the risk management team and significantly improves their confidence.
Managers have to involve employees in risk assessment activities, compile risk reports and adhere to risk policies and procedures. Quality training will persuade them to carry out these responsibilities with better dedication. While training a risk management workforce, risk managers should focus more on strategic topics and lesser on tactical matters. Competent risk management personnel must pass on their awareness and skills about risk management through sessions that augment the overall risk management potential across the organization. It is highly imperative to engage people at every level, so that they recognize that risk is a part of everyday work. That makes risk management training exceptionally effective.
Fadi Al-khatib
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