In my last blog post, I spoke about the three lines of defence - the commonly adopted framework for providing assurance to those that govern and manage the organisation that the risks of doing business are being appropriately managed.
'Appropriate' in this context means taking advantage of opportunity risks and minimising the probability or impact of threat risks.
Within every organisation there is a latent capacity to achieve amazing things - the difference between those organisations that do and those that lag behind is the way the business leverages its greatest asset - its people.
If your organisation wants to turn 'our people are our greatest asset' from a throw away slogan that makes management feel good, to a true value and fundamental belief, then positive action needs to happen - now!
The benefit of this approach, for those firms willing to take it on, is that you will have a more resilient and agile organisation, able to change, innovate and transform itself even in the face of the continual disruption that is an ever-present feature of the modern world.
Unleashing this capacity means investing in the people who power the business. Frequently, when it comes to risk management, all the education and training goes to those that are in the 2nd and 3rd Line of Defence.
But what about those in the front line? Those that interact with clients, deal with the problems and develop workarounds and solutions to new and existing challenges - how deep is the investment in up skilling these people to understand and contribute to both value creation and value protection?
If you're not undertaking risk training and development (and safety is only a part of the overall risk environment) then you need to act. Consider the following:
1. Once you've made the decision to improve business outcomes, identify key stakeholders and
communicate the goals of the program i.e. to support achievement of business objectives
2. Train your people in what risk is, why its important and what part they should play -
particularly in the 1st line of defence
3. Align all elements of the Three Lines of Defence to maximise synergies, reduce duplication
and eliminate gaps in your risk assurance
There are 3 elements to the Three Lines of Defence model for a reason - none of them alone could produce the outcomes required to meet the organisation's expectations in terms of business results. They each need to perform their specific role in the management of risk whilst also working together with an understanding of the 'big picture'.
The organisation benefits, each level in the three lines are satisfied and rewarded, the Board and Senior Management sleep well at night and importantly all other stakeholders reap the rewards of a more resilient and agile organisation.
What are you waiting for? Take the first step - contact us to discuss your training needs and our training program for the 1st Line of Defence.
Anthony's mobile: 0404 829 040
Website: www.proximityriskassurance.com.au