Technology is rapidly changing the face of risk management, and organizations are having to stay on top of the evolving risk landscape more than ever before.
Today’s hyper-connected world, and distributed workforces, has created a plethora of new risks, while also making certain existing risks much more serious than they were only a few decades ago. Consider just a few ways in which risk has changed: the use of digital technology for storing and transmitting personal and financial data opens businesses and their customers up to the constant threat of data breaches. Social media and the 24-hour news cycle now put business decisions and employee actions under a microscope. Meanwhile, globalization and a more interdependent worldwide economy have broadened the scope of risk from a company’s city or state to the United States, the continent—or even the entire globe.
Not surprisingly, today’s threats demand a new approach to risk management. Fast-moving digital crises require responses that are equally fast and nimble. To prevent or mitigate potential threats, it’s important for you and your team to always have instant access to the most up-to-date risk management plans and documents. And when an incident does occur, you also need to ensure you have a methodology in place for learning from the lessons of the crisis—and ensuring it doesn’t happen again.
Improving Risk Management
Let’s take a look at some helpful tips for ensuring your risk management program is prepared:
Ensure instant access to risk management resources.
Considering today’s fast-moving digital threats, traditional approaches to risk management planning no longer cut it. Think about how much time is wasted if key documents are stored on a SharePoint site or in a filing cabinet. When a problem occurs, your team will waste valuable time hunting down the relevant information. However, adopting a crisis management platform gives your team instant access to the plans they need, from any location, using whatever technology fits their needs. So the moment the next problem emerges, employees can instantly reference the information they need, right on their smartphones, laptops or tablets, in easy-to-navigate interactive formats such as checklists, tables, and flowcharts.
Improve communication capabilities.
Consider whether your current risk program enables your team to communicate quickly and effectively before, during, and after a crisis. These days, mobile technology is everywhere, so it makes sense to leverage it to communicate about various threats. Look for a mobile solution that enables you to send and receive alerts, incident reports, and real-time plan updates at every stage of a crisis. This will ensure that all stakeholders are in the loop at any given moment and, when incidents occur, that each employee is armed with the information he or she needs.
Learn from every incident.
Just like a football team reviewing the tape of its most recent game, your risk management program will only be successful if you apply lessons learned from your latest crisis. Gather your stakeholders after each incident and walk through what happened and why. Discuss what could have been done better or faster, and whether everyone had the information or tools they needed. Then, update your risk management plan accordingly to ensure you’re ready for the next big crisis.
The Role of Technology
One of the most important steps you can take to ensure your risk management program remains effective in the digital age is to incorporate digital technology. A crisis management platform transforms lengthy risk management documents into digital playbooks that are sensitive to each user’s role, situation, and location. Leveraging a mobile platform enables you to protect corporate operations and employees by proactively managing and mitigating risk throughout the company, while also providing a framework for preparing for and reacting to threats and crises that do occur.
As technology is the linchpin of business, only technology can help you effectively combat the new and worsening threats that face your organization. As you and your team prepare, be sure to consider how a mobile platform could help revolutionize your risk management program.
