Prepare a risk management plan (2024)

A risk management plan can help minimise the impact of risks that could weaken your cash flow or damage your brand. It will also help create a culture of sensible risk awareness and management in your business.

Our Crisis planning template and checklist includes a risk management plan:

Follow these steps to create a risk management plan that's tailored for your business.

1. Identify risks

What are the risks to your business?

For example:

  • flood
  • data breach
  • contamination
  • power outage

Some risks will cause major disruption while others will be a minor irritation.

2. Assess the risks

Assess the risks that you've identified.

Try to estimate the:

  • potential severity of each risk
  • likelihood that it might happen

Prioritise your risk planning based on the results of your assessment.

3. Minimise or eliminate risks

Some risks are preventable, so eliminate or minimise these where possible. For some risks, it might be as simple as installing an alarm system or buying extra personal protective equipment (PPE).

Check your insurance

Insurance is one way to reduce the impact of an event or disaster.

For example, business interruption insurance can make sure that you receive your average earnings for the insured period until you're able to start operating again.

Make sure your insurance is enough to cover you in the event of a significant disruption to your business.

4. Assign responsibility for tasks

Identify what needs to happen if a crisis or disaster occurs and who is responsible for each action. Having clear directions is one of the simplest and most powerful tools for a fast recovery.

5. Develop contingency plans

Come up with contingency plans for how you'll continue or resume your operations if a crisis occurs. Your contingency plan is basically your 'plan B' for risks that you can't avoid completely.

Your contingency plans will depend on the:

  • type, style and size of your business
  • extent of the damage

6. Communicate the plan and train your staff

People in or connected to your business must be aware of the strategies you've put in place to mitigate or recover from a disaster situation.

To do this:

  1. Decide if you'll communicate by phone, email, text or other means.
  2. Create procedural statements.
  3. Inform the relevant people (such as staff, suppliers, contractors and service providers).

Next, train your staff in your procedures and have them practise. This way if a disaster occurs, the process can take over and guide the staff.

7. Monitor for new risks

Risks can pop up during day-to-day operations, so it's important to know how to identify potential risks before they escalate.

Continuously monitoring for risks will help you develop realistic and effective strategies for dealing with issues if they occur.

Prepare a risk management plan (2024)

FAQs

How do I write a risk management plan? ›

Follow these steps to create a risk management plan that's tailored for your business.
  1. Identify risks. What are the risks to your business? ...
  2. Assess the risks. ...
  3. Minimise or eliminate risks. ...
  4. Assign responsibility for tasks. ...
  5. Develop contingency plans. ...
  6. Communicate the plan and train your staff. ...
  7. Monitor for new risks.
Jan 4, 2023

What are the 5 steps to a risk management plan? ›

  • Step 1: Identify the Risk. The initial step in the risk management process is to identify the risks that the business is exposed to in its operating environment. ...
  • Step 2: Analyze the Risk. ...
  • Step 3: Evaluate the Risk or Risk Assessment. ...
  • Step 4: Treat the Risk. ...
  • Step 5: Monitor and Review the Risk.
Jan 10, 2024

What are 3 components of a risk management plan? ›

A risk management plan is a document that outlines how the project team will approach potential risks, and typically includes elements such as risk identification, analysis, response, monitoring and control, and communication.

What five items should be documented in a risk management plan? ›

While one can group risk management processes in various ways, successful risk management should include the following components.
  • Risk Identification. ...
  • Risk Analysis. ...
  • Response Planning. ...
  • Risk Mitigation. ...
  • Risk Monitoring.
Feb 26, 2024

What are the 5 examples of risk management? ›

Some examples of risk management strategies are risk avoidance, risk acceptance, risk transfer, risk reduction, and risk retention. Cyber risk management is more targeted at managing IT and cyber risks. Cyber risk management frameworks dictate how an organization approaches risk management in cybersecurity.

How do you write a simple management plan? ›

Process for developing a management plan
  1. Develop a vision statement.
  2. Develop a mission statement.
  3. Set goals.
  4. Set major initiatives.
  5. Cover page and table of contents.
  6. Executive summary. Industry and organisation. Asset management plan. Market research. Financial plan. Future considerations. Customer services plan.

What are the 7 R's of risk management? ›

The activities associated with risk management are as follows: • recognition of risks; • ranking of risks; • responding to significant risks; • resourcing controls; • reaction (and event) planning; • reporting of risk performance; • reviewing the riskmanagement system.

What are the four components of a risk management plan? ›

4 Elements of Project Risk Management
  • Risk Identification.
  • Risk Quantification.
  • Risk Response Development.
  • Risk Response Control.
Dec 6, 2022

What does a risk management plan typically contain? ›

Risk management plans contain the methodologies, resources, schedule, budget, categories, risk probability and impact definitions and matrixes, risk tolerances, reports, and records. Methodologies should include data sources, software or other tools, and approaches such as Delphi, expert interviewing, Monte Carlo etc.

What is a short note on risk management? ›

Risk management is the continuing process to identify, analyze, evaluate, and treat loss exposures and monitor risk control and financial resources to mitigate the adverse effects of loss. Loss may result from the following: financial risks such as cost of claims and liability judgments.

What is the first step in risk management? ›

1. Identify risks. The first step in the risk management process is to determine the potential business risks your organization faces. That requires some context: To consider what could go wrong, one needs to begin with what must go right.

What is a risk management checklist? ›

The use of a risk checklist is the final step of risk identification to ensure that common project risks are not overlooked. What is it? Risk checklists are a historic list of risks identified or realized on past projects. Risk checklists are meant to be shared between Estimators and discipline groups on all projects.

How do I write a risk assessment checklist? ›

3. Risk assessment template and examples
  1. who might be harmed and how.
  2. what you're already doing to control the risks.
  3. what further action you need to take to control the risks.
  4. who needs to carry out the action.
  5. when the action is needed by.
Mar 28, 2024

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