The keys to becoming a successful risk manager
A successful risk manager sets and accomplishes these five goals while maintaining a well-balanced life.
To become a successful risk manager, establish a daily routine. Doing so will enable you to work toward improving your career, improving your client relationships, and even improving your personal life.
As a risk manager, from the start of your workday until its final minutes, your goal is to create plans, analyze solutions, and prioritize your activities. The most important tasks to the success of your business need your focused thinking.
Risk management software provides a simple and easy way to automate the risk management process. It streamlines the experience, and enables risk managers to seamlessly develop loss prevention programs.
Today’s ‘risktech’ software developers are in the business of giving you the power to identify problems and future issues. These tools empower risk managers with the ability to track down the root causes of claims and incidents. Technology also enables risk managers to monitor performance and create effective loss prevention programs for a specific location or unit.
Here are more five tips for becoming a successful risk manager.
No. 1: Stay in the know.
Don’t become one of those risk managers who finds out about a problem after it’s too late. When things go wrong, it hurts the organization financially, tarnishes its reputation and erodes client and consumer confidence.
Stay ahead of the game. Have the information you need at your fingertips. Do away with spreadsheets and the reliance upon third parties to keep you informed. Creating spreadsheets the old-fashioned way leaves room for mistakes, and it’s time consuming. When information is kept like that, it interrupts the flow of communication and you’re unable to respond to potential threats immediately.
Empower yourself and your organization with the ability to highlight and classify risk. Identify problems at a glance. Having the ability to quickly report on performance makes the decision-making process easier.
No. 2: Reduce costs while improving efficiency.
The latest risk analysis software systems are designed with prevention in mind in order to save you time and money. Injuries happen on the job all the time. As a result, claims have to be settled, legal disputes need to be addressed, and you could see an increase in premiums. However, the opposite is also true. A reduction in risk means fewer claims and better insurance rates to choose from.
No. 3: Keep your organization healthy.
Insurance companies need to understand an organization’s production processes and financial goals in order to identify potential risks and prevent them. Reducing risk in the workplace shouldn’t equal a reduction in productivity. Risk managers who help implement safer procedures also support greater efficiency.
No. 4: Enhance communication.
Whether you are answering e-mails or checking in with clients, the most important task for risk managers to manage on a daily basis is communication. Your clients should not have to wait days or even hours to get a response from you. As a first step each day, determine whom you have to communicate with, then make a plan to do so.
Today’s risk managers understand that managing issues is an interdepartmental effort. So it’s also important to boost communication between senior executives, managers and employees. By doing so, risk managers get ahead of any challenges and can spot small fires before they grow.
No. 5: Identify opportunities for growth
Being able to identify a problem quickly with software analysis strengthens your policies and procedures. It’s an opportunity to implement new ways of doing business. Take time to explore new alternatives and business innovations. Focus on solutions. Don’t live in the problem.
Some important questions to ask include: How can the staff be organized in a way that enhances their responsibilities? Can you ensure growth and expand on your ideas? Take your organization to the next level by unraveling the possibilities. Invest in a risk management information system console.
Successful enterprise, operational and IT risk managers know the benefit of having strategic and advanced frameworks for mitigating risk — crisis management is not a one-size-fit-all endeavor. Make sure you have access to a powerful tool and solution that sets you apart.
A successful risk manager is one who accomplishes these goals, but also achieves success through a well-balanced life. To be happy and successful, you’ll need to construct a daily routine that addresses the fundamentals and tasks of your job while also meeting outside goals and helping you to achieve personal success. Creating a routine can simplify your tasks, maximize your time, and give you the focus you need.
Angus Rhodes (angus.rhodes@ventivtech.com) is the global product manager at Ventiv Technology. A version of this column published first in the Ventiv Technology blog, and is reproduced here with the author’s consent.
These opinions are the author’s own.
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