Risk Management Services

Background

The 21^st Century has brought with it complex and dynamic risk management problems that require sophisticated decision making to properly address them. When we say “sophisticated” we don’t mean onerous, time-consuming, or expensive. Instead, our process for risk management decision-making allows for progressive, practical and nimble solutions that take into an organization’s current reality and organizational values.

The risk management methodology we use stems from a recognized ISO standard that has been sportified and Canadianized. Over the past decade, the Sport Law & Strategy Group and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (“CCES”) have collaborated on a national initiative – the Risk Management Project (“RMP”)- to enhance sport organizations ability to identify, assess and manage risk proactively. The RMP includes a two-day facilitated workshop that requires little advance work and no specialized training. What it does require is a commitment to learn, a sense of curiosity, and a desire to enhance the organization’s strategic efforts in a way that is aligned with good management practices.

Over 50 sport organizations from multi-sport, national, provincial and community levels have participated in the RMP, with many organizations returning a second time for a short refresher.

Risk Management Workshop

A key component of the Risk Management Project is the two-day risk management workshop. The workshop covers the following key areas:

1. Context.  The opening session shares lessons learned from the RMP and covers the key elements that participants need to know in order to work through the risk management process.
2. Risk Identification. This important step encourages participants to consider the ‘high’ to ‘very high’ level risks that might be keeping them up at night or aspirations they have but have failed to pursue due to competing priorities. Participants are invited to consider risks using a number of different lenses including their strategic plan, external stakeholders, financial, human resources, projects, communications, and governance. Once all the risks have been identified, participants are invited to prioritize the ones they want to assess first.
3. Risk Ranking. The process to rank risks is done using a four point scale considering two variables: Probability and Consequence. The four point scale forces participants to avoid the ‘mushy middle’ and requires them to more intentionally consider the difference, for instance, between ‘possible’ or ‘probable’ and ‘moderate’ or ‘serious’.  In order to properly assess the risk, participants are first invited to list all the current measures the organization has in place to deal with the risk. This phase of the process allows participants to document all current actions, which are sometimes forgotten. It helps to confirm where the organization is at and also serves to protect corporate memory and ensure knowledge transfer.Once participants have ranked each risk, they end up with a ranking of risks with a ‘low’, ‘medium’, ‘high’ or ‘very high’ rating. This rating system helps with prioritizing and also gives a sense of how immediate the required solutions need to be.
4. Risk Treatment. Identifying possible solutions is one of the most engaging part of the conversation. This stage allows the organization to tap into the wealth of diverse knowledge among participants and also the knowledge that has been accumulating within the facilitators over the past decade. This sharing has allowed participants to learn from the mistakes of others – a hallmark in good practice.
5. Accountability. Participants are then invited to prioritize what is the most pressing risk treatment strategy that they want to focus on over the next year. A lead is assigned with timelines, a budget and reporting guidelines. All of these decisions are captured in the organization’s new Risk Registry which serves as a repository of all risks identified. Once treated, the risks are ‘retired’ but never deleted, as the knowledge created may once again serve a purpose in the future.

How We Can Help

We can help your organization improve its risk management effort in the following ways:

• Participate in the Risk Management Project
• Host a risk management workshop
• Offer risk management advice
• Review your events to ensure they are maximizing their potential and elevating your standard of care
• Develop emergency preparedness and response plans and enhance safety standards
• Create a Risk Registry
• Develop a risk management policy and implementation guide

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