Back to the future?

What is the Institute for Sustainable Risk Management’s view point on current risk management practices?

Risk management has and always will form an integral part in the survivability factor of any being or entity – unfortunately many organisations are currently facing ideological and egoistic difficulties when it comes to risk management strategies. Contributing factors which continuously support and promote these difficulties are broad, diverse and mostly self-entrenched. Locally and globally, this is forcing the risk management discipline to take a step back, evaluate the past and adjust our approach and solutions for the future.

The old saying of “adapt or die” is now more than ever relevant to key role players in risk management programmes. For SHEQ and, specifically, operational risk management practitioners, the “compliance conversation” has changed into a “value add to the organisational entity conversation”. This conversation is much more complex and brings different perspectives to the table in internal, economic, social and environmental climates where “elitist wants” have been turned into “basic needs”, whilst assurance on compliance has to be provided.

This leaves the more traditional approach to risk management in the past – risk driver’s need to recognise and understand the different components which defines the organisational entity, their characteristics, requirements and interaction with each other within organisational objectives. A clear understanding of these contributors combined with a risk management strategy which addresses proficiencies, objectives and stakeholder needs will ensure value, support and success.

How does the Institute for Sustainable Risk Management’s solution offering support this view point?

Our solution offering firstly recognises that every organisation and individual is unique. Within this component of “uniqueness” there are various processes, reporting, requirements, abilities, responsibilities, competencies and organisational performance needs that require incorporation and solving. We’ve therefore created a comprehensive four tier approach within our offering to the market – categorically this includes consulting (creation & facilitation), training (organisational specific adult training, mentoring and learnerships, workshops and knowledge exchange), social upliftment and skill development surrounding project specific needs and outsourced partnering.

This four tier approach is not an “off-the-shelf” offering – it is developed specifically for clients to ensure success for the identified need. Our solution offering is developed within a vast experience and expertise base with a heritage of over two decades in assisting various clients in organisational and operational risk management. We are bound by principles – not standards, elements or frameworks. The application of these principles within and around organisational cultures ensures that standard, element or framework requirements are automatically met.

A more specific definition of our solution offering would be: the Institute for Sustainable Risk Management assists organisations in managing and maintaining their responsibilities towards the environment, employee safety and wellbeing. We also look at organisational social accountability and product conformity through ethical, quality and organisational specific solutions and
increase performance on responsible corporate citizenship indicators for their respective industries. This offering is then supported by strong training and entrenchment programmes which motivates and equip personnel responsible for implementation of organisational requirements with the necessary knowledge and skill to add value to themselves, their teams and organisation.

What is the history of the Institute for Sustainable Risk Management?

Whilst the Institute for Sustainable Risk Management is essentially a new legal entity, there is a great heritage in the solution offering we bring to the market. Tracing back the merging and acquisition history, the first services were offered to selected clients in 1996. The various role-players within the Institute for Sustainable Risk Management continued to provide services to a closed market up until the beginning of 2012. Our birth was actually initiated by certain clients within the SHEQ and risk market who recognised our unique value adding approach and required an integrated solutions partner.

Success stories of the Institute for Sustainable Risk Management

If we were to measure success in terms of certification, accreditation, improved risk and business process performance, assured legal compliance, reduced incident rate, applied knowledge and skills development – there are many. For us, these types of success indicators are “givens” in terms of the value that we add to our clients.

Success is where we facilitated the entrenchment of responsible SHEQ and risk cultures in clients and involvement, participation and commitment became increasingly evident from top to bottom in the client’s organisational hierarchy. A wonderful internalisation and self-realisation of responsibilities within individuals, towards their co-workers and the company, took place and as a result systemic and process requirements were supported.

Success is where multi-national and international organisational risk management strategies were aligned in such a manner that it served the purpose and the needs of the company, the manager, the system and the man on the floor. Success is where supervisors and managers respond after a training programme that we’ve opened their eyes to fundamental SHEQ elements such as HIRA and incident investigation and they realised the importance of their roles and support in these processes and towards their SHEQ departments. Success is clients and contractors working together in supportive and proactive ways to enhance the contractor management process and increase contractor performance levels.

Over and above all these success stories, and most significantly, is the relationships we build with our clients – there is a foundation of trust and responsibility which leads to growth and long-term partnerships. That is success!

What does the future hold for the Institute for Sustainable Risk Management?

As with personal growth, we are increasingly experiencing very definitive moments in our development – there is great advantage in us being able to recognise growth patterns and ensure flexibility in the solution offering we bring to the market.

Our solution offering, approach and alignment strategies have positioned us in a very definitive market segment. Essentially, a positioning was identified – a positioning which says: “We are not for everyone”. We are not for clients that chase ratings, certification, the lowest price or have to frequently conduct audit crisis management.

We are for the responsible management team, we are for systems that serve the needs of the organisation, we are for the SHEQ team that wants to achieve beyond a traditional framework, we are for the man on the floor.