What is Risk Management?
Risk management is the process of advising organizations of the potential and perceived risks involved in their activities. It also includes monitoring organization activities and taking corrective actions and proactive steps to minimize accidental injury and/or loss. There are five key elements of proactive risk management that organizations should be aware of:
Prior to hosting an event, traveling to a conference or retreat, or participating in any other activity student organizations should work, to identify the risks associated with that activity. Risks do not include only those things that can lead to injury, but also include risks to the group's reputation, personal feelings of members or participants, finances, and/or property.
Once you have identified the risks associated with the organization's activities, these risks should be evaluated to determine both the potential consequence to the organization, individuals participating in the activity, and/or the ASU community should one of the risks be realized. It is also important to think through the environment in which the event/activity is taking place and determine the probability of the risks occurring. A proper evaluation of potential risks prior to hosting or participating in an event will assist the organization in minimizing, eliminating potential problems to an acceptable level.
Once the risks have been evaluated, organizations must determine the most effective method for managing each risk. Organizations may choose to do one of three things after evaluation: eliminate, limit, or accept the risks. Many student organization events by their very nature involve some type and level of risk. Therefore, the answer should not always be to eliminate the activity simply because the risk exists. Instead, organization leadership in conjunction with the advisor and other campus resources should work to determine how to best manage and minimize the risks.
It is not enough to identify and plan for potential problems. In order to be truly successful, an organization must follow through on the action items identified to mitigate and/or eliminate potential risks. Document your action plans, and educate members of the organization as well other participants on what the plan is, design steps in your plans that permit for monitoring potentially risky components of the activity to assure that risk management plans are followed.
Upon completion of an event, even an annual or regularly hosted event, student organization leadership should evaluate the experience. Reflecting back on an event or activity and identifying both those things that went well and those that were not as successful will provide valuable information for future events as well as future leaders who hope to host the same or a similar event.
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