How do you encourage risk awareness in your service team?

1 Define your risk appetite

Your risk appetite is the level of risk that you are willing to accept or tolerate in pursuit of your service objectives. It reflects your strategic priorities, values, and expectations. You should define your risk appetite with your team and communicate it clearly and consistently. This will help your team to understand the boundaries and trade-offs of their decisions and actions, and to align them with your overall goals and standards.

2 Establish a risk management framework

A risk management framework is a set of policies, procedures, tools, and roles that guide and support your team in identifying, analyzing, evaluating, treating, monitoring, and reporting risks. You should establish a risk management framework that is appropriate for your service context, scope, and complexity. You should also ensure that your team has the necessary skills, resources, and authority to implement the framework effectively and efficiently.

3 Promote a risk-aware culture

A risk-aware culture is one that values and encourages risk awareness as a core competency and a shared responsibility. You should promote a risk-aware culture by setting an example, providing feedback, rewarding good practices, and learning from mistakes. You should also foster a climate of trust, openness, and collaboration, where your team can raise and discuss risks without fear of blame or punishment.

4 Involve your team in risk identification

Risk identification is the process of finding and describing the sources, events, causes, and impacts of potential risks. You should involve your team in risk identification by soliciting their input, opinions, and experiences. You should also use various methods and sources, such as brainstorming, surveys, interviews, checklists, data analysis, and external benchmarking, to capture a comprehensive and diverse range of risks.

5 Engage your team in risk assessment

Risk assessment is the process of estimating the likelihood and consequence of each risk, and comparing them against your risk criteria. You should engage your team in risk assessment by facilitating their participation, discussion, and consensus. You should also use quantitative and qualitative techniques, such as probability distributions, scoring matrices, risk maps, and SWOT analysis, to measure and visualize the level of risk.

6 Empower your team in risk response

Risk response is the process of selecting and implementing the best option to deal with each risk, such as avoiding, reducing, transferring, or accepting it. You should empower your team in risk response by delegating authority, responsibility, and accountability. You should also support them with guidance, coaching, and resources, and monitor their progress and performance.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?