Operations & Systems
Risk is not a mood. It is a list.
Many owners carry a vague worry about what could go wrong and never write it down. Others try to guard against everything, and spend money and attention on the wrong things. This session turns worry into a one-page register: what could go wrong, how likely, how bad, who owns it and what you will do. It is a simple tool, and it can be built in an afternoon.
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You cannot manage what you have not named.
Risk managed in the head tends to be managed by the loudest worry. The risk that was in the news this week gets attention. The slow risk, such as one supplier, one skilled employee or one expiring licence, gets ignored until it arrives.
A register is not a bureaucratic exercise. It is a way to see the whole picture on one page, compare risks fairly and decide what is worth money and attention. Small businesses can do this with a pen and paper, or a spreadsheet.
Nothing here eliminates risk. Running a business always involves it. The aim is to take risks knowingly, and to be less surprised.
What the session works through
38 topics across 7 areas. Seven steps to a working risk register.
Listing the RisksWalk through the business area by area.8
- Customers: loss of a large one, late payment, disputes
- Suppliers: price rises, delays, closure, quality drift
- People: key person loss, absence, skills gaps, safety
- Cash: shortfall, slow collections, rising costs
- Operations: breakdowns, errors, stock-outs, capacity
- Legal and compliance: licences, contracts, tax and regulatory deadlines
- Technology and data: device loss, account takeover, system failure
- Premises and external events: fire, flooding, local disruption
Aim for a first list of fifteen to twenty, then trim.
Likelihood and ImpactThree levels are enough: low, medium, high.5
For illustration only, with made-up ratings: a single supplier for a key input might be medium likelihood and high impact. A printer breakdown might be high likelihood and low impact. The two need quite different responses.
- Likelihood: how often has this happened to you or to businesses like yours?
- Impact: how much would it hurt in cash, time, reputation and people?
- Impact on the minimum operation, not only on profit
- Where you cannot judge, mark it and ask somebody experienced
- Rate the risk as it stands today, with the controls you already have
Picking the Top FiveYou cannot work on twenty things at once.5
- High impact and high likelihood come first
- High impact and low likelihood still need a plan, even a small one
- Low impact and high likelihood may need a routine fix, not worry
- Low and low can be accepted and watched
- Choose five for this quarter
Four Possible ResponsesEvery risk can be handled in one of four ways.5
- Reduce: make it less likely or less damaging, for example a second supplier or a backup
- Transfer: share it with someone else, for example through insurance or contract terms
- Avoid: stop doing the thing that creates the risk
- Accept: knowingly live with it, and write down why
- Most risks need a mixture, and cost should be in proportion to the risk
Insurance as One ToolIt transfers some risks, not all of them.5
- Which risks on your list might be insurable, and which are not
- What a policy excludes and how a claim is made
- Whether the premium is proportionate to the risk
- That insurance pays money; it does not rebuild a lost customer or reputation
- Asking an insurer or licensed adviser about your own situation
This is awareness, not insurance advice.
Owners, Actions and DatesA risk without a name beside it will not be managed.5
- One owner per risk, even in a business of three people
- One next action, small and dated
- How you will know the risk is rising: a trigger or warning sign
- Where the register is kept so the team can see it
- Who updates it after an incident
Reviewing, Including Near-MissesA register is only useful if it changes.5
- Quarterly review: what changed, what was done, what is new
- Record near-misses: the mistake caught in time, the delivery that almost failed
- Learn from each near-miss before it becomes a loss
- Remove risks that are no longer relevant
- Add a risk whenever something new about the business changes
Bring to the session
- A list of things that have gone wrong in the last two years
- Your main suppliers and customers
- Your insurance policies, if any
- A list of licences and renewals, with dates
- Your biggest worry, written down
What the session does not do
- Rate your risks for you or give a score
- Give financial, legal or insurance advice
- Recommend an insurer or product
- Guarantee that listed risks will be prevented
How the session runs
A practitioner builds a register with the group for a made-up small business, showing how to rate, rank and respond. Participants then draft their own list by walking through the eight areas, rate each risk in low, medium and high, and mark their top five. In pairs, they challenge each other's ratings and add one owner and one dated next action for each of the top five.
What your students leave with
- A one-page risk register for your business with ten to fifteen entries
- Each risk judged on likelihood and impact, using a simple three-level scale
- A top five that deserves attention this quarter
- A chosen response for each: reduce, transfer, avoid or accept
- A named owner and a next action for the top risks
- A quarterly review habit, including near-misses
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Name the risks, rank them, and give each one an owner.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.