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PRACTICE
Risk management in the global crisis Risk managers have served their organisations well during the global pandemic, but there is still much to do over the coming months and years BY ARTHUR PIPER
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isk managers have played a vital role at most organisations during the current pandemic, according to IRM’s most recent survey – COVID-19 pandemic global risk management response. Of the 1,000 risk professionals taking part, 98 per cent said they were providing risk advice related to crisis decision-making – suggesting that most risk staff had not been furloughed or moved onto other projects. Crisis management has also been holding up well for 82 per cent of organisations. One in four respondents said they were “very satisfied” that their plans had worked well, with just over half (57 per cent) saying that problems had not prevented them working more or less to expectations. “It appears that our community is fully engaged with the pandemic response, with 98 per cent still at work and appropriately distanced – dealing with current issues and preparing for the future,” IRM chair Iain Wright, CMIRM, says. “Good technology, good communications and good leadership have been rightly highlighted as the key positive factors in maintaining operations.”
The future seems to be coming earlier in some areas
Resilience “The survey shows that resilience is going to be a key issue for businesses going forward – the ability not just to survive, but to bounce back better,” Carolyn Williams, IRM’s corporate relations director, says. “If you
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Enterprise Risk