health and safety

Securing the health and safety of your employees is a critical component of HR risk management. Depending on your industry, you may have equipment requiring training and monitoring to keep employees safe while performing their duties. You may also need to provide personal protective gear and keep records of all hazardous materials.

The more automated you can make these procedures, the less chance you’ll have of slips ups. Placards and signs should be clearly visible and augmented with rails or taped-off areas if necessary.

In addition, you need to think beyond supporting only the physical side of a worker’s health. Mental stress is increasingly common among employees, with approximately 12 billion work days lost each year due to depression and anxiety. By ensuring your workplace is free from harassment, bullying, overwork and poor communication, you can help reduce risks associated with emotional distress.

natural disasters

If you operate in an area where there's a likelihood of severe disasters like earthquakes or flooding, proper planning can help reduce risks and shorten business recovery times. Start with an employee emergency plan that details evacuation routes, communication procedures, and the location and operation of emergency equipment. Ensure all employees understand these steps and revisit them regularly.

Next, devise a business continuity plan that addresses how the organisation will continue to operate — on a limited scale or at a different location, if necessary. As part of your business continuity plan, list disaster recovery steps designed to get your business back to normal operations as soon as possible.

data

Whether your company is involved with big data collection or only uses a small business server, keeping that data secure is critical with the increase in cybercrime. The onset of digital transformation means these risk management strategies will need constant adjustments as more and more data is stored off-site and in the cloud. Not only do you need to keep digital data secure, but in most companies, you’ll still need to manage paper documents, storing them safely and securely.

Data breaches can significantly erode your company’s trust quotient, both among its employees and customers. It can also leave you open to legal repercussions. Regularly perform data audits to ensure your risk levels are acceptable and meet with a specialist if you need technical advice.

brand

While risk planning can help reduce your chances of a hefty lawsuit or prevent unpleasant incidents, it’s also critical to maintaining a positive employer brand image. We’ve all seen headlines where an employee or company has been called out for significant misdeeds, such as a misuse of funds or a large data breach.

Once that news has aired, restoring the public’s trust is extremely difficult. Not only will this hurt your bottom line in terms of service or sales, but it will make it difficult for you to attract and retain the type of talent you need to regain your footing in your industry.

Additionally, employee-related troubles can damage the employer brand. Comments regarding a toxic work culture or employee harassment can appear on review and other social media sites. Make sure your employees understand the procedures for reporting a problem with a manager or coworker and the policies for sharing work stories or pictures on social media. Also, have someone regularly check employee responses to job reviews for inaccuracies or retaliation comments.

strategies for HR risk management

perform a risk audit

Your first step in managing HR risks requires a comprehensive look at what your company does, how it works and who it employs. The risks for a tech service company with 150 employees will completely differ from those of a manufacturing firm with 2,000 plus workers.

You can determine where risks lie by looking at the number and types of workers you employ and considering their daily actions. You can also analyse how significant these risks are in terms of liability and reoccurrence.

decide what level of risk your company can absorb

In most cases, you can’t remove all risks, but you can find ways to reduce their impact or the frequency in which they occur. You may use one or more of these standard risk management techniques:

avoidance. For example, you may find that a particular hazardous chemical poses an unacceptable amount of risk and therefore choose to use an alternative material
accepting and mitigating needed risks. If workers must use hazardous equipment, ensure safety precautions are fully implemented and monitored
sharing risks. If you have to store a large quantity of private data, consider partnering with a cybersecurity firm

You'll need to apply the above techniques to every HR risk area of your company as you consider multiple scenarios. While this can seem repetitive, it’s essential to avoiding and curtailing risk within your HR department.

revisit key risk areas for adjustments

Amid changes in worker mindsets, the global business infrastructure and technological advancements, new risk areas may pop up at any time, while others may fade away. Also, by closely monitoring how individual solutions work, you can maintain continuous improvement within each area.

The decisions you make during a business crisis can have ongoing effects. That’s why focusing on resilient risk management is so critical. Adapting and moving forward at each challenge places your company at the leading edge of the market, perfectly poised for growth.

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