Safeguarding your organisation with a Business Risk Analysis

by constructaquote - 4 August 2020

If you are back in business after Covid 19 you should have carried out a risk assessment. The assessment helps you to predict and manage possible risks associated with Covid 19. A Business Risk Analysis is a similar concept, whereby you identify and plan to manage and mitigate risks to your business operations.

To carry out a Business Risk Analysis, you firstly need to identify the risks that could cause major disruption to your business. Assess which activities or resources are critical to your operations and then identify what could prevent you from accessing them. Review your business plan and ask ‘what if’ questions:

• What if our supplier went out of business?
• What if our phone lines went down?
• What if a member of staff was injured on site?

Also, assess your processes and identify areas within the process that are open to risk. Once you have identified the risks you can then perform a qualitative risk analysis, whereby you assess the likelihood and consequence of the risk and rate it in order of severity.

To do this, simply rank each risk in order of likelihood with 1 being unlikely and 4 being very likely. Then assign a consequence to the risk, again with 1 being a small consequence and 4 being a severe consequence. Once you have assigned each risk with a likelihood and consequence figure, you can calculate the level of risk:

Consequence x Likelihood = Level of risk

Once you have done this you can then rank your risks in order of priority. The way in which you do this will be influenced by a range of factors, including the potential loss if the risk occurred and the cost to mitigate the risk. Once you have prioritised your risks you then formulate a strategy to tackle the risks posed against your business.

Whilst you will never be able to fully eliminate risk, by conducting a Business Risk Analysis you can identify potential risks and plan to reduce the impact they have on your business operations.

This guide looks at ways you can control the risks associated with Covid-19 to ensure the safety of your customers and your employees as we bounce back after lockdown. The information in this guide is true as of 29th June 2020. You can find the latest up to date guidance here.

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