Risk... and how a Tiger can help

It's a fact that business has to manage risk, be risk averse, take calculated risks, reduce risk, negate risk- try as you might, risk is everywhere,and can't be ignored.

We've been working with three companies recently who have all recognised risks in their business, and called us in to help handle it.

After 2 years of working hard to prevent downsizing, Company 1 are feeling the effects of the economic downturn and need to reduce the size of one team by 2 members. We've been engaged to manage a redundancy process, ensuring fairness, accuracy, compliance with the law and open communication in order to counter the risk of identifying the wrong candidates, leaving the Company open to loss of skills, accusations of unfairness or even a subsequent complaint or legal action. It's a hard thing to do in any business; we are mindful at all times that this process directly affects lives. The fact is that by the time the word 'Redundancy' is out there, some pretty tough choices have already been taken. You may not always be able to retain staff but you must work to make it as fair as possible, and offer as much support to all affected as is realistic.

Company 2 has just hired 3 new staff and needs employment contracts to ensure that things get off to the right start. Happy to help, we said. We listened to the details, and in just a short time and for a very reasonable rate, we have delivered contracts that meet the business' and employees' needs.

Company 3 has some 160 staff, over 120 of whom work on large construction sites. There's been a growing awareness about the suty of care they hold for the health of their people. They have recognised that there is too high a risk of work-related illness and injury leading to days off and longterm sickness absence, costing the business time and money, and making employees unhappy. Obviously, there's also a risk that bad practice or ignoring issues could lead to grievances being raised or even legal action, so there's a need to protect both empoyees and the business.

They called us in to run a survey to assess the overall health of the business and identify any emerging patterns of ill-health or injury. We've now analysed the findings and made ten strong recommendations for ways to improve the situation and reduce the risks. We have worked to deliver great quality information and ideas that will inform their policies and safe systems of work- and the best part is that we've trained their staff to run the programme fully in-house in future, meaning they now possess a whole new set of skills and will save money on using an external provider for the surveys and analysis.

We've helped all three businesses to negate, reduce and manage risk, and added a little more into the mix too with our unique approach. We've had some great feedback from all and look forward to continuing these working relationships into the coming years.

We call that a good month!

So if the risk factor is something you want to address in your business, give us a call. We'll always be happy to help.