Shubham Mohanty, who recently finished the Global Risk Management Institute’s (GRMI) post-graduate diploma in risk management (PGDRM) course, produced the following article regarding “why do companies require a risk management plan during and after Covid-19.” Before pursuing a career in risk management in India, Shubham had a financial background. Shubham worked as a probationary officer for 4 months before pursuing a risk management course and is currently placed in Grant Thornton US Knowledge & Capability centre India Pvt Ltd. According to Shubham pursuing a risk management course after graduation has been a great decision. 

By Subham Mohanty (PGDRM Jan’20-21)

This first global pandemic, COVID-19, in over 100 years presents huge challenges for businesses and society at large. Within the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) risk report, risk has always been featured, but because of the high impact of the pandemic, it went unmonitored and eventually caught all people rapidly. Most of the industries are now adhere to the risk-adjusted strategy, business continuity, crisis management, disaster management, and resilience. Companies with effective business continuity plans and agile business models are ready to navigate through these hardships and still be optimistic in their business prospects throughout and post COVID-19.

Commercial banks and many IT companies, who have started their work-from-home strategies that continuously get tried, tested, and improved to ensure preparedness for any disruption. The supply chain is being disrupted right now because businesses don’t have information or control around their vendors. Amazon is saying they will prioritise household and medical items because of a demand surge, so other shipments are slowing down. Trying to plan now could be not ideal, but it’s better than no plan in the least. They must be gathering information on their current situation, try and anticipate upcoming impacts, and solidify their understanding of what part of their operations are most crucial to take care of during this crisis. It’s likely that plenty of companies won’t be able to operate due to things like increasing absenteeism (due to sickness, caring for the sick, child care circumstances and fear of going out), so businesses have to get a thought in first that supports how they’re going to still provide essential services.

Cyber risk may be a relatively recent consideration in resilience planning; companies have long maintained various resilience plans for business continuity, disaster recovery, and crisis management. These plans are effective for a variety of business disruptions during a world crisis like coronavirus or other pandemic events.

Many businesses are desirous to resume more normal operations, but employers and employees must consider a spread of both new and old risks before reopening their doors and returning to figure. For a business to successfully reopen, the organisation must prioritise three goals:

1. reduce the likelihood of transmission within the workplace,
2. resume and maintain business operations, and
3. still promote a healthy and safe work environment.

These three goals can only be achieved by developing a radical, comprehensive business resumption plan and addressing the potential business disruptors. Continuing to supply work-at-home accommodations for workers who request reasonable accommodations may go for the short-term. For people who return to workplaces, achieving the recommended six feet of separation between individuals requires some social engineering. Businesses that will get their doors open, communicate frequently with their customers, and take steps to strengthen their supply chains will recover faster than businesses that are slower to retort. This implies facilities must ensure they’re freed from hazards and may meet the necessities imposed by government restrictions.

As businesses resume operations, there’ll be delays and issues to beat. Consider speech your broker or general agent about loss control services available during now. Above all, it’s important to make an inspiration to resume operations, train employees on operational changes, discuss new expectations and norms with staff, and be able to address any new risks which will emerge.