Risk is a factor involved in every aspect of managing a business or organization. Whether your focus is on project management, software development, HR, or anything else, every decision you make will carry an element of risk and learning to plan for potential eventualities is essential to delivering reliable results.
‘Management of Risk (M_o_R)’ is a framework developed by AXELOS to help practitioners identify, evaluate, and respond to potential risks, as well as create strategies for dealing with them. It offers tools, practices, and insight that can drive benefits across all levels of an organization, from individual projects to high-level strategic decision-making.
So, what does the AXELOS risk management framework have to offer? Let’s take a look at how Management of Risk (M_o_R) works, how it can benefit your organization, and how to make the best of world-class risk management training.
How Does M_o_R Work?
According to AXELOS, the purpose of M_o_R is to “identify, assess and control risks and put in place effective frameworks for making informed decisions.”
It is based on three core concepts:
- M_o_R Principles – The principles of the framework are used for the development of appropriate and effective risk management practices. They are derived from principles of corporate governance to help practitioners guarantee alignment. This also relates to AXELOS’ acknowledgment that risk management is, in fact, a subset of an organization’s internal controls and should be given adequate prominence in decision making.
- M_o_R Approach – Principles are not fixed. Instead, they should be adapted to suit the organization in question. The business will agree on how to approach these principles, defining appropriate processes in its risk management policy, process guide, and strategies. The business will also keep issue logs and risk registers to support its approach.
- M_o_R Processes – M_o_R defines four process steps to describe the inputs, outputs, and activities used to identify, assess, and control risks as they appear. These processes help ensure the principles of M_o_R are fully integrated and reassessed by practitioner organizations so that risk management practices can be continually improved.
The framework is generic in that it can be applied in virtually any business. However, it is not limited in its approach. M_o_R projects can examine risk at different levels of a business and throughout different teams and departments. It analyzes their relationships and decision-making processes, as well as the negative and positive risks that influence them.
It also approaches risks in a way that varies depending on whether they relate to short, medium, or long-term goals:
- Short – With short-term goals, M_o_R focuses on the continuity of business services. This is treated as separate to supporting medium and long-term goals.
- Medium – Medium-term risks are usually related to projects and programs centered around business change. They may be narrower in scope than strategic decisions in terms of financial risks and timeframes.
- Long – With high-level strategic decisions, M_o_R works to gauge risks well in advance. At the same time, M_o_R practitioners will review risk responses on a regular basis to make sure they are appropriate.
How can M_o_R Certification Help my Business?
M_o_R training can offer a number of benefits to a business:
- Avoid unforeseen consequences and be prepared to deal with them when necessary
- Spend less time fixing issues resulting from poor risk management
- Use resources M_o_Re effectively and avoid wastage
- Increase alignment with corporate strategy
- Reduce the possibility of fraud
- Install contingency plans as standard for reuse across your business
- Encourage innovation from employees M_o_Re familiar with certain risk types
A number of prominent businesses have already benefited from studying M_o_R, including BP, GlaxoSmithKline, and British Telecom. However, as we said, M_o_R is a generic framework that can be applied to virtually any organization (meaning successful practitioners can also apply their expertise anywhere!)
We also mentioned earlier that risk management is relevant across a business. This makes studying M_o_R relevant to a wide number of professionals, such as project and program managers, IT service managers, security specialists, change managers, and senior stakeholders. Anyone who needs to consider elements of corporate governance and strategic planning can benefit from studying M_o_R.
It is also worth pointing out how significant the pedigree of Management of Risk actually is. The framework is highly respected, and having come from AXELOS it offers leading insight from some of the world’s most successful career risk managers. As such, getting certified in M_o_R can be an excellent way for candidates to stand out when it comes to high-paying job roles.
