Feature
COVID-19 SURVEY
Risk management’s transformations Risk managers have coped well during the pandemic and look set to enjoy an expanded role in many organisations, according to latest IRM’s COVID-19 survey BY CAROLYN WILLIAMS
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t is just over a year since the UK experienced its first lockdown in an attempt to stem the impact of COVID-19. An early IRM poll of risk managers (see “Risk management in the global crisis”, Enterprise risk, Summer 2020), showed that 98 per cent were still in post and working effectively at home. Most organisations (89 per cent) said they were either very satisfied or satisfied with their responses to the crisis. A year on and opinions have shifted, but not significantly. The number of businesses saying that they were satisfied with their response has dropped by about 7 per cent, according to the most recent IRM poll. Those reporting to be very satisfied has fallen from 36 per cent to 25 per cent, suggesting that more operational snags have arisen between April 2020 and December 2020 when the surveys were conducted.
Working well
Although only a small proportion of firms had precisely anticipated and planned for pandemic risk, their more generic business continuity and crisis management plans generally worked well
“Our survey research indicates that although only a small proportion of firms had precisely anticipated and planned for pandemic risk, their more generic business continuity and crisis management plans generally worked well,” Iain Wright, CFIRM IRM chair, says. “Whatever the crisis that presents itself, a conscious combination of great leadership, great communications and great IT support helps firms both manage the risks
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Enterprise Risk
