It is often said that out of crisis comes opportunity. For the advancement of organizational risk management systems, that time is now!

The issues we have witnessed in recent months around covid-19, social unrest and economic uncertainty have affected all markets and companies around the world and challenged our ways of living and working.

Many companies will already be using a risk management heat map, dashboard or register to identify business issues, determine mitigation measures, assign internal owners and monitor on-going progress. However, to what extent are communication risks included? Company research conducted by Deloitte gives a mixed picture and no doubt many still focus primarily on operational and financial risks.

As we move out of covid-19, and re-adjust to the new way of operating, all companies will need to consider:

– How well they performed as a business and communicated with their employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders throughout lockdown?

– What operational, financial and communication goals will need to be delivered in the next 6-12 to months to achieve company prosperity and maintain mutual trust with key stakeholders?

– Any additional measures that are required to bridge the performance gap and mitigate business risk from future pandemics or environmental, political and societal issues?

Risk registers are gaining prominence as an invaluable business tool but must be relevant, kept up-to-date and include communications as a strategic focus area if they are to help provide answers to the above. Managing communication risk underpins strong effective corporate governance, strengthens stakeholder engagement and protects brand reputation. Spoken Word is here to provide an independent assessment on identifying and mitigating any aspect of communications risk.

The time is now for a renewed focus on risk communication!