“TO A large extent risk management is applied common sense,” says Steve Fowler, chief executive of the Institute of Risk Management (IRM). Here are the first steps to that application.

Take a broad approach. “There’s a tendency to focus on individual risks rather than looking at the big picture but breadth is a critical part of risk management,” Fowler says.

Stick to what matters. There’s no point trying to list every risk that you can think of. “Look at the organisation’s objectives and then look at what the risks are to those objectives,” Fowler says.

Assess it objectively. “Worry about things that are real, not about things that might happen once every 10,000 years,” says Hilary Merrett, the head of risk and governance at Capita Advisory Services. And don’t get distracted by television disasters – another organisation’s trouble doesn’t necessarily signal that you’re at risk of the same.

Keep it simple. “Ask yourself and your team questions like ‘what might go wrong?’ or ‘what keeps you awake at night?’,” says Simone Wray, the strategic risk manager at Warwickshire County Council.

Look beyond the obvious. Climate change could lead to a rise in sea levels affecting coastal areas, but perhaps it could also see Britain become warmer and more attractive to migrants – what will that mean for councils, the NHS and other public bodies, asks Fowler.

Learn from the past. Don’t simply look at the risk of exactly the same problem happening again – look for the underlying causes.

Be aware of ingrained attitudes. People’s backgrounds affect their perception and assessment of risks. This also applies to organisations: people who work for a risk-averse organisation will tend to make risk-averse decisions. “So think about that attitude up front and take it into account,” Fowler says.

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