To ensure the safety of learners and staff, schools should have a comprehensive and coordinated risk management plan that will be effective in the case of accidents that are avoidable (fires or theft) or unavoidable (natural disasters).
Risk management is the process of forming a reactionary plan to situations that are a threat to your organisation.
According to Charlene Wilson, PAG’s risk management specialist: “Five years ago risk management would have been associated only with making sure that a school’s assets are insured or making sure it complies with relevant laws and regulations.”
Now this issue is being viewed with critical eyes and entails assessing any aspect that could cause a threat to the smooth running of an institution, from drug abuse to the threat of natural disasters, such as floods or earthquakes.
There are a range of risks facing South African schools. “Some of these include legal and regulatory risks, human capital risks and operational risks, to name a few,” Wilson said.
The biggest factors are:
- Theft;
- Drugs;
- Shortages of electrical supply; and
- Scarcity of skills.
One of the first things to consider is the identification of risks that could affect the day-to-day running of a school. Once this is done, a systematic plan can be implemented to avoid risky situations and to deal with them in the event of a crisis.
For the most part, this is how a school or business should deal with risk:
Identify, characterise and assess threats;
Assess critical assets and specific threats that could come up, such as backing up information to prevent the loss of data;
Determine the risk (the expected consequences of specific types of attacks on specific assets);
Determine ways to reduce those risks; and
Put risk-reduction measures in place, based on a strategy that is custom-made for your school’s needs.
Take the threat of a fire, for example. Your institution would need to ensure that there are no fire-enhancing factors on the premises, such as faulty fuses. A plan should be in place in the event of a fire, including an escape route and a minimal damage strategy, which will ensure that the fire is put out as soon as possible and that the damage is covered by an adequate insurance policy.
In terms of risk management in human resources, organisations need to conform with practices within the Labour Relations Act or they could face penalties. However, potential employees “have become more sophisticated in being able to represent themselves fraudulently,” warned Wilson. One of the main reasons for this is financial stress and it results in some people falsifying their qualifications to succeed in the job market.
Organisations should look beyond traditional employment references to ensure there are additional checks that are performed before and after interviewing candidates. Some of the areas that require attention are criminal record checks, identity number validation and verification, credit checks and qualification verification. Carry out a personality profile index and conduct a thorough interview process, including detailed questions and even test the candidate to see how he or she will deal in certain scenarios. This will help you to get a sense of the applicant, as well as determine his/her way of dealing with work-related or personal issues.
“The risks of employing the wrong person are severe and could have huge financial, legal and reputational consequences for an institution,” said Wilson. If an institution makes a bad hiring decision, it should ensure that documented processes are in place to guide all employees.
These should include a process that can be implemented to help the employee to become competent. This risk can also be managed through additional training for the ineffective member of your staff.
Another important aspect to consider is conflict management in the workplace. In the event of a conflict, remember the following:
Do not ignore the conflict, hoping it will go away, because it won’t. Tackle the problem head-on and resolve it as soon as possible;
Do not meet the participants separately. Doing so will make it harder to ascertain the core issues and even the possible culprit in a conflict;
The chances that only two people are involved are slim, so consider all the possibilities as this conflict may include others and may affect others and, thereby, their productivity; and
Employ a third party who is skilled in resolving conflict.
Risk management is an essential part of running a successful business/institution and ultimately driving a profitable bottom line. It would be in the best interest of your institution to plan an efficient risk management plan that is thorough and covers the possibility of even the smallest factor that could threaten the day-to-day running of your school.
For more information on PAG’s services, go to www.pag.co.za — Nabila Mayet works for Stone Soup PR