Risks and Opportunities

All the new management standards which address the Annex SL format (10 identically numbered sections   1- 10) require risks and opportunities to be determined.

At first this looks complicated as risk assessment is a vast subject, but in reality, risks and opportunities can be addressed very simply.

The first part is to carry out a SWOT analysis of the organisation:

• Strengths- what does the organisation do really well or makes it stand out amongst its competitors?
• Weaknesses- what areas does the organisation identify as weak?
• Opportunities – where can the organisation look for new challenges or new areas of operation or sales?
• Threats- what does the organisation identify as threats to the business?

Then a PESTLE analysis:

• Political - what are the political factors that are likely to affect the organisation?
• Economic - what are the economic factors that will affect the organisation?
• Sociological - what cultural or social aspects likely to affect the organisation?
• Technological - what technological issues or advancements that may affect the organisation?
• Legal - what current and impending legislation or regulation that will affect the organisation?
• Environmental - what are the environmental issues that may affect the organisation?

Once these elements have been identified, a plan can be made to address the negative parts while emphasising the positive parts.

Simple really.