Bayer’s group risk manger, Colin Barker, advocates engagement at the “shop level” as well as at board level to raise the profile of risk

 

Risk managers need to target two main tiers of a business to be successful in raising the profile of risk

 

Risk managers need to target two main tiers of a business to be successful in raising the profile of risk, says Colin Barker, Airmic board member and group risk manager at pharmaceuticals company, Bayer.

He said risk managers need to engage employees at the shop level as well as those at the C-suite: “[Risk managers] must know the business and that means they have to get involved in the business, which means talking to people at the shop floor level – the people at the sharp end, because they know risk, they know what they encounter every day.

“At the same time, [risk managers] must raise awareness at board level and that means telling the story, painting a picture and putting things into perspective.”

He added: “People do not want technical knowledge or jargon. What they want is an explanation of what might happen, how it could happen, and the major features of that.”

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