A Look At The Rapidly Evolving Approach To Enterprise Risk

One of the consequences of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the seismic shifts that it is causing to how enterprises operate, is that it is forcing a renewed look at risk and risk mitigation within the organisation.

A Mercer study earlier this year found that over half of all organisations worldwide (51 per cent) have no plans or protocols in place to combat a global emergency such as a pandemic. Indeed, even some of the more simple business continuity strategies, such as enabling working from home, has proven to be a challenge; a Gartner poll found that while over 90 per cent of HR leaders have implemented remote working, the biggest challenge has been a lack of technology infrastructure and comfort in new ways of working.

How risk is being looked at by directors

Organisations have needed to rapidly evolve to address changes to the very ways that business is done, and this is having severe implications around risk and how company directors and executives manage the risk. Just a couple of areas that have required immediate focus include:

  1. Developing (or modernising) the business continuity plan; The pandemic has made it clear just how ineffective, outdated or non-existent these plans are for the largest of enterprises.
  2. Undertaking new In-House Legal Recruitment; The rapidly evolving business environment also requires new skills around risk management and regulation be brought into the organisation to manage. Most businesses want new In-House Legal Counsel with expertise in highly digital enterprises with heavy technology leverage, but business changes have touched all business units and from HR through to marketing and operations enterprises are grappling with new ways of working that need a legal and regulatory look over.
  3. A re-think on the financial resources allocated to risk management; In addition to undertaking new In-House Legal Recruitment, enterprises need to re-assess whether the investments into risk management are sufficient. This is particularly true around technology where CIOs have been asked to rapidly shift to remote work, and this does open the organisation to new vectors of attack and new data risks.
  4. A new approach to stakeholder engagement and reporting; With the rapidity that organisations need to move and the day-to-day adjustments to strategy and response, directors also need to take a new look at how the enterprise communicates, both internally and externally.

Finding the right skills

Compounding the challenge that many directors and executives are facing are skills shortages that are inhibiting In-House Legal Recruitment initiatives. The pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on business operations and risk, and finding the right people to respond to this challenge is particularly challenging at a time of lockdowns, restricted travel, and skills shortages.

Our goal at Greenfields Recruitment & Search is to help you find the specific skills that your business needs to meet these unique challenges through In-House Legal Recruitment. You don’t need a generalist In-House Legal Counsel in this current environment, but rather a specialist, and for this reason you need a specialist partner in recruitment that understands the specific skills that you are in need of.

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About Greenfields

Founded by Managing Director, Catherine Wolfe-Coote, Greenfields is a market leader in Legal, Company Secretary & Corporate Governance appointments. Having a capable, well-established team, we offer bespoke and agile services which do not fall into the traditional ‘agency’ or ‘head hunting’ categories.

We have a diverse portfolio of cross-sector clients including top ASX listed organisations, non-listed organisations, multinationals, small and medium size enterprises, and not-for-profits, making us well positioned to provide expert advice on remuneration, market trends and best practice across Legal, Company Secretary & Corporate Governance.

As a Diversity & Inclusion champion, we take pride in assisting organisations in achieving progressive goals. We strive to deliver balanced shortlists and adhere to robust policies on Diversity & Inclusion; Data Storage & Privacy; Workplace Health & Safety; Modern Slavery; and Environmental & Social Governance.

Known for our market knowledge, technical understanding, deep network and robust processes, Greenfields are regular contributors and sponsorship partners with the Governance Institute of Australia (GIA), the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) and the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

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