All childcare providers undertake risk assessments as part of their health and safety compliance, but many providers don’t think more essentially about “business risks”.
Risk management helps you to recognise and address the risks facing your business and in doing so increase the probability of successfully realising your businesses goals.
All businesses should be aware of probable risks to the business and should carry out a periodic review of these risks and have action plans in place to either reduce the risk or deal with the consequences. It is wise to review your business risk management plans at least once a year.
Risk management practice can generally involve grouping and assessing risks under the following headings:
- Strategic
- Strategic risks arise from being within the childcare sector and geographical area.
- Operational
- Operational risks arise from the various operational and administrative procedures that the business uses to implement its strategy.
- Financial
- Financial risks arise from the financial structure of the business, from transactions with third parties and from the financial systems in place.
- Compliance (including health and safety)
- Compliance risks derive from the necessity to ensure compliance with: Childcare Regulations, Fire and Safety, Health and Safety and financial compliance with Revenue.
- Environmental
- Environmental risks can be relatively routine and covered under compliance. Small changes to the environmental management of a setting can result in considerable financial savings.
How do we deal with risks?
You can choose the way of doing this type of risk analysis that suits your provision best and makes sense for your size and type of provider. The risk management process does not need to be complicated or too time consuming – you can follow the simple approach of listing every risk you may experience and show the action that will minimize or eliminate the risk.
The important thing is to keep on top of your business risks to avoid unexpected and unpleasant surprises and allow you to address problems as they arise.
Consider the following simple example Risk Management Plan.
