Q&A: Coronavirus Risk Management and Response

We discuss risk management and response to the coronavirus pandemic with Financier Worldwide.

• Read the article with full comments on Financier Worldwide (May 2020 issue).
• James Green was the Director of Risk Advisory Services at SAI360 (formerly SAI Global).

James Green addressed a variety of questions on how organizations can respond to the pandemic and are planning for recovery. Here is an extract of that conversation.

The impact of the COVID-19 virus on business and his take on the current outlook:

“On the positive side, we are already seeing an aggressive policy response across the world to shore up businesses and workers. We believe resilient companies are starting to establish a health-check for how their business will emerge once the unprecedented impact of the pandemic ebbs.”

Stops to take to evaluate risks businesses may face in the wake of COVID-10:

“The pandemic has already taught us that a robust vendor or supplier-monitoring system is a basic requirement. This means stronger and more robust methods of mitigating disruption in supply chains needs to be developed.”

Steps to mitigate labor and workforce risks:

“Organizations need to adopt and apply a people-first mindset. As the severity of the pandemic increases, people will be increasingly on edge. We are already facing an ‘infodemic’, with misinformation spreading and adding to mounting levels of uncertainty and anxiety. Therefore, communicating regularly with accurate information is so important.”

How senior executives can demonstrate leadership and develop a strategy to deal with risks:

“It is in a crisis that those at the helm need to show their mettle. In everything they do during a crisis, business leaders need to express empathy and compassion for the human side of the upheaval. They also need to inject this into all stakeholder communications – employee, customer and shareholder.”

Read the full article on Financier Worldwide.

Learn more about SAI360's business continuity solutions that support business impact assessments, crisis management, disaster recovery, and planning for resiliency. 

Or, contact us to see how SAI360 has helped organizations like yours.