Roads to Resilience

Table 8.2 People and culture resilience checklist for the board

‘People and Culture’ resilience checklist Board members should ask “ to what extent are the board and senior executives sufficiently aware and/or provided with necessary information and assurance regarding … ”

Increase risk awareness

1. The means of staying abreast of risks in the external operating environment and frequency of updating the information

2. The mechanisms for maintaining constant risk vigilance and detecting ‘weak signals’ and trends in the business environment

3. The factors that underpin the reputation of the organisation, stakeholder expectations and potential sources of reputational damage

4. The means for reporting concerns about risks and how these are received / welcomed and actioned by management

5. The nature and extent of the inherent risks and the presumptions in the business model for the organisation

6. The tone set by the senior executives with respect to risk and resilience and the steps taken to avoid complacency

Avoid board risk blindness

1. The arrangements for risk communication and reporting to the board to ensure that a ‘glass ceiling’ for risk information is avoided

2. The extent of challenge and debate in respect of risk-weighted decision-making for strategy, tactics and operations

3. The incidents, including near-miss events and how these are analysed at senior level to ensure a culture of continuous learning

4. The no-blame culture within the organisation and willingness by staff and business partners to admit mistakes

5. The use of risk-based objectives as part of the personnel evaluation and development leading to structured learning

6. The formal and informal channels of communication for risk information, including whistle-blowing

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Roads to Resilience: Building dynamic approaches to risk to achieve future success