A risk workshop is an online platform where people from different departments in an organization meet, discuss, and score the risks. Every company has different objectives. The aim is to achieve these objectives at the end of the day. Moreover, this is only achievable when the company operates as a team and consult in case of any problems. Risk workshops have three phases which include the before risk workshop, during risk workshop, and after risk workshop. They entail the following.
Before risk Workshop
This is the main phase of any successful risk workshop. It includes preparations, both yourself and the other people who are going to attend the workshop. You should prepare and have all the necessary guidelines and information that you will use in the risk workshop stage. Some of the ways to prepare for the successful risk workshop involves the following.
- Ensure that you meet with all the attendees from different departments before the risk workshop. A one-on-one meeting is the best type of meeting in this phase. However, if most of the attendees are not available, you can reach them on the phone and brief them on the meeting. Alternatively, you can only contact them via email, but this should be your last option. This is because many people do not read their emails.
- The main objective of the company should be the topic of discussion in the risk workshop.
- Having a small group of about ten attendees is better than having a massive number of people from different departments.
- Ensure that you are up-to-date with the relevant information, such as risk management strategies and other useful information on risks.
- The pre-risk workshop will determine whether or not the risk workshop is a success. Plan on having an assistant or someone who will help you during this process. He or she can be in charge of taking notes or playing the slides so that the rest of the audience stays at the same level as you.
- The discussion room should be comfortable and conducive in that all the attendees should be able to see what you are demonstrating. Furthermore, ensure that it is of the right temperature and has good lighting, preferably natural lighting. A round table is the best design for any meeting.
During Risk Workshop
During this phase, your primary concern should be that the objectives of the meeting are met at the end of the day. This is possible when the attendees are comfortable and can participate and engage themselves in the meeting. You can achieve that by following the procedures below.
- In case the meeting room is full, and there is no room for other attendees, allow them to sit inside the room and not outside as this will make them more engaged in the discussion.
- Consider the fact that there are both internal and external types of risk, then handle each appropriately.
- Breaks are essential as they keep the attendees active and refreshed. Ensure that you have breaks in between the long meetings.
- If you find all the risk workshops you have attended or held boring, the chances are that even the other attendees are bored. Use humor in your workshop to keep the discussion flowing and in line with the topic of discussion.
- Assign every risk to different people so that they can be accountable in case you need a point of reference.
- A company faces many risks and should not dwell on one significant risk only. Cover all the risks if possible during the risk workshop.
- Ensure that you are using an appropriate body language when facilitating the risk workshop. Attendees can tell how you feel about a particular topic by studying your body language.
- Compliment your attendees whenever they raise a concern to appreciate their efforts. After complimenting, you can then add a comment to what they said.
- Do not read word by word from a document. Make this platform lively by engaging your audience through discussions.
After Risk Workshop
This phase involves following up on how the risks are being managed and the adjustments that need to be made for effective management.
- Follow up with the various individuals whom you had assigned specific risks as early as possible.
- Have a risk register and pass it around in various departments so that the employees can comment and leave feedback.
- Hold a group meeting and share any drafts and assumptions on the risks.
The above being said, there are useful tips that you can incorporate in your risk workshops to obtain success at the end of it all. Some of the tips include;
Tips to Conduct a Successful Risk Workshop
1. Be Lively
If you start the meeting on a low note or your audience notices that you are not that excited about the workshop, they will have the same energy, and you might end up not accomplishing your task. Be lively in the risk workshop as this is the only way you will engage the other participants.
2. Be Precise
Do not go into detail when holding discussions. The aim of the risk workshop is to bring up a discussion forum where the attendees can discuss their concerns and come up with an appropriate solution.
3. Prepare in Advance
Preparation in advance gives you the upper hand in having every information on your fingertips. If, by any chance, any of the attendees have a question or a concern about any risk topic, you can easily and confidently give directions on how to go about that particular problem. Your audience will have faith and confidence in you because they believe that you know what you are doing and that they are in safe hands working with you.
4. Avoid Technical Challenges
This is one of the reasons why doing a before-risk workshop is important. Ensure that the room you have planned on using is well lit and have working cable systems. You want this workshop to be a success, therefore, ensure that the sound, slide, projector, and the systems work. You can decide to go the extra mile and have a technical expert go through all the connections and help you with anything you need.
5. Know your Audience
Knowing your audience will help you understand if this particular group of people is the appropriate group for the meeting. For instance, if you select a group of people who do not care whether or not the risk register is updated, then it is evident that you have the attention of the wrong audience. The audience you select should be people who possibly work in the risk management department or people who know the impacts of risk, both positive and negative, to a company. Selecting the right audience means that you will have a group of people who are willing to work with you and give out the desired results.
6. Be Interesting
Be as interesting as possible with your audience. No one loves boring, and you should not be boring during the workshop. You can break the discussion by throwing in one or two jokes, or do something appropriate that will make your audience crack with laughter. This will make them want to sit and hear more of your jokes. Afterward, shift again to the main agenda. This on and off shift keeps your audience active and engaged throughout the session. They will only realize that they are now tired when you are done with the risk workshop.
7. Make the Session Short
This is done by not giving every single detail to the attendees. If you provide them with everything they need, they will not have the urge to work hard and do more outside the meeting. The bitter truth is that they are right. What is the need to do extra research when you have everything you need? Do not spoon-feed your audience by going into details about the discussion, instead leave them wanting more information. This is the only way they will work extra hard and do research on the assignment.
8. Keep your Audience Engaged
Do not finish the whole session without getting feedback from your audience. You can do this by carrying out the discussion the asking your audience questions after every topic discussion. This is the only way that you will know if they are on the same page with you. In addition to that, they will tell you what they think should be done and the steps they believe will work well with the needs of the company. This guarantees success.
9. Be concise
Use short sentences in your presentation. Trust me, no one wants to read a long and tedious sentence that might not even make sense. If possible, you can use bullet points to make it easier for your audience to learn when you are doing your presentations. This also makes it possible for them to take useful notes.
10. Reading Prior to the Workshop
This should be listed as a must-do for all the people who are attending the workshop. Reading prior to the risk workshop will keep everyone on the same page as they will discuss freely, and one person can remind the other about an important subject in case they forget to mention. This is easier said than done, but if achieved, your workshop will be much better than when both you and the attendees do not read in advance. You do not want to repeat the same information from time to time. When your audience notices that you lack flow and consistency in your work, they may get bored and will start doing things, contrary to the main agenda. Some might decide to check their social media, and some might choose to play games.
11. Get Help when Necessary
If you have a substantial number of attendees at risk workshop that might be difficult to handle, it is important that you call in for help. A manageable number of people should be around 10 to 15 people. If you happen to hold a risk workshop with a slightly higher number, then you can have an assistant who you can shift turns with in organizing the meeting. The co-facilitator can handle all the incoming chat questions, and even provide technical support for anyone who may be having connection issues. This will make the whole workshop enjoyable and easy to manage.
12. Enjoy the Meeting
This might not be easy, but it does magic in making the risk workshop successful. Find fun in connecting with people via the internet. Approach the workshop with a sense of humor and excitement and go against all the odds that may pull you back. For instance, the world is currently faced with a deadly virus knows as the Corona Virus. People have been forced to work from home. This is because one of the most effective ways of containing the virus is through social distancing. Avoid using this excuse when approaching the online meeting. You can get the humor in other things and ease the mind of everyone. After all, we have heard it all about Corona Virus. We need something interesting to talk about.
Conclusion
A successful risk workshop needs proper planning to ensure that everything turns out as planned. In addition to that, you need to inform all the attendees in various ways that they can use to prepare in advance. This helps them have a rough idea of what the discussion will be about. The hard task comes in how you, as the coordinator, ensure that you achieve success at the end of the day. First, know your audience. These should be people who are well conversant with the topic of discussion and see the importance of holding that online meeting. In addition to that, you want this day to be a success, and to achieve this, ensure that you have an active connection, the slides are working just fine and that there is a constant supply of power. You do not want to leave your audience hanging because of a power shortage, as this will force you to reschedule the meeting. Therefore, a successful risk workshop should follow the above tips and guidelines
