Broaden your view when thinking risk

AccomNews Sunday, May 31, 2015

0 3 minutes read

Mark Shipton runs the Caravan Industry Association of Australia Parks’ Accreditation program and has some useful strategies for improving risk management.

In any business there is a wide range of risk that the successful business person has to manage. This is certainly true of caravan parks.

Whilst very important, risks should not be associated only with emergency management procedures. Risks affecting caravan park owner’s livelihoods come from a range of diverse areas and increase as the range of facilities and services offered by parks increases.

These broader risks may include:

Market risks from competitors – Think more broadly than just other parks. What other businesses are out there competing for a slice of the customer’s wallet.
Financial risk – How does the cost of rising fuel prices, utilities, waste removal and insurance premiums affect your ability to operate a financially sound business.
Natural disasters – We have had our fair share of natural disasters in the last couple of years. The risk associated with directly damaged assets, diverting resources, insurance premium hikes or undermining the attractiveness of the property need to be taken into account.
Risks related to your duty of care obligations
Management risks – Appointment of unsatisfactory staff, contract management, a lack of processes in place to ensure legislation is complied with, and
Compliance risks – Not holding the appropriate licenses, failing to follow legislative procedures or untrained staff ill-equipped to handle potential risk situations.

Start by asking yourself important questions

There are important factors every business owner should ask themselves regularly which relate to the broader view on risks. Depending on the answer, a level of research may be needed to formulate your plan to minimise or remove the risk from occurring.

Important questions to ask may include:

What are the important legal factors that will possibly affect my business? Such as:
Changes to industrial relations legislation
Introduction of new regulations which may affect aspects of the business, e.g. food handling, contractual arrangements, legislation about tenancy
What are the important economic factors that will affect my business? Such as:
Rising Australian dollar, petrol prices, taxes and rates (both mortgage and local council)
Area growth, industry health and economic trends
What are the important environmental factors that may affect my business? Such as:
Drought, flood or fire

Put pen to paper

Document the strategy of how you are going to minimise or reduce the risks you have identified by following some simple headings:

1. Goals of risk management plan – This may also include some timelines you set to achieve aspects of the plan

2. Risks and likely impacts – List the risks you have identified and how this impacts your business, staff and customers

3. Elements that impact your business to manage risks

a. List the current knowledge of management and staff regarding legislation relevant to risk management
b. The links you have to external public safety agencies
c. The resources you currently have or will need
d. Culture of responsibility within your business, do staff take on responsibility or shy away
e. Education and training policies

4. Responsibility areas (management and strategic) – List the persons specifically responsible for the different areas of the risk management plan. This may include for example:

a. Who implements the plan
b. Who makes resources available
c. Who develops a timetable for action
d. Who is responsible for training staff
e. Who keeps the maintenance of records and reporting procedures

5. Future strategies and resources needed to achieve goals – List the resources and future actions you may need to achieve the goals you have set

Belonging to an accreditation program is a great way to ensure your business is working the best for you – and your guests.

Accreditation programs provide useful toolkits and templates for managing all facets of your business, and provide up to date information on compliance issues that might otherwise catch you out.