10 PRINCIPLES OF RISK WORKSHOP FACILITATION PART 1: THE FIRST FIVE
SHANNON GUNDERMAN, CPCU, ARM, AIS, CWCP
Administrative Services Director of Yuma County, Arizona
ISO 31000 divides the assessment of risk into three distinct steps (risk identification, risk analysis, and risk evaluation), after which the treatment of the risk is then analyzed. In order to assess risk within my entity (Yuma County, Arizona), I conduct two workshops each month with a different department. In the first workshop, participants identify and classify all their risks and, after discussion, decide which are considered to be “key risks.” In the second workshop these key risks are analyzed and evaluated, given a treatment, and assigned to an owner. On paper this seems to be an easy, straight-forward process. However, in practice it can be problematic as workshops bring together diverse personalities and backgrounds. To address this challenge, I have put together a list of 10 principles that I believe improve workshop facilitation. I hope that by integrating these principles into your workshops you can experience similar success.
- Encourage Diversity – The success of your workshop is heavily dependent upon who is asked to participate. If only managers and supervisors are invited, the operational knowledge and valuable insights and solutions found in “front line” employees may be missed. Although the authority to select who will participate may reside with the department head, persuade the decision maker to invite those whom you feel will diversify the group.
- Educate and Empower – An employee who understands and appreciates the concepts and benefits of ISO 31000 will be more inclined to join the discussion and support the process. Therefore, make sure you take a little time prior to the workshop (15-20 minutes) to educate the participants on ISO 31000 and the anticipated outcomes of the workshop.
- Remember Your Place – It is important to remember the part you play in the workshop. You may be the subject matter expert in risk and ISO 31000 but the participants are the experts in their respective fields. Your job is to educate them on the risk assessment process and to facilitate a discussion that aids them in identifying and discussing their unique risks. Remember “don’t dominate, facilitate.”
- Watch Your Time – There are few things worse than a meeting that loses direction and ends too soon without achieving anything or runs so far overtime that it fatigues and irritates your participants. If you have promised that the meeting will be no more than 3 hours, then stick to that time-frame. Monitor your time closely, as it can be easy to spend too much time discussing some risks and not enough time discussing others.
- Encourage Ownership – Ownership of risks is critical to their successful treatment and/or exploitation. Some participants may need help understanding the reasons why some risks are “theirs” and this will require patient persuasion on your part. Ensuring that risks are owned will contribute to the success of your ERM program.
By: SHANNON GUNDERMAN, CPCU, ARM, AIS, CWCP
Administrative Services Director of Yuma County, Arizona
SUMMARY OF QUALIFACTIONS
More than 15 years of public sector risk management experience | More than 17 years of legal experience | More than 22 years of public speaking experience
RESPONSIBILITIES
As the administratrive services director, Shannon oversees Yuma County’s property, liability, unemployment, and workers’ compensation programs. Additionally, he is responsible for insuring the County’s real and personal business property assets with a value of over $300 million. He also manages three separate annual budgets totaling over $4 million. Shannon directs the County’s loss control, safety, and privacy programs to assure compliance with OSHA, HIPAA, ADA and other regulatory requirements and supervises the Conflict Administrator’s Office which assigns legal counsel to indigent criminal defendants. He also serves as the County’s Privacy Officer and its ADA Title II Coordinator.
BUSINESS EXPERIENCE
During his service in Yuma County Administration, Shannon transitioned the County from a commercially insured to self-insured workers’ compensation program, which saved taxpayers nearly $300,000 in its first year of operation. He introduced and championed a pain management program that reduced the number of workers’ compensation claims, reduced the use of prescription medication in the County’s self-funded health insurance program, reduced worker absences, and improved morale. He created financial formulas to determine the amount of premium to charge each County budget in order to fund the County’s self-insurance program and developed the method of premium allocation; this procedure gave more predictability to the budgetary process and improved the County’s accountability in financial audits. His subrogation efforts recovered over $650,000 in County funds. Prior to joining County Administration in 2005, Shannon worked for six years as a paralegal and risk manager with the County Attorney where he assisted attorneys in the practice of the following areas of law: Contract and Agency, Administrative, Civil Rights, Property Tax, Torts, Premises Liability, Employment Practices, and Criminal. Before his career in public service, Shannon spent two years in the private sector as a paralegal with a bankruptcy law firm where he gained an extensive knowledge in the filing of Chapter 7, 11, and 13 bankruptcies.
ERM EXPERIENCE
After several years of discussions, meetings, education, and departmental outreach, Shannon was able to convince Yuma County leadership to support the development and implementation of an enterprise risk management program. He is now the County’s ERM project manager and serves as a leading member of both the County’s Enterprise Risk Committee and Enterprise Risk Development Team.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
PRIMA – Public Risk Management Association
RIMS – Risk and Insurance Management Society
ACIP – Arizona Counties Insurance Pool
EDUCATION
Certified Public Manager, Arizona State University
Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, American Institute for CPCU
Associate in Risk Management, Insurance Institute of America
Associate in Insurance Services, Insurance Institute of America
Certified Workers’ Compensation Professional, Michigan State University
Certified Paralegal, National Association of Legal Assistants
Certificate in Paralegal Studies, University of Arizona
Certificate in Mediation, Institute for Conflict Management
