SAFETY COMMITTEE FORMATION
Marilyn L. Rivers, CPCU, ARM, AIC
Director of Risk and Safety/Safety & Compliance Officer, City of Saratoga Springs
Do you feel like you stand alone trying to make folks understand that there are more constructive ways to solve a problem than by sweeping it under a rug? Do you get that pesky knock at the door the same time your office and your mobile phone rings, giving you that sinking feeling your day is about to go sideways? I know I do. Public entity risk management can be a lonesome proposition. So let’s try and shake off that loneliness and think about how we can create partnerships through safety committees.
A safety committee is a group of people within your organization that come together on a scheduled basis to talk about your entity’s risks, risk treatments, assessments, threats and opportunities. They are the folks that are critical to the success of your public entity’s mission and might include members from each of your departments - finance, engineering, utilities, legal, code enforcement, building and zoning, public works, fire, police, human resources, members of your legislative body and even your labor unions! They are the folks who can go back to their team and talk risk and safety and help you promote your safety programming.
Right about now, you’re saying to yourself, “great, just what I need, another meeting!” However, safety committees enable and empower you to treat your entity’s risks and identify opportunities. They provide an opportunity for everyone to communicate the positive, work through the negative, and come to a consensus on tough issues facing your community. If your entity doesn’t have a safety committee, you can put one together! Ready…set…let’s start with some basics.
Make a list of the issues that keep you up at night. Think about the folks who won’t listen, know more than you do or just love to talk about their point of view. Your safety committee can be the eyes and ears of your risk programming. You can’t be everywhere right? Therefore it’s important to bring those front line risk managers to the table and let them be heard.
What do you hope to accomplish? Who do you hope to reach? Your answers will help you set some goals and objectives for your first meeting and agenda. Publish the agenda ahead of time and ask folks to contribute issues that are important to them. Identify an individual to take notes so you may keep a record of what is discussed, what needs to be accomplished and what has been achieved. Monthly minutes will help you track and trend issues faced by your community.
Set rules of engagement and make them fair and responsible. Talk about them at your first meeting. Ask for suggestions and record them for future meetings. For starters, one person, one vote regardless of position, is called the equality of safety. Respect during discussions is expected. Remind folks that attitude gets checked at the door. Communication is anticipated, but needs to be based on honesty and stays at the table until consensus is achieved.
You should plan on scheduling your safety committee meetings on a regular basis. Monthly meetings are a good way to keep the dialogue moving and current. It’s also helpful to schedule them a year in advance so your safety committee meetings take priority.
Your monthly agenda should include “old business” and “new business.” Old business includes a date order of risk and safety items identified by the group for continued work and attention. This safety committee agenda becomes a working timeline of loss prevention and control activities – your committee’s goals and objectives. As opportunities for improvement are accomplished, your minutes tell your committee’s success story.
If you are struggling with your safety committee or are thinking of putting one together, be brave. Safety committees have the capacity to rock your world by engaging your stakeholders and creating an amazing network of risk worker bees. Remember, everyone wants to belong to something. What better place to be than on your team ready and, poised to make a difference in your community? Your safety committee will help your organization recognize the effectiveness of partnerships while collectively solving issues with one united voice.
Do you have a safety committee? What are some of the challenges you have faced in your safety committee’s startup journey? How do you get your folks to communicate? Let’s share!
By: Marilyn L. Rivers, CPCU, ARM, AIC
Director of Risk and Safety/Safety & Compliance Officer, City of Saratoga Springs
Summary of Qualifications
- 20+ years of experience in risk financing, operations and safety management
- 2014 - Present, President, NYPRIMA
- 2013 PRIMA President's Award
- Strategic Chairperson/Educator PRIMA Institute PI 15 - Albuquerque, NM; PI 14 Louisville, KY; PI 13 Milwaukee, WI; and PI 12 - Charlotte, NC.
- Vice Chairperson, RIMS Standards and Practices Committee - Participating in the formulation of international policy concerning risk management, January 2014. Committee member 2012 to Present.
- Educator and lecturer on risk, insurance, facilities and safety management including PRIMA Podcasts.
- 2007 PRIMA Public Risk Manager of the Year.
Responsibilities
As director of risk and safety, Marilyn is responsible for the city's claims management, contract administration, litigation management, safety, and compliance programs. She also contributes her expertise in fiscal oversight, compliance, administration, delivering cost reductions, policy development and management. Additionally, Marilyn serves as the chairperson of the City of Saratoga Springs' Safety Committee.
Business Experience
Marilyn possesses private sector experience in healthcare risk management on both local and national levels, corporate operations experience for an internet engineering dot-com, as well as 13 years of experience in the public sector. She is a regular Risk and Insurance magazine columnist.
Professional Affiliations
RIMS - Risk and Insurance Management Society
The National Safety Council
PRIMA - Public Risk Management Association
PRIMA NY - Public Risk Management Association, New York Chapter
Education
B.S. in Chemistry, Clarkson University
M.Ed., Tufts University
CPCU, Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation, American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters
AIC, Associate in Claims designation, American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters
ARM, Associate in Risk Management designation, American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters
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PRIMA INSTITUTE’S SMALL GROUP SETTING MAKES NETWORKING EASY
Janet Hayes
Administrative Manager of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department
PRIMA Institute provides a great experience for risk management professionals who are new to the arena or the more seasoned veterans.
Unlike other large conferences, PRIMA Institute (PI) allowed me to make friends with colleagues around me. Mostly because the program facilitator, Marilyn Rivers, would not allow anyone to sit in the same place day-after-day. And since we all attended the same sessions I really had no choice but to be engaged and talk to people. Sitting at individual tables during the sessions, eating lunch together and networking at night with such a small crowd allowed me to gain perspective of others in my same position as a risk novice as well as glean information from the more seasoned risk professionals. This combination of various experience levels makes the learning environment beneficial for the newer risk professional to gain the knowledge necessary to progress in their future career paths.
The personal connections I made during the conference were insurmountable. By the end of PI 12’s conference curriculum, I had built professional relationships –people I email when I’m dealing with something difficult and need advice, and personal relationships- people I email just to say hi. These are some of the reasons I keep coming back to PI. With such a small group of attendees and Marilyn at the helm of the program, in PRIMA Institute 2013, I was forced out of my comfort zone and presented in front of the group which is where the real learning began!
Since so much time is spent learning, relaxing in the evenings becomes important and they are always full of fun and entertainment. Some PI nights start with group sponsored events where you get to see the personal side of people and interact outside of a training environment. Some evenings include attendee-organized sporting events, shopping, experiencing the local food and of course, sightseeing! These less formal interactions always tricked me into building even more relationships that spill over into the next day of learning. They have also helped put me at ease with my peers. Together, you have fun and laugh and joke which makes learning about risk management so much easier.
After feeling like such a novice, I felt part of the PRIMA Institute family and energized to be part of the public risk management profession. In fact, PRIMA Institute has helped me develop in many ways and this year at PRIMA Institute 2015, I will be presenting a session about law enforcement relationships with risk management. This will be my fourth year attending PRIMA Institute and it won’t be my last. PI is an awesome experience, come join me in Albuquerque in November to see what all the talk is about! You won't be disappointed!
By: Janet Hayes
Administrative Manager of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department
Summary of Qualifications
More than 8 years of public sector law enforcement risk management experience
5 years instructional experience
Responsibilities
As the operational risk manager for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Janet oversees the day to day operations related to worker’s compensation, civil liability and traffic collision review for approximately 4,000 employees. She is the ADA Title II Coordinator for the Sheriff’s Department and works in conjunction with the County of Orange to limit liability within her department.
Business Experience
Janet and her staff have been successful in implementing several programs with the Sheriff’s Department to limit exposure to liability including comprehensive return to work programs, LEAN programs and a forward thinking risk mitigation mindset for law enforcement.
ERM Experience
Janet has participated in the PRIMA Public Sector ERM training and is working toward implementing a comprehensive program within the Sheriff’s Department.
Professional Affiliations
PRIMA - Public Risk Management Association
PARMA - Public Agency Risk Managers Association
Education
Bachelor of Arts, Sociology, Brandman University
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SUMMER READING RECOMMENDATIONS
William T. “Tim” Wiseman, MBA, ARM-E
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enterprise Risk Management at East Carolina University
As an PRIMA ISO 31000 faculty member, I’d like to share three book recommendations with you. Whether you are heading to the beach or are looking for something to enjoy over your morning coffee, I think these books have something to offer if you are already involved in enterprise risk management (ERM), or if you are planning implementation in the future.
The first book is Managing Risk and Performance: A Guide for Government Decision Makers, by Thomas H. Stanton and Douglas W. Webster, Wiley Press, 2014. This book is a treasure chest of risk management information, specifically focused on government. The chapters of the book merge the principles of modern enterprise risk management practice with the needs of federal agency managers to understand and manage the risks of their organizations. For me, this book serves as a mini-library of risk management topics and real challenges encountered by various contributing subject matter experts in public sector risk management field.
The second book I would recommend is Risk and Crisis Management in the Public Sector, by Lynn Drennan and Allan McConnell, Routledge, 2007. This book focuses more on risk management around crisis situations. I found the information on the elements of a “crisis”, and the connection of crisis management and risk management to be very insightful. The book methodically covers the nature of risk and crisis; drivers for risk and crisis management; assessing and responding to risks; contingency planning and crisis preparedness; and post-crisis actions. This book has more of an international-flavor to it, and reminds us that aspects of enterprise risk management have been practiced abroad for a number of years. It concludes with an excellent case study on managing risk in public service organizations with a personal account by Ed van Thijn, former Mayor of Amsterdam.
And lastly, if you are looking for more ERM literature, I would recommend is Enterprise Risk Management – A Guide for Government Professionals, by Dr. Karen Hardy, Jossey-Bass (Wiley Brand) Publishing, 2015. This book is one of the more recent publications on enterprise risk management. In this textbook-like publication, Hardy covers the ERM fundamentals, but also makes the connection to managing risk in a governmental environment. Readers will appreciate the “stage setting” in her introduction as she relates top risk areas in governmental organizations to the public sector, and her use of specific examples of risk management in federal government organizations. The book covers the main frameworks and standards, and includes information on best practices in federal agencies. It also addresses some of the unique challenges of building a risk culture in public sector entities
There are relatively few books and articles that focus on risk management in the public sector. These three are worth adding to your professional reading list. Have you found any other books particularly useful? What other publications do you follow to increase your knowledge of ERM?
By: William T. “Tim” Wiseman, MBA, ARM-E
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enterprise Risk Management at East Carolina University
Summary of Qualifications
5+ years of experience as East Carolina University’s Chief Risk Officer and enterprise risk management program developer
25+ years of progressive management experience and expertise in finance operations, resource management, strategic leadership of complex, diverse, and effects-based enterprises, and operational risk management and control
Associate in Risk Management – Enterprise-Wide Risk Management (ARM-E)
Military comptroller assignments at army division, corps, and major command levels
6 years of experience in governance of a non-profit ministry organization in multiple positions of stewardship and oversight
Certified Defense Financial Manager with Acquisition Specialty (CDFM-A (RET))
Department of Defense legislative liaison subject matter expert
Faculty member for PrepAdemy - teaching both ERM and Risk Financing Courses
Responsibilities
As the Chief Risk Officer for East Carolina University (ECU), Tim is charged with developing, implementing and sustaining the university’s enterprise risk management program. He leads ECU’s effort to recognize, measure, and assess business risk from an enterprise perspective. Additionally, Tim assists in the establishment of effective monitoring and control measures, and advises senior administration officials on risk considerations related to strategic decision-making.
Business Experience
Prior to joining East Carolina University, Tim served over 25 years in the Army as a Finance Corps officer and resource manager, serving with distinction in both command and staff positions at all ranks and levels from captain to colonel. Tim’s diverse assignments included tours with the 25th Infantry Division (L), Schofield Barracks, HI; 1st Armored Division, Bad Kreuznach, Germany; XVIII Airborne Corps and US Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, NC; US Army III Corps, Fort Hood Texas; and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller-Congressional Budget Liaison, The Pentagon. His last military assignment was as the Chief of Staff for the United States Army’s Cadet Command at Fort Monroe, Virginia. This headquarters directed the operations of the Army ROTC programs at over 273 universities including the Army ROTC program at East Carolina University.
ERM Experience
Tim’s experience as a senior leader in finance and resource management in the Army included enterprise-wide risk management responsibilities in financial controls, management internal control systems, and prevention of fraud, waste and abuse. He regularly applied advanced/composite risk management practices and principles to high-risk military training activities involving complex systems, weaponry and integrated personnel and financial operations in large organizations.
At East Carolina University since 2009, Tim has served as primary ERM advisor to ECU’s chancellor, senior leaders, and the board of trustees on matters of institutional risk and response. He has completed numerous risk consultations and special reviews in support of management decisions, and has developed a clear message, focus, and direction for the university’s ERM program and culture. He chairs a forty member risk committee, and has successfully established an effective two-year model for risk identification, assessment, treatment, and monitoring/adjustment.
An avid proponent of ERM best practices and principles, Tim has been a willing coach and mentor to other risk management professionals attempting to establish or mature their ERM programs. Tim has presented at various risk management forums to include RIMS, URMIA, FERM and AGA conferences and workshops, and is also a faculty member for PrepAdemy, an online training company offering courses to help prepare risk management professionals for certification and designation examinations.
Professional Affiliations
URMIA – University Risk Management and Insurance Association
PRIMA – Public Risk Management Association
RIMS – Risk and Insurance Management Society
ASMC – American Society of Military Comptrollers
AUSA – Association of the United States Army
Education
B.S. in Business Administration, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR
MBA, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
M.S. in National Resource Strategy, National Defense University, Washington, D.C.
ARM-E designation, Associate in Risk Management-Enterprise-Wide Risk Management designation, Insurance Institute of America
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MAKING THE GRADE
SHANNON GUNDERMAN, CPCU, ARM, AIS, CWCP
Administrative Services Director of Yuma County, Arizona
The importance of obtaining feedback on your workshop performance cannot be overstated. Improvement is never realized in a vacuum. To be successful and to continue to succeed, one must be willing to accept advice, counsel, and criticism from others. This is especially true for risk workshop facilitators. One thing that you can do to solicit this feedback and to continue to improve (one of the part of the ISO 31000 framework) your risk identification process is to survey your workshop participants.
Did they enjoy the process? Did they feel that they learned something valuable and practical from the experience? Did they feel that the workshop was an effective use of their time? Getting answers to such questions will provide you with the necessary insights that will enable you to hone your facilitation skills, improve each subsequent workshop and further identity risks within your entity.
After a risk workshop has concluded, I ask participants to complete a brief, anonymous evaluation. In the evaluation, I pose the following questions:
- Did you gain new skills and knowledge that apply to your job?
- Was the information presented in a clear and well-organized manner?
- How would you rate the facilitator’s knowledge of the subject matter?
- Were sufficient opportunities provided for participants to be involved and ask questions?
- How well did the facilitator answer questions?
- How would you rate the facilitator’s presentation style and delivery?
- What suggestions do you have for improving the workshop?
Below each question the participant can select from various descriptive choices (be specific) ; additional space is also provided for participants to elaborate on their rating. The questions above may not be ideal for your participants. However at the least you should ask questions in three categories:
- workshop content
- facilitator effectiveness
- suggestions for improvement
Items 1 and 2 will help you to identify the general strengths and weaknesses of both the workshop content and your facilitating approach. Item 3 will allow participants to provide you with additional insights not covered in the prepared questions. Additionally, your survey should be succinct and easy to complete so keep the number of questions you ask to a minimum. Also, when you send your workshop participants your survey, be sure to tell them that it is short and will not take them very long to complete. This will encourage them to complete the survey.
In addition to requesting feedback from the participants, I also ask for input from my fellow enterprise risk management team-members who assist me. They always provide enlightening observations because they are not distracted by having to facilitate or actively participate and can therefore give their full attention to observing how you perform and how the participants respond.
By investing a little time to obtain and analyze feedback you receive, you will be able to improve the outcomes of your workshops and will “make the grade” as an effective facilitator! Do you solicit feedback from your meetings? If so what kind and how do you use it to continually improve?
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
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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
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USING OUR EYES AND EARS
DOROTHY M. GJERDRUM, ARM-P, CIRM
Senior Managing Director of Public Sector Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services
Who do you regard as your eyes and ears when it comes to risk?
When I conduct risk identification workshops, two things always happens. One surprises me and the other delights me. It is that most people don’t think that much about risk. Really? Honestly? That always surprises me. It’s not that employees are not managing risk – they are. We do that constantly, whether we realize it or not. But unless they are in a work environment where it is constantly reinforced (think safety placards and steel-toed shoes), the management of risk usually isn’t a consistent, conscious choice.
It’s like driving my kids to school. It’s 7 a.m. and we’re running late. I buckle my seat belt, start the engine and give a cursory glance in the rear view mirror before pulling out of the driveway. I am doing all of that while simultaneously directing the off-to-school show: “Don’t forget to turn in your permission slip. Stop poking your brother! Did you remember your gym shoes?” I am managing the risk of driving without thinking about it, and anyone who has ever adjusted auto claims can tell you how common that is.
So perhaps it’s no surprise that for many employees, they perform their work duties like they are driving their car. It’s automatic. Therefore, when I ask the question about “risk in the workplace” I am often greeted with blank stares and puzzled expressions. They just don’t think about it that much.
So if we want employees to be eyes and ears for us regarding risk, first we have to get their attention and talk about risk. That means that we need to be ready to describe what we really mean when we say “risk.”
The ISO 31000 standard defines risk as “the effect of uncertainty upon our objectives.” The definition tells us to start with our objectives – or what is most important to us and our organizations. After we define risk, then we consider the uncertainties that can effect whether we can achieve our objectives (effects can be both negative and/or positive). The ISO definition is a broad definition that pushes us to consider whether we are paying attention to the right stuff (objectives, risks, threats and opportunities).
If you have conversations about risk and help employees become more risk aware, you will begin to uncover commonalities. That’s the part that delights me – when people from very different “turfs” (or departments) become aware that they share the same risks and, as they continue the conversation, when they also start to share their solutions. That’s when we begin to utilize the eyes and ears of many. Those are the people I want as my eyes and ears when it comes to risk. Who serves as your eyes and ears when it comes to risk? What surprises and delights you when identifying risk across departments?
By: DOROTHY M. GJERDRUM, ARM-P, CIRM
Senior Managing Director of Public Sector Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
• 2014 Woman to Watch - Business Insurance Magazine • 2012 Recognized by Treasury & Risk as a “Top 100” Leader in Finance and Risk • 2012 Public Sector Power Broker – Risk & Insurance Magazine • 2010 Public Sector Power Broker Finalist – Risk & Insurance Magazine • 2009 Public Sector Power Broker – Risk & Insurance Magazine • More than 20 years of public sector risk management experience • Speaker, author, leader on Enterprise Risk Management in the public sector • Chair of the US Technical Advisory Group to ISO 31000:2009 and ISO 31004
RESPONSIBILITIES
As Senior Managing Director of Gallagher Public Sector, Dorothy leads 300 Gallagher insurance brokers and specialists dedicated to public sector clients across the United States, focusing on issues of risk management, exposure identification, pool operations and enterprise risk management. In addition to leading the broker group, Dorothy provides consulting and risk management services to select Gallagher public sector and higher education clients.
BUSINESS EXPERIENCE
Prior to joining Gallagher, Dorothy was risk manager of three self-insured pools for the New Mexico Association of Counties (NMAC). She has more than 20 years experience in public sector risk management and insurance. During her tenure at NMAC, Dorothy developed loss-sensitive contribution and allocation formulas. She partnered with her insurance broker to provide new coverage programs for members, including injunctive relief, land use and special events and the Pool’s first coverage document in order to clarify coverage exclusions and conditions of insurance. In response to rising losses, she developed individualized training sessions to address sexual harassment and management issues. She led a team that brought claims in house and developed a legal advice hotline, which saved the pools hundreds of thousands of dollars in the first year alone. As a founding board member of County Reinsurance, Limited, a captive excess insurance company formed to provide reinsurance to county association pools nationwide, Dorothy served as Board Member and Treasurer. Dorothy was also a founding member and organizer of the New Mexico PRIMA Chapter, where she organized local and regional educational opportunities for school, city, county and state risk managers and safety personnel.
ERM EXPERIENCE
Dorothy served as the Chair of the US Technical Advisory Group to ISO 31000, the international standard on the practice of risk management, and its Implementation Guide, ISO 31004 from 2008-2014. Dorothy has also served on the RIMS Standards Comparison Committee and as curriculum advisor for the National Alliance. In 2003, Dorothy partnered with the risk manager of the largest community college district in the U.S. to create an award-winning integrated program that unified traditional risk management and enterprise risk management. From 2003 on, Dorothy has presented educational sessions on ERM and its application in the public sector at regional and national conferences: RIMS (regional and national), PRIMA (regional and national), URMIA (regional and national), AGRiP, STRIMA, NACUA, the IIA GRC, Infonex and for many Gallagher client groups. She is currently co-creating education and training material on implementing ERM in the public sector using ISO 31000 for PRIMA and URMIA. ERM implementation and consulting projects include the CO School Districts Self-Insurance Pool, the City-County of San Francisco, the New Mexico Association of Counties insurance pools, FL College System Risk Management Consortium, UVM, UNC Charlotte, Johnson County Community College District in KS and Maricopa County Community College District in AZ.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
AGRiP – Association of Governmental Risk Pools IRM – The Institute of Risk Management ISO 31000 Standard on the Practice of Risk Management – US Technical Advisory Group ISO 31004, the Implementation Guide to ISO 31000 PRIMA – Public Risk Management Association RIMS – Risk and Insurance Management Society
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts, College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, MN ARM designation, Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation, Insurance Institute of America ARM-P, Risk Management for Public Entities designation, Insurance Institute of America CIRM, International Certificate in Risk Management, The Institute of Risk Management
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WHO KNOWS ABOUT RISK?
DOROTHY M. GJERDRUM, ARM-P, CIRM
Senior Managing Director of Public Sector Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services
Ten years ago, there was a terrible school shooting in northern Minnesota that left 10 people dead. Shortly after it occurred, I spoke with a school security expert about the incident. At the time, we didn’t know anything about why the shootings had occurred and there was a lot of fear and speculation going around. I asked him if he thought school shootings were predictable (and therefore preventable) or if they were random acts of violence. To this day, his answer still haunts me. He said, “Someone always knows.”
Most risk managers are well trained to predict future outcomes based on past experiences and to create top-notch risk prevention and financing solutions for those risks we can predict. But is that enough to prepare our entities for the uncertainties of today’s world?
In my last blog, I posed some provocative questions about listening to a broader array of voices and considering risks beyond our direct control. Let me share a great example of one university that has done just that.
A 2012 publication from The Education Advisory Board highlighted best practices in risk management among colleges and universities*. The publication cited the University of Alberta for its independent risk management identification forum. The forum brings together experts from outside (their array of voices) the university to verify the key risks and assumptions made in its risk register and to listen to the experts’ predictions about business, economic and government trends. It’s a one-day meeting that provides insight into risks beyond the four walls of the campus and is a great way to force the University to consider risks beyond their direct control
Many public agencies and schools have advisory committees and citizen groups. Why don’t risk managers do more to interact with and engage these groupsto “think forward” about emerging trends and risk?
How do you incorporate the voices of experts outside your entity into your risk management process?
By: DOROTHY M. GJERDRUM, ARM-P, CIRM
Senior Managing Director of Public Sector Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
• 2014 Woman to Watch - Business Insurance Magazine • 2012 Recognized by Treasury & Risk as a “Top 100” Leader in Finance and Risk • 2012 Public Sector Power Broker – Risk & Insurance Magazine • 2010 Public Sector Power Broker Finalist – Risk & Insurance Magazine • 2009 Public Sector Power Broker – Risk & Insurance Magazine • More than 20 years of public sector risk management experience • Speaker, author, leader on Enterprise Risk Management in the public sector • Chair of the US Technical Advisory Group to ISO 31000:2009 and ISO 31004
RESPONSIBILITIES
As Senior Managing Director of Gallagher Public Sector, Dorothy leads 300 Gallagher insurance brokers and specialists dedicated to public sector clients across the United States, focusing on issues of risk management, exposure identification, pool operations and enterprise risk management. In addition to leading the broker group, Dorothy provides consulting and risk management services to select Gallagher public sector and higher education clients.
BUSINESS EXPERIENCE
Prior to joining Gallagher, Dorothy was risk manager of three self-insured pools for the New Mexico Association of Counties (NMAC). She has more than 20 years experience in public sector risk management and insurance. During her tenure at NMAC, Dorothy developed loss-sensitive contribution and allocation formulas. She partnered with her insurance broker to provide new coverage programs for members, including injunctive relief, land use and special events and the Pool’s first coverage document in order to clarify coverage exclusions and conditions of insurance. In response to rising losses, she developed individualized training sessions to address sexual harassment and management issues. She led a team that brought claims in house and developed a legal advice hotline, which saved the pools hundreds of thousands of dollars in the first year alone. As a founding board member of County Reinsurance, Limited, a captive excess insurance company formed to provide reinsurance to county association pools nationwide, Dorothy served as Board Member and Treasurer. Dorothy was also a founding member and organizer of the New Mexico PRIMA Chapter, where she organized local and regional educational opportunities for school, city, county and state risk managers and safety personnel.
ERM EXPERIENCE
Dorothy served as the Chair of the US Technical Advisory Group to ISO 31000, the international standard on the practice of risk management, and its Implementation Guide, ISO 31004 from 2008-2014. Dorothy has also served on the RIMS Standards Comparison Committee and as curriculum advisor for the National Alliance. In 2003, Dorothy partnered with the risk manager of the largest community college district in the U.S. to create an award-winning integrated program that unified traditional risk management and enterprise risk management. From 2003 on, Dorothy has presented educational sessions on ERM and its application in the public sector at regional and national conferences: RIMS (regional and national), PRIMA (regional and national), URMIA (regional and national), AGRiP, STRIMA, NACUA, the IIA GRC, Infonex and for many Gallagher client groups. She is currently co-creating education and training material on implementing ERM in the public sector using ISO 31000 for PRIMA and URMIA. ERM implementation and consulting projects include the CO School Districts Self-Insurance Pool, the City-County of San Francisco, the New Mexico Association of Counties insurance pools, FL College System Risk Management Consortium, UVM, UNC Charlotte, Johnson County Community College District in KS and Maricopa County Community College District in AZ.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
AGRiP – Association of Governmental Risk Pools IRM – The Institute of Risk Management ISO 31000 Standard on the Practice of Risk Management – US Technical Advisory Group ISO 31004, the Implementation Guide to ISO 31000 PRIMA – Public Risk Management Association RIMS – Risk and Insurance Management Society
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts, College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, MN ARM designation, Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation, Insurance Institute of America ARM-P, Risk Management for Public Entities designation, Insurance Institute of America CIRM, International Certificate in Risk Management, The Institute of Risk Management
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SEEKING THE UNKNOWN
DOROTHY M. GJERDRUM, ARM-P, CIRM
Senior Managing Director of Public Sector Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services
A lot of our most worrisome, current-day risks were not on our radar screens a decade ago. It was unthinkable that we would have to respond to a pandemic threat like Ebola or avian flu and that those risks, which originate far away from our shores, could pose a threat to public entities all across America. Really?
Think about some of the other “unknown” risks from the last two decades: the 9-11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina, the BP oil spill, the world economic crisis and the volcano that shut down air traffic around the world. For all of these events, what made them huge was an unthinkable combination of hazards compounded by our lack of preparedness and (mostly) inadequate response.
Were these risks really unknown or unimaginable?
Not so much. We know now that there were national security experts, doctors and epidemiologists, economists and geologists who knew about these uncertainties and who understood the risks that the rest of us failed to see. And these are not just random global occurrences. All of these risks could directly affected public sector operations in the United States
So if the risks are known by someone, somewhere – how do risk managers deal with that?
I think risk managers must be challenged to think beyond the data of the past and figure out how to incorporate more voices and new ideas into the process of identifying and describing the risks facing our public entities. We need to seek the unknown (to us) because it is known by someone. It’s not that we’re facing an abyss of unknowable proportion. Someone has already seen the deep hole, and they might even have suggestions about how to avoid it. We just need to listen.
What do you think risk managers should address in their entity's "portfolio of risk?" Who should we be listening to and how could we effectively consider risks that are beyond our direct control?
By: DOROTHY M. GJERDRUM, ARM-P, CIRM
Senior Managing Director of Public Sector Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
• 2014 Woman to Watch - Business Insurance Magazine • 2012 Recognized by Treasury & Risk as a “Top 100” Leader in Finance and Risk • 2012 Public Sector Power Broker – Risk & Insurance Magazine • 2010 Public Sector Power Broker Finalist – Risk & Insurance Magazine • 2009 Public Sector Power Broker – Risk & Insurance Magazine • More than 20 years of public sector risk management experience • Speaker, author, leader on Enterprise Risk Management in the public sector • Chair of the US Technical Advisory Group to ISO 31000:2009 and ISO 31004
RESPONSIBILITIES
As Senior Managing Director of Gallagher Public Sector, Dorothy leads 300 Gallagher insurance brokers and specialists dedicated to public sector clients across the United States, focusing on issues of risk management, exposure identification, pool operations and enterprise risk management. In addition to leading the broker group, Dorothy provides consulting and risk management services to select Gallagher public sector and higher education clients.
BUSINESS EXPERIENCE
Prior to joining Gallagher, Dorothy was risk manager of three self-insured pools for the New Mexico Association of Counties (NMAC). She has more than 20 years experience in public sector risk management and insurance. During her tenure at NMAC, Dorothy developed loss-sensitive contribution and allocation formulas. She partnered with her insurance broker to provide new coverage programs for members, including injunctive relief, land use and special events and the Pool’s first coverage document in order to clarify coverage exclusions and conditions of insurance. In response to rising losses, she developed individualized training sessions to address sexual harassment and management issues. She led a team that brought claims in house and developed a legal advice hotline, which saved the pools hundreds of thousands of dollars in the first year alone. As a founding board member of County Reinsurance, Limited, a captive excess insurance company formed to provide reinsurance to county association pools nationwide, Dorothy served as Board Member and Treasurer. Dorothy was also a founding member and organizer of the New Mexico PRIMA Chapter, where she organized local and regional educational opportunities for school, city, county and state risk managers and safety personnel.
ERM EXPERIENCE
Dorothy served as the Chair of the US Technical Advisory Group to ISO 31000, the international standard on the practice of risk management, and its Implementation Guide, ISO 31004 from 2008-2014. Dorothy has also served on the RIMS Standards Comparison Committee and as curriculum advisor for the National Alliance. In 2003, Dorothy partnered with the risk manager of the largest community college district in the U.S. to create an award-winning integrated program that unified traditional risk management and enterprise risk management. From 2003 on, Dorothy has presented educational sessions on ERM and its application in the public sector at regional and national conferences: RIMS (regional and national), PRIMA (regional and national), URMIA (regional and national), AGRiP, STRIMA, NACUA, the IIA GRC, Infonex and for many Gallagher client groups. She is currently co-creating education and training material on implementing ERM in the public sector using ISO 31000 for PRIMA and URMIA. ERM implementation and consulting projects include the CO School Districts Self-Insurance Pool, the City-County of San Francisco, the New Mexico Association of Counties insurance pools, FL College System Risk Management Consortium, UVM, UNC Charlotte, Johnson County Community College District in KS and Maricopa County Community College District in AZ.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
AGRiP – Association of Governmental Risk Pools IRM – The Institute of Risk Management ISO 31000 Standard on the Practice of Risk Management – US Technical Advisory Group ISO 31004, the Implementation Guide to ISO 31000 PRIMA – Public Risk Management Association RIMS – Risk and Insurance Management Society
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts, College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, MN ARM designation, Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation, Insurance Institute of America ARM-P, Risk Management for Public Entities designation, Insurance Institute of America CIRM, International Certificate in Risk Management, The Institute of Risk Management
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RISK IS MORE THAN A FOUR-LETTER WORD
DOROTHY M. GJERDRUM, ARM-P, CIRM
Senior Managing Director of Public Sector Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services
When I say “a four-letter word,” you think I’m going to say something bad, don’t you? For many years, risk management took that same approach. Risk was something to be avoided, transferred away, segregated and minimized. We worked hard to minimize the adverse effects of losses and claims, transfer or prevent them when possible and finance them when necessary. We treated risk like a bad, four-letter word and in some instances, we still do.
But what happens when a risk is worth taking? Can we treat risk like a good thing? When we should embrace risk or even optimize it? I can think of a personal example. Twice in my career, I have taken huge personal risks when I’ve pursued a new job that was outside of my comfort zone (one even involved a cross country move before I had the final job offer). I was excited about these opportunities – even though the outcomes were far from certain. Job changes are never without challenges, but looking back, I am grateful for taking those big risks that helped me embrace new career goals. They enabled me to achieve much more than I would have if I had played it safe
But how does this apply to public sector risk management? Insurance companies tell us that only 20-25% of public sector risks are insurable (and they are only talking about risks that are threats). That leaves 75-80% of uncertainty on the table, “unknowns” that could be opportunities. Some of that uncertainty could provide great outcomes, if the risks are worth taking. The 2009 ISO/ANSI/ASSE 31000 standard on risk management defines risk as “the effect of uncertainty on objectives.” Those effects could be good or bad or both. Taking a broad approach, an enterprise-wise approach, to risk, rather than trying to contain, transfer or prevent it, can help you understand when and how it makes sense to take on risk.
Managing risk in such a way can lead to better decision-making and can help us achieve our (personal and professional) goals. The ISO/ANSI/ASSE 31000 standard on risk management introduces a new language of risk, expanded way beyond a bad, four-letter word.
And for me, my next big career risk is taking on this blog! I hope you’ll engage with me by joining this discussion by leaving a comment. I’d love to hear what risks have you taken lately that have resulted in a positive outcome? What are some things that can result from taking an enterprise-wide approach to risk?
By: DOROTHY M. GJERDRUM, ARM-P, CIRM
Senior Managing Director of Public Sector Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
• 2014 Woman to Watch - Business Insurance Magazine • 2012 Recognized by Treasury & Risk as a “Top 100” Leader in Finance and Risk • 2012 Public Sector Power Broker – Risk & Insurance Magazine • 2010 Public Sector Power Broker Finalist – Risk & Insurance Magazine • 2009 Public Sector Power Broker – Risk & Insurance Magazine • More than 20 years of public sector risk management experience • Speaker, author, leader on Enterprise Risk Management in the public sector • Chair of the US Technical Advisory Group to ISO 31000:2009 and ISO 31004
RESPONSIBILITIES
As Senior Managing Director of Gallagher Public Sector, Dorothy leads 300 Gallagher insurance brokers and specialists dedicated to public sector clients across the United States, focusing on issues of risk management, exposure identification, pool operations and enterprise risk management. In addition to leading the broker group, Dorothy provides consulting and risk management services to select Gallagher public sector and higher education clients.
BUSINESS EXPERIENCE
Prior to joining Gallagher, Dorothy was risk manager of three self-insured pools for the New Mexico Association of Counties (NMAC). She has more than 20 years experience in public sector risk management and insurance. During her tenure at NMAC, Dorothy developed loss-sensitive contribution and allocation formulas. She partnered with her insurance broker to provide new coverage programs for members, including injunctive relief, land use and special events and the Pool’s first coverage document in order to clarify coverage exclusions and conditions of insurance. In response to rising losses, she developed individualized training sessions to address sexual harassment and management issues. She led a team that brought claims in house and developed a legal advice hotline, which saved the pools hundreds of thousands of dollars in the first year alone. As a founding board member of County Reinsurance, Limited, a captive excess insurance company formed to provide reinsurance to county association pools nationwide, Dorothy served as Board Member and Treasurer. Dorothy was also a founding member and organizer of the New Mexico PRIMA Chapter, where she organized local and regional educational opportunities for school, city, county and state risk managers and safety personnel.
ERM EXPERIENCE
Dorothy served as the Chair of the US Technical Advisory Group to ISO 31000, the international standard on the practice of risk management, and its Implementation Guide, ISO 31004 from 2008-2014. Dorothy has also served on the RIMS Standards Comparison Committee and as curriculum advisor for the National Alliance. In 2003, Dorothy partnered with the risk manager of the largest community college district in the U.S. to create an award-winning integrated program that unified traditional risk management and enterprise risk management. From 2003 on, Dorothy has presented educational sessions on ERM and its application in the public sector at regional and national conferences: RIMS (regional and national), PRIMA (regional and national), URMIA (regional and national), AGRiP, STRIMA, NACUA, the IIA GRC, Infonex and for many Gallagher client groups. She is currently co-creating education and training material on implementing ERM in the public sector using ISO 31000 for PRIMA and URMIA. ERM implementation and consulting projects include the CO School Districts Self-Insurance Pool, the City-County of San Francisco, the New Mexico Association of Counties insurance pools, FL College System Risk Management Consortium, UVM, UNC Charlotte, Johnson County Community College District in KS and Maricopa County Community College District in AZ.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
AGRiP – Association of Governmental Risk Pools IRM – The Institute of Risk Management ISO 31000 Standard on the Practice of Risk Management – US Technical Advisory Group ISO 31004, the Implementation Guide to ISO 31000 PRIMA – Public Risk Management Association RIMS – Risk and Insurance Management Society
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts, College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, MN ARM designation, Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation, Insurance Institute of America ARM-P, Risk Management for Public Entities designation, Insurance Institute of America CIRM, International Certificate in Risk Management, The Institute of Risk Management