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What your

people don’t

know might

hurt you

“People risk” can be mitigated by ook at any significant corporate failure over the last
20–30 years, and at its heart will be issues relating to
ensuring your employees have a full people. In most industries, people are your greatest
asset — but they can also be your biggest liability.
understanding of their role. LUnlike machines, they are unpredictable, irrational,
and erratic, which makes “people risk” one of the most
By Helen Tuddenham challenging areas to define, assess, and manage on your risk
register.
People risk is the risk that the people in your organisation,
either through ill intent or ignorance, will act in a way that
prevents you from achieving your strategic aims and objectives.
It is rarely stand-alone but instead is a contributing factor to
many other risks on your register. It is often overlooked —
IMAGE BY LAN ZHANG/ISTOCK such as a system failure or, indeed, a global pandemic.
either because it is seen as too difficult to define or because it is
a less obvious contributing factor than something more visible
“People” does not just mean employees either. A variety of
agents, suppliers, contractors, and others will be representing
your organisation. Your level of control over them will vary, but
where possible, you should introduce measures to manage the

12 I FM MAGAZINE I February 2022 risk from these stakeholders, too.