RISK MANAGEMENT
Advancing of your center’s commitment to quality and safety are critical in today’s sporting environment. If you serve on a board or committee, risk management is one of your key responsibilities.
ABOUT RISK MANAGEMENT
Risk management is the course of action you take to reduce potential legal liability. It seeks to address potential pro
blems before they occur. Risk management aims to be proactive rather than reactive – creating a safer environment and legally safer operational procedures.
A common mistake centers make is to view risk management as a program in isolation. It is an ongoing process that should be applied to all your center’s policies and procedures.
BENEFITS OF RISK MANAGEMENT
Better sporting or recreational outcomes
Improved safety for participants, officials, spectators and volunteers
Better prepared in the unfortunate case of a claim
Lower costs and increased budget certainty
More effective management of assets, events, programs and activities
Improved compliance with the law, regulations and other formal requirements
Enhanced image and reputation
RISKS FACING CENTERS
In sport, the area of risk is inherently broad. Some general risks that could apply to your club include:
Poor supporting software
Poor documentation and recording
Not having a member protection policy
Poor communication policies and procedures
Disconnects between the center’s board or committee, staffing and members
Not having clear expectations or bill of rights among board or committee, staffing and members
HOW TO MANAGE RISK
All key people, including board members, management, staff and volunteers, should be involved in every step of the risk management process.
Managing risk may seem daunting. Lasso Safe’s scorecard, engagement managers and high risk assessment walk-through are all attributes of the Lasso Safe certification process to guide centers towards high levels of risk management performance. While designing the scorecard or collaborating with your assigned engagement managers, centers should break the risk management process into achievable steps by following this checklist.
Appoint a Safety Manager responsible for the risk management process
Identify ‘key’ people (i.e. sport development director, event manager, finance director) who will be involved in managing risk
Identify, audit and manage the club’s risks (this can be done in conjunction with or independently of the Lasso Safe high risk assessment walk-through)
Identify risks – what can happen? Why? How?
Analyze risks
Evaluate risks
Design your scorecard
Implement credits
Develop and implement a clear communication strategy on risk management
Communicate the strategies to all appropriate levels of the center
Ensure the board addresses risk management periodically as a meeting agenda item
Monitor and review strategies at least annually and report to the board through the risk manager, as well as submit all required documentation to Lasso Safe
Ensure the board has adopted and implemented a risk management policy
Use media and marketing strategies to get the word out there
Maintain consistency within center policies – keep risk management programs consistent from year to year, with only well-planned steps of improvement along the way
RISK MANAGEMENT APPROACH
The Lasso Safe Playbook https://www.lassosafe.com/product-page/lasso-safe-playbook provides a step-by-step process of pursuing Lasso Safe and managing the risks faced by sport centers.
The application of these guidelines can be customized through the 400+ credit options listed in the scorecard, and profitability can be maximized through the Value Creation Plan.
Lasso Safe offers on-going support and a systematic approach you can use to manage risk.
MORE INFORMATION
To learn more about sport safety profitability, check out our resources. https://www.lassosafe.com/resources-1