What is ISO 31000?
ISO 31000 is an international standard for Risk Management that provides a set of principles, a Risk Management framework and process, which help organizations take a proactive approach to risks that they face. ISO 31000 helps organizations to develop, implement and continuously improve a framework that aims to integrate Risk Management strategies into the overall organizational processes including decision-making. The Risk Management process involves following five steps that identify circumstances, detect risk-associated hazards, assess and determine the risk, control evaluated risks and review the impact of the risks.
This international standard is important if you are interested in providing yourself with comprehensive guidelines that will help your organization strengthen its indecision-making process and overall management. ISO 31000 is intended to simplify the task of governing complex situations that require crucial decisions to be made towards a structured approach of identifying and judging risks.
ISO 31000: Standards History and Updates
The first ISO 31000 standard was published on November 13, 2009. Its purpose at that time was to provide principles and generic guidelines on Risk Management, seeking to provide a common approach to Risk Management processes in support of standards dealing with specific risks (without replacing those standards). However, the 2009 version of ISO 31000 did not intend to promote uniformity of Risk Management across organizations.
The updated version of ISO 31000 was released on February 2018, replacing the ISO 31000:2009.
The revised standard delivers a clearer, shorter, and more concise guide that will help organizations make better decisions. It emphasizes the integration of Risk Management within the organization, and the role and responsibility of leadership. ISO 31000:2018 uses a simpler language, thus making it accessible to all stakeholders.
Definition of Risk
ISO 31000:2018 defines risk as the “effect of uncertainty on objectives”. It focuses on any deviation (positive, negative, or both) from the expected outcomes which can create or result in opportunities and threats. At the same time Risk Management is defined as ‘’coordinated activities to direct and control organization with regard to risk’’.
On a wider spectrum, the definition of Risk Management is to establish a coordinated and economical application of resources that reduce, monitor and regulate the probability and impact of unfortunate events. Managing risk is crucial for organizations – it helps to establish necessary steps so to remain resilient and develop a plan of action and strategies which can eliminate or reduce the impacts of risks.
Why ISO 31000 Risk Management is important for you?
ISO 31000 will guide you toward identifying potential risks that could endanger the achievement of crucial objectives; it will help you to determine which risks are essential to take in order to achieve primary objectives before they affect the business, while effectively keeping all other risks under control.
Furthermore, becoming ISO 31000 certified proves that you have undergone the proper professional training; further advancing your risk management and risk identification skills. Nonetheless, helping you to formulate and correctly implement strategies and solutions to improve and protect the needs of the organization. Attending our training courses will be beneficial for you because it makes you more marketable to employers, as nowadays professional certifications are crucial.
