The ISO standards for Management Systems (ISO9001, ISO14001 and ISO45001) provide a proven framework to identify risks and opportunities applicable to your business, planning actions to capitalise on risks and opportunities. Next is the identification of objectives and finally performance evaluation to complete the cycle.
Identifying Risks and Opportunities
When considering the context of your business it is important to consider both the internal and external factors affecting the organsiation Some external types of business risk are financial, operational, competitive, market,regulatory, and reputational. The internal types include the values and culture of the business. The goal is to determine what risks can be reasonably mitigated and which your management team choose to accept the residual risk for. Opportunities are just as important as they help grow a company’s market share or position in the industry while at the same time minimizing risk.
Needs and requirements of interested parties
The business should consider the needs and requirements of the interested parties. Example may include technology requirements for specifc types of work or requirements around corporate social responsiblity or carbon neutrality and modern slavery are all examples of current requirements in contracts and customer terms of engagement.
Identifying plans and objectives
The plan really outlines the direction of the business and the objectives identify specific what and when the goal is to be achieved. On of the key acronyms used for many years for identifying objectives is SMART. Specific, Measurable, Achieveable, Realistic and Timely.
Planning Actions
The planning actions are the specific actions required to achieve the goals. Each action should identify who is responsible and an expected completion date. Actions are key to achieving the milestones with FocusIMS your actions will appear in alerts with reminders to help you keep your actions on track.
Performance Evaluation
The evaluation process is not a one-time event. Evaluations should be done consistently on a regular basis. This is important because evaluations will give a business an opportunity to review what they’ve accomplished and make any necessary adjustments to their current strategy. A good evaluation process will help businesses stay on track by getting objective feedback from the people that have been involved in the work, including the executive team. This then starts the next cycle of identifying opportunities and risks.
Business Planning and FocusIMS
FocusIMS provides a structured process for business planning including identifying opportunities and risks. Considering their importance to the business then deciding on plans, objectives and the planning actions to achieve objectives. All theis is covered on the planning menu on FocusIMS
