Risk Treatment Strategies in Risk Assessment

Overview of Risk Assessment

After completing a thorough risk assessment, organizations must decide on appropriate strategies to mitigate or eliminate the identified risks. This stage is known as risk treatment. It involves selecting from various strategies and implementing the most suitable ones to address the identified risks. Here, we discuss several risk treatments and their applications:

Strategies for Risk Treatment

Accept and Transfer

One strategy for managing risk is to accept and transfer it onto others, either through delegation or outsourcing. This strategy assumes that the transferred party is better equipped to handle the risk and thus reduces the burden on the original organization. However, it might come with additional expenses and loss of control over how the risk is handled.

Eliminate

Eliminating risk involves removing its source entirely. This may require significant effort and resources, depending on the size and complexity of the risk. However, eliminating the risk can reduce the likelihood of future incidents.

Reduce

Reducing risk involves implementing measures to decrease the likelihood or severity of the event. This could include procedural changes, equipment upgrades, or training programs. By reducing the risk, the organization can limit the potential impact of a negative event.

Share

Sharing risk means distributing responsibility among multiple parties to lessen the overall impact. This can be done through partnerships, joint ventures, or collaborations. By sharing the risk, the burden is spread across multiple entities, potentially reducing the total impact.

Retain

Retaining risk involves accepting the possibility of negative outcomes and allocating resources to manage them if they occur. Organizations may choose to retain risk if the costs of alternative risk management strategies are too high, and there is confidence in the ability to respond effectively.

Each of these risk treatment strategies has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, and the choice depends on the unique circumstances and constraints of the organization. Selecting an appropriate combination of risk treatment strategies can significantly improve an organization's resilience and preparedness for potential risks.