As businesses become more global and risks become complex, behavioural factors are important to consider. There is growing recognition among risk professionals that a positive risk culture is an essential element of effective risk management. This is not to say that to effectively embed risk management in an organisation other factors are not important - clearly they are. Leadership, governance, training and adequate resourcing are just a few.
Behaviour change
To successfully change risk culture requires modifying behaviour. No clearer example is provided than the step change improvement in risk management in the field of work health and safety (WH&S). In organisations where by their very nature WH&S is the headline risk and often “the rule book is written in blood”, attention has turned to the human element rather than merely work processes and physical conditions. Behaviour analysis is becoming a vital tool to improve safety risk culture in these workplaces. So what is behaviour analysis, and can we use it more broadly to change risk culture outside of the field of WH&S?
Application of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) to broader risk culture
Behaviourism is not at all new to the field of psychology, but relatively new to risk management. >Put simply, most people will not change their behaviour unless motivated to do so. ABA is “applied” as it relies on observation rather than theory. However this observation should not be confused with an exercise in fault finding, which it is not. Rather it is a process of fact finding through observation.
ABA is only effective when the application of these techniques changes the behaviour it seeks to change. ABA is a useful tool to more broadly enhance risk culture through identifying the underlying drivers of behaviour in an organisation. In effect the triggers and reinforcers that may be present in an organisation that either contributes to or detracts from a positive risk culture. Most organisations talk extensively about expected risk behaviour (the “said”), but often the underlying drivers of risk behaviour (the “unsaid”) are inconsistent. Staff intending to exhibit expected behaviours can easily be lead into unexpected behaviour by contradictory triggers and reinforcers, such as “unrealistic” KPI’s or short-term focussed reward and recognition systems. There must be clear alignment in an organisation between the activators and consequences of behaviour, and the expected risk culture. Focus on positive consequences to effectively change behaviour. Negative consequences should only be used as a last resort.
Strategies to improve risk culture
Compliance training programs to build risk culture
Compliance training for your staff can be of tremendous value to an organisation and an essential part to building ethical culture, establishing acceptable standards of behaviour and mitigating risk. Other benefits include:
At the GRC Institute (GRCI), we can deliver programs or individual modules that can be delivered in-house, as part of your organisational training framework. The courses can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your organisation, within the parameters of the national qualification framework, ensuring optimal value for your business and employees. As a registered training organisation (RTO), we offer two nationally accredited risk and compliance courses – mutually recognised in Europe, the Americas and across Asia through our international alliances with other compliance associations.
For further information about our compliance and risk training solutions for your staff, please contact us on +61 (02) 9290 1788.