The Influence of Employee Behavior on Enterprise Risk Management

The goal of a risk management program is to identify and manage potential events that could affect an organization. Bankers are adept at risk management practices, but a risk that may be overlooked is the influence employees have on the success of a risk management program. Understanding employee buy-in and related behavior is a great way of further understanding employee commitment. And developing a culture that fosters employee connection, in turn, increases employee buy-in. 

Adopting a culture that aligns with the risk appetite and philosophy of an organization requires assessment of an organization’s actions to foster commitment among front-line staff. Streamlining a bank’s official vision and values with that which an employee is asked to do on a day-to-day basis is crucial to an employee’s commitment to the bank’s risk strategy and the organization overall. 

Behavior that drives organizational culture in a unified approach to risk management can lead to many great benefits. It’s important to communicate risk strategy to employees and assess their willingness to embrace the message. All in all, the key to strong risk culture is effective communication and an emphasis on cohesion to evoke the right employee behaviors.

In a three-part Bankers Digest series, Weaver’s Bruce Zaret and Andrew Topa divulge further about the influence of employee behavior on enterprise risk management. Read more in the complete article series: 

• Employee Connection in Risk Management, Part I
• Employee Connection in Risk Management, Part II
• Employee Connection in Risk Management, Part III