Operational Risk Management: An Overview & The Ultimate Guide

Introduction

Operational risk management has been under the spotlight of regulators and businesses for many years now. In today’s uncertain operational environment marked by volatile business outlook, rising number of regulations and regulatory updates, and high costs of services, along with internal challenges such as operational lapses, internal fraud, and de-motivated employees, there is a clarion call for effective operational risk management by organizations.

This article provides a deep dive into operational risk management, why it is important for organizations, the key steps for successful implementation, the role of technology, and more.

Key Takeaways

• Operational risk management (ORM) is a process that organizations use to identify, assess, and reduce risks that could affect their day-to-day operations.
• The primary objective of ORM is to protect value creation and shareholder/stakeholder confidence by managing operational risks arising from business activities while seizing opportunities that they create.
• Operational risks may vary in their consequences, but they are all related to the way an organization conducts its business activities. Everything ranging from natural calamities to employee attrition is a risk to business operations.
• ORM is critical to maintaining smooth operations within the organization and preventing any detriment, reduction in efficiency, reduction in productivity, or halt in consistent business activity.
• Integrating the ORM program with the overarching GRC framework allows various elements of the GRC function, including ORM, to communicate and share information with each other. This helps to provide a more holistic view of risks and enables the organization to make better-informed risk management decisions.

What is Operational Risk?

Operational risk refers to the potential for loss arising from inadequate or failed internal processes, systems, human errors, or external events that disrupt an organization’s operations. This can encompass a wide range of factors, including technological failures, fraud, compliance breaches, supply chain disruptions, and workplace accidents. Unlike other types of risks, operational risk is often quite complex and interconnected, as it can stem from both internal vulnerabilities and external threats.

Let’s take a look at an instance from the banking industry. This example revolves around a bank's internal processes, such as handling loan applications. If a bank lacks a robust system for verifying borrower information, it may inadvertently approve loans to individuals with poor credit histories or fraudulent identities. This oversight can lead to increased defaults and financial losses. To mitigate such operational risks, banks must establish comprehensive controls, conduct regular audits, and foster a culture of employee risk awareness, ensuring that potential risks are identified and addressed proactively.

What is Operational Risk Management?

Operational risk management (ORM) is the process of proactively identifying, assessing, mitigating, and monitoring risks that disrupt daily operations. These risks can be internal, such as people, processes, and systems, or external, like natural disasters or regulations.

Operational Risk Management (ORM) involves creating a culture of risk awareness within the organization, where employees at all levels are empowered to recognize and report risks. ORM also emphasizes the importance of establishing robust controls and procedures tailored to the unique operational context of the organization. Through continuous monitoring and reporting, ORM enables organizations to adapt to evolving risks and regulatory landscapes, ensuring compliance and minimizing potential losses.

An ORM exercise aims to understand the variables that may affect various aspects of the operational performance of an organization and take means to mitigate aspects that have the potential to create damage.

ORM helps businesses stay resilient. It should be an integral part of a business’s overall risk management strategy. An organization that understands the importance of this discipline will be able to take advantage of its benefits and minimize its costs by ensuring that all activities are performed within an appropriate framework. Further, when a risk does materialize, the organization will be able to recover quickly from its detriments and ensure business continuity.

Why is Operational Risk Management (ORM) Important?

Operational risk, in the context of risk management, has become more significant now than ever before. An effective ORM program, aligned with strategic business goals and objectives, is essential for an organization to stay resilient in today’s fast-changing risk environment. Here are a few reasons why ORM is important for businesses:

1. Effective identification and assessment of key operational risk exposures: ORM enables an organization to identify, measure, monitor, and control its inherent risk exposures. Elements like risk assessment, loss event management, and key risk indicators play an important role; enabling the organization to evaluate the gaps arising from risk and control frameworks.
    
2. Efficient allocation of operational risk capital: With a streamlined operational risk management process, efficient allocation and utilization of operational risk capital can be ensured.
    
3. Timely operational risk management information: A robust ORM program, supported by software solutions, can help decision-makers gain effective, real-time visibility into ongoing risk management efforts, critical and high-priority risks, and areas of concern. This helps them accelerate the decision-making process significantly.
    
4. Risk-aware culture: An ORM program implemented across the enterprise with support from the top management and leadership goes a long way to improve an organization’s risk-aware culture and environment. Organizations with a risk-smart workforce are able to better identify risks in a proactive manner, enabling them to stay ahead of the curve.
    
5. Continuous risk management and resilience: Operational risk management is not a one-time exercise but an iterative and ongoing process. Continuous review and monitoring of the ORM program helps an organization not only stay on top of the evolving risks but also improve its preparedness for the unknown unknowns.

Examples of Operational Risks

Here are some examples of operational risk:

• Internal and external fraud, such as theft of information, hacks, forgery, etc.
• Natural disasters, terrorism, vandalism, etc. causing damage to physical assets
• Business disruption resulting from system failure, power disruptions, and hardware and software failures
• Technology risks due to the proliferation of advanced technologies, such as AI, machine learning, robotic process automation, etc.
• Employment practices and workplace safety risks
• Project failures due to data entry errors, accounting errors, etc.
  
  
   

Primary Objectives of ORM

In the broader context of business resilience, Operational Risk Management plays a crucial role in maintaining operational stability.  Its goals are designed to be both proactive and reactive, allowing organizations to handle risks before they escalate while ensuring sustained success.

Let us explore the main objectives of ORM, each focussing on a distinct yet interconnected aspect of operational risk management:

• Identifying Hidden Risks The first step in effective ORM is identifying possible threats that could disrupt operations. This involves conducting thorough risk assessments to pinpoint vulnerabilities within organizational processes, systems, and structures. By understanding these hidden risks, organizations can prioritize areas that require immediate attention, ensuring they allocate resources efficiently to mitigate potential threats. 
• Enhancing Risk Awareness This involves educating employees about the nature of operational risks and the specific threats their organization faces. This objective is achieved through regular training sessions and communication initiatives that foster a culture of vigilance and responsibility, enabling staff to recognize and respond to risks swiftly and effectively.
• Strengthening Internal Controls Another key objective of ORM is to bolster internal control mechanisms that safeguard against potential risks. This involves implementing policies and procedures that establish clear boundaries and responsibilities across the organization. Strong internal controls help in detecting and preventing risks, and also in maintaining compliance with regulatory standards.
• Mitigating Operational Losses ORM is also focused on reducing the financial impact of operational disruptions by minimizing these operational losses. This objective includes developing robust contingency plans, streamlining processes, and ensuring effective risk controls are in place. Organizations can thereby limit the financial and reputational damage caused by operational failures, contributing to eventual long-term stability.
• Promoting Risk-Driven Decision Making By aligning business goals with a risk-first mindset, organizations can make decisions that are safe and forward-thinking, ensuring they stay agile and adaptable. This approach not only cuts through uncertainty but fosters leadership that thrives on informed risk-taking, positioning the company to navigate challenges with confidence and foresight.

What Are the Five Major Types of Operational Risks that Organizations Should be Aware of?

Operational risks can be broadly classified into five major categories, in the context of better mitigation.

1. People Risk

People risk is the risk associated with the human resource employed at an organization and originates out of any actions or omissions committed by the workforce. The acts or omissions can be an individual or a collective effort. People risk seeks to understand the effects of the decisions taken by employees within the organization and their impact on the operations.

2. Process Risk

Process risk is the risk associated with several processes deployed by the organization. The risk originates from inefficiencies within the process that have the potential to cause detriment to operations and revenues of the organization. Process risk involves understanding the changes in processes, changes in the market concerning the processes, and changes in organizational culture with respect to the processes that can cause damage.

3. Systems Risk

Organizational systems are complicated networks containing critical information about an organization. Therefore, systems risk is the risk associated with organizational systems that have the potential to create damage, extend unauthorized access, or delete critical business data.

4. External Events Risk

External events risk encompasses all risks that originate and exist outside of the organization, but can have a direct or indirect impact on its operations. External events may originate from third parties, customers, competitors, and partnerships – bringing the risks associated with each of these entities to the organization’s operations.

5. Legal and Compliance Risk

Legal and compliance risks are risks associated with regulatory authorities, jurisdictions, and geopolitics of a particular market. These risks differ depending on the operating region and affect the organization differently in different areas. The risks typically involve the risk of changing regulations, policies, and new tax regimes. 

State of ORM

The current state of operational risk management reflects a landscape that’s constantly shifting due to a multiple factors, including global unrest, economic volatility, and rapidly evolving technologies. With the recent rise in cyberattacks, geopolitical instability, and regulatory changes across industries, businesses are finding themselves in a continuous loop of risk reassessment. Events like political wars, inflation spikes, and post-pandemic shifts in work culture have forced organizations to adapt more agile and resilient ORM frameworks.

According to a survey by protiviti, by 2034, the top risk to be tackled by organizations is set to be cyber threats. Multiple reports highlight the growing threat that artificial intelligence poses, particularly through generative AI tools that are exploited for fraudulent activities. This is compounded by the rise of new regulations aimed at addressing risks in areas like AI, ESG disclosures, and even sector-specific risks, such as those in banking where regulatory pressure is mounting after recent failures. In fact, only 44% of risk management professionals report being confident in managing the risks associated with cloud technology, signaling the need for continuous improvement in ORM practices.

What Are the Most Common ORM Challenges?

Operational risk management (ORM) encounters several key challenges that can undermine its effectiveness. One major issue is the difficulty in detecting new risks in a fast-evolving environment, which can leave organizations exposed. Additionally, inconsistent understanding of operational risk among stakeholders leads to ineffective strategies, while a lack of skilled resources hampers effective ORM execution. The intangible nature of operational risks complicates efforts to quantify their impact, and data inconsistencies from multiple sources further obstruct accurate risk assessment.

1. Failure to Detect New Risks

One of the most significant challenges to the ORM is the inability to detect new risks that arise in the operational environment. The purpose of an efficient ORM strategy is to mitigate all risks to the operations of an organization. However, with an ever-evolving market and a dynamic economy, it becomes difficult for organizations to keep up with the changing risk landscape – creating gaps in the risk management strategies and existing risks.

2. Lack of a Common Understanding of Operational Risk

An organization’s ability to handle operational risk is only as good as its understanding of the risk. A common issue while assessing, preparing, and deploying strategies to combat operational risks is the lack of common ground between multiple entities involved in the process. While some parties within the organization may understand the risks to the same effect, others may comprehend it differently. Therefore, with lapses in a common understanding, the ORM exercise is likely to fail – largely due to inconsistent processes across various functions.

3. Lack of Skilled Resources

ORM is plagued with a lack of resources to deal with the risks that an organization faces. The ORM exercise is overlooked by organizations, with little attention and resources provided to the processes that help avert risks to operations. With limited resources and several complicated processes to develop, ORM becomes ineffective.

4. Difficulty in Representing the Impact of Operational Risks in Monetary or Business Terms

Operational risks are often intangible, and their consequences can be difficult to quantify. For example, the impact of a data breach on an organization's reputation may be difficult to quantify in terms of lost revenue or profits. Additionally, operational risks may have indirect impacts on an organization, such as reputational damage, that are difficult to quantify.

5. Data Inconsistency

Operational risks often involve multiple data sources and systems, which can lead to data inconsistencies that make it difficult to accurately assess risks. Additionally, operational risks may be dynamic and constantly evolving, which can make it difficult to keep data up to date and accurate. This can make it challenging for organizations to effectively manage operational risks and make informed decisions about how to mitigate them. 

What are Operational Risk Management Guidelines?

Here are some of the key guidelines that can help organizations develop and implement an effective ORM program:

• Tone at the Top

  It has been said time and again that effective risk management starts with the tone at the top – driven by the top management and adhered to by the bottom line. Effective management of operational risks needs continued support and commitment from the board, risk management committees, and senior management. The management and the board must understand the importance of operational risk management and leverage it to enhance competitiveness and performance. 

• Data Integrity and Accuracy

  A successful ORM program heavily relies on data consistency and accuracy. Organizations must establish well-defined processes for identifying, assessing, and monitoring key operational risk exposures and capturing and analyzing loss events, supported by a standardized taxonomy. ORM helps to turn these data into actionable insights, enabling the organization to evaluate the gaps arising from risk and control frameworks. 

• Right ORM Software

  Implementing a comprehensive ORM program must be supported with the right technology that improves risk visibility and foresight, preparedness for unknown unknowns, and efficiency in decision-making. A robust ORM solution supports features like role-based dashboards, control testing results, and scorecards that provide visibility into ongoing risk management efforts and bring high-risk areas into focus. 

• Clear Roles, Responsibilities, and Accountabilities

  Well-defined roles and responsibilities in risk management is an imperative part of ORM. It helps streamline the risk management process by enabling chief risk officers to incorporate accountability at each level in the risk team. 

• Risk-Smart Workforce and Environment

  An ORM framework should facilitate a cultural shift to a risk-smart workforce and environment. It ensures that the organization has the capacity and tools to be innovative while recognizing and respecting the need to be prudent in protecting its interests. 

• Continuous Risk Management Learning

  Most business units today acknowledge that continuous learning is fundamental to making informed and proactive decisions. To ensure this, business units are sharing their experiences with risk management, and providing best practices - internally and across organizations. This supports innovation, capacity building, and continuous improvement.

Operational Risk Management Process: Four Steps of Effective ORM Process

ORM leverages a set of processes for identifying, measuring, mitigating, and monitoring risks related to an organization’s business operations. ORM is also focused on the operational element of independent, non-operational risks identified by regulators as having a significant financial impact on an organization's ability to manage its business effectively if not managed properly. 

Here are the four key steps of the ORM process:
 

Step 1: Risk Identification

Risk identification is the process of discovering risks associated with different aspects of an organization and their potential impact. To identify risks, organizations may use a variety of methods such as brainstorming sessions, interviews with stakeholders, and risk assessments. It is important for organizations to identify risks in order to understand potential impacts and prioritize risk management efforts.

Step 2: Risk Assessment

Risk assessment involves evaluating the exposure, impact, and effects of identified risks. Risk exposure refers to the potential impact of risk and the probability of its occurrence. It is calculated by multiplying the probability of risk occurrence by the potential impact of the risk. There are various types of risk exposure, including transaction risk, operating risk, translation risk, and economic risk. Risk scoring is the practice of using statistical analysis to quantify risk in order to understand the level of associated risk. Common methods of risk scoring include range analysis, probability analysis, and impact analysis.

Step 3: Risk Mitigation

Risk mitigation involves implementing strategies to minimize the likelihood or impact of risks. This may include implementing controls, transferring risks to third parties, or accepting risks. It is important for organizations to have a risk mitigation plan in place to minimize the impact of risks on their operations.

Step 4: Risk Reporting

Risk reporting involves communicating risk information to relevant stakeholders. This may include preparing risk reports, presenting risk information to management or the board of directors, and disclosing risk information to regulators or investors. Risk reporting helps organizations understand the status of their risk management efforts and take appropriate actions to address risks.

Read more: What is Risk Management? 

How Can Organizations Build a Robust ORM Framework?

An Operational Risk Management Framework (ORMF) is a structured approach that helps businesses proactively identify, assess, prioritize, monitor, and report operational risks, such as process failures or human error, to minimize potential losses and exploit opportunities.

An effective ORMF can be developed through a process that involves governance structure, operational risk identification, assessment, measurement methodologies, policies, procedures, and processes for mitigating, controlling, monitoring, and reporting of operational risks.

The steps to build a robust ORM framework are listed below.

1: Risk Identification

First, an organization must understand the risks that exist in the business environment. While identifying risks, organizations must consider risks of all impact potentials to fill any gaps in the framework and keep the organization future-ready.

2: Appetite Statement

Once you have identified these risks, it's important to develop a risk appetite statement that outlines what's acceptable or unacceptable (tolerable) in terms of operational risk. This includes the type of damage that can be caused by each type of operational error or incident. It also highlights how quickly recovery from each type of incident should occur after it occurs—and how long it will take for them all to be resolved completely.

3: Risk and Control Self-Assessment and Mitigation

Once you have established this baseline for your organization's tolerance level for operational errors/incidents, create a risk assessment process so that everyone on staff has clear expectations about how their role fits into helping eliminate those risks from happening again in future situations.

Read more: Demystifying RCSA: 6 Critical Factors to Modernize Your Risk and Control Self-Assessment Program

4: Collecting and Processing of Loss Data

Loss data, more aptly known as operational risk event data, is the core source of information for gauging the impact of a past event and using this to forecast the potential damage from a future operational risk event. For example, banks and financial institutions follow guidance as outlined by the Basel II seven loss event categories. 
 

5: Integrating ORM into GRC

To ensure the robustness of an ORM framework, it is essential to adopt ORM as an integral function within the organization’s governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) framework to provide a structured approach to managing risks and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations and standards.

By integrating operational risk management with GRC, organizations can identify and prioritize operational risks, assess their impact on the business, and develop controls to mitigate them. This integration can also help ensure that risk management is aligned with the organization's overall strategy, and that compliance requirements are met while minimizing business disruption. Ultimately, an integrated approach to operational risk management and GRC can help organizations enhance their risk management capabilities and improve overall business performance.

What Are the Benefits of a Strong ORM Framework?

ORM helps organizations protect their operations and ensure business continuity. Here are some of the benefits of a strong ORM framework:

1. Better Awareness of Operational Risks

A strong ORM helps organizations understand their operational risks better, helping them improve controls, make informed decisions and educated business choices. It improves awareness and makes all related parties known of the operational risks, enabling them to better contribute to risk mitigation and remain prepared for the materialization of the operational risks.

2. Reduced Stress on the Organization

When businesses develop a strong Operational Risk Management framework, they reduce stress by efficiently managing resources to tackle the outcomes of risks. As a result, businesses reduce operating costs by identifying potential issues before they become problems, making resource consumption and allocations more effective, and preparing provisions for unexpected events that may cause damage to the organization.

3. Improved Decision-Making

ORM can improve a business’s ability to manage risks, which will lead directly to improved decision-making and increased profit margins. With more information, insights, and data in hand, organizations can develop accurate predictive models to help make better business decisions. These decisions are consistent with the business objectives while considering the effects of potential risks on operations. 

How MetricStream Can Help

MetricStream's Operational Risk Management software is designed to help organizations follow a robust risk management discipline and adopt a pervasive approach to operational risk management. It helps organizations improve risk visibility and foresight with predictive risk metrics and indicators, reduce losses and avoid adverse risk events with robust controls and analytics, and drive agile, risk-based business decisions with a single view into the top organizational risks. Built on the MetricStream Platform, the software helps strengthen collaboration across all business functions, from executives and risk managers to business process owners. It also helps establish a robust risk data governance and issue reporting framework with clear lines of accountability, enabling organizations to build confidence with regulatory authorities and executive management.

FAQ

What is Operational Risk Management?

Operational Risk Management (ORM) is a thorough framework aimed at methodically recognizing, evaluating, tracking, and addressing risks stemming from an organization’s daily activities. This includes risks related to its processes, employees, technology, and external factors.

How to Mitigate Operational Risks?

To mitigate operational risks, organizations can implement robust internal controls, conduct regular risk assessments, establish clear policies and procedures, provide employee training, and utilize technology for real-time monitoring and reporting.

How can operational risk management help organizations gain a competitive advantage?

• Effective ORM delivers a competitive advantage to organizations by providing a strong focus on:
• Helping the business grow by creating new customers 
• Enabling faster innovation than competitors by managing competition and strategic risks 
• Ensuring top risks related to critical operations are always under control 
• Enabling organizations to respond faster and better in case of a crisis or operational failure

How is operational risk measured by banks and financial institutions?

The key risk indicators depend on the industry in which organizations operate. Banks and financial institutions follow guidance from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), which has laid out the guidelines for measuring operational risk.

What are the key elements of an operational risk management framework (ORMF)?

ORMF includes factors within the organization such as issue management, key risk indicators, control and self assessment, and loss of both external and internal data. This leads to an effective structuring, strategizing and execution of policies that result in better governance.

What are the main types of operational risks?

The main types of operational risks include human risks, process risks, systems risk, external factors, and legal and compliance risks.

What is the primary objective of operational risk management?

The primary objective of operational risk management is to identify, assess, and minimize risks that can negatively impact a company’s operations, thereby ensuring business continuity, compliance, and overall efficiency in the long run.

What are the steps involved in the ORM process?

The steps involved in the ORM process typically include risk identification, risk assessment, risk control, risk monitoring, and continuous improvement to adapt to changing conditions and emerging risks.