Why every business needs a risk management plan
André Büchner, founder and director of regional Victorian agribusiness Trans Tank International, reflects on how thinking about risk changed the culture of his workplace.
How did you approach your risk management plan?
We refined our products and our contracts and engaged specialist HR consultants and occupational health and safety advisers. We also employed professional, well-trained people who introduced corporate structure, systems, policies and procedures into the business.
How has Trans Tank International applied risk management to improve its operations?
We made a conscious decision to make risk management our core company value. Risk management influences how we care about our staff, the design of our products and the care of those who use our products. This has given rise to formal and informal initiatives to continually improve our products’ safety features and our safety practices throughout the workplace. This has the spin-off benefit of more efficient production methods, along with reduced costs and more accurate forecasts. We now use the tagline “Australia’s Safest Tanks and Trailers”. As a result of our commitment, we were recognised in the Vero Insurance RM Advancer Awards, which acknowledge businesses for their risk management achievements.
How has risk management boosted staff morale?
Developing a culture of risk management is a process involving everyone in the organisation. Every right-minded individual is a stakeholder and risk management is the bond that bridges all departments and interests. Inclusion is essential and maintaining a culture of respect is also very important to us; everything we do now is framed within our core values of Care, Respect, Innovation, Sincerity and Passion (CRISP). The approach we’ve taken has greatly improved staff morale, which is in no small part due to the fact that we’ve removed a lot of uncertainty around our operations.
What role did working with an insurance broker play in helping Trans Tank International get its risk management in order?
Working with a proactive, experienced and specialist insurance broker was critical. Our insurance broker, Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT), used its knowledge of our business to help us choose a suite of policies from Vero business insurance that matched our requirements. JLT explained our options in plain language and was always available to provide support when we were unsure of where to go.