The more you know, the better when it comes to risk management

Early in my risk management consulting career, I was frequently stonewalled by some campus recreation—as well as athletics—directors when I attempted to convince them to conduct a risk management audit of their programs and facilities. Things have come a long way since those early days—which wasn’t too long ago—but it did take a while for many people to fully appreciate that ignorance is not an excuse. The courts will apply a simple test: Should you have known about this? Burying your head in the sand simply doesn’t cut it!

While the risk-management bar has been raised considerably in the past few years, there are still some recurring negative factors at play—especially complacency. Complacency happens for two reasons:

1. When a department is convinced they’ve done all the due diligence they really need to do; they’ve developed solid risk management plans and are therefore ready to move on to something else. (Hint: It doesn’t work that way.)
2. When a department doesn’t totally commit to risk management and so takes shortcuts in conducting an audit, or assigns a staff member to the task who lacks the skillset to develop and implement a meaningful audit.

So what do you need to do?

1. Don’t be afraid of confronting risk management head on!
2. Conduct a risk-management audit because the more you know, the less scary it becomes.
3. Focus on your high-risk areas.
4. Get professional help to conduct a proper audit—don’t take shortcuts!

How do you do this?

Conduct a comprehensive audit by investing in the new ‘Best Practices’ Risk Assessment Tool developed by SportRisk. This unique risk-assessment tool will tell you exactly how well you are doing by determining how you benchmark relative to accepted campus recreation risk management best practices. The assessment tool will also demonstrate how your practices compare with over 100 other schools across North America, and highlight where you are clearly falling behind.

So there’s no room for complacency—find out exactly where you stand!

For more information on the tool, how it was developed and piloted, and why you need to use it, visit the SportRisk website.

Why McGregor & Associates?

We have been in the campus recreation risk management business for over 20 years. We have a proven track record, are widely known, and are cited across North America as the go-to company for risk management expertise. It’s why NIRSA has partnered with McGregor & Associates in the SportRisk ‘Best Practices’ initiative.

To register and learn more, visit the SportRisk website or contact President of McGregor & Associates Ian McGregor.