Crisis boosts interest in training among U.K. risk managers

Q: How and why did AIRMIC academy come about, how is it structured and how is it progressing? A: AIRMIC Academy has gone beyond all of our expectations in terms of enthusiasm from our members and so we are trying to create a bit more structure to the Academy. When we started last year, we drew up a dozen subjects that members had been asking for, from a questionnaire that we sent out at the end of 2008. So effectively members gave us a shopping list and in 2009 we put the Academy together and initially produced about 12 classes. Because they were so popular, and sold out within minutes of going online, we extended it to 20 last year and this year to about 26. We keep it to 15 members per session so that there is a lot of interaction. They are two and a half hour-long workshops and free for members. The sessions are run either by fellow members or by sponsors. Currently we send notice of the sessions out about six or seven weeks ahead of schedule. But, next year we are going to put a whole year’s prospectus out and ask people to indicate their preferences earlier in the year because it has moved to a very extensive programme. You get CPD [Continuing Personal or Professional Development] points for the Institute of Risk Management or the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). But, we are not an academic body so we are not looking to set exams or create a certificate. If people want to train with market leading experts then we are looking to help them do that.hideQ: What are the sorts of subjects that are covered? A: There are four clusters of activity. Two focus on risk management and two on insurance. The insurance clusters are either operational or strategic. Operational is things that you have to know every day such as understanding what a D&O policy looks like and how to make a business interruption claim. Strategic are those issues related to the board. In other words how to set up a captive insurance company, how you relate your company’s risk appetite strategy to your insurance programme and how to present your D&O strategy to the board. Then the same applies to risk management. Strategic issues like the implementation of an ERM programme and operational issues such as how to set up a loss control programme. Q: What are the big issues this year and likely to be on the agenda next year? What proved to be popular amongst members? A: My instinct is that next year will be very similar to this year in terms of the big issues. The sessions this year included Solvency II and captives, insurance compliance issues, claims stress testing, D&O issues and emerging risks. But obviously circumstances will dictate. So if the market cycle changes, we would include an Academy session on how to survive in a hardening market. We ran sessions last year, on recession related issues like managing supply chains but lets hope that recession issues become less necessary now and we can focus on more business as usual types of issues. Certainly the sessions where we have had great reviews have been ones run by members themselves. For example we had one on how to run a beauty parade in the insurance market, which was fully subscribed and members were just hugely enthusiastic to be sharing knowledge with each other. As you can imagine, it was very interactive! Another popular session run by members focused on how to implement an ERM programme. It involved members revealing their own scar tissue and explaining how they managed to achieve tangible results despite the challenges. Q: Does member feedback help to set particular academy sessions? A: We base the Academy programme largely on the findings from our annual survey. But, we also listen to feedback. For example, we had a lot of feedback last year from people who said: ‘It is all very well you telling us we have to present a D&O programme to our board, but, we have never presented to a board before, so how do you do that?’ We therefore compiled a soft skills programme this year at the academy. When members come back to us and ask for help we will respond to that. And many of the responses relate to completing their skills competency as well as the technical side. Q: If so, what are they keen to obtain further training in? A: We are currently producing a report on risk management careers that will be released at this year’s conference. This is part of a continuing journey. Last year we issued a competency framework for risk managers and this year we are trying to reach that next level by interviewing ten risk managers who have demonstrably succeeded in their careers, and trying to draw some conclusions as to the common denominators. We are trying to help our members develop the skills that they require in order to raise their heads above the parapet. Because, in one sense, the challenge for risk managers is that they are highly regarded, but not always as visible at board level as they might wish. We are trying to raise the level of visibility for them by either addressing issues that they should raise within their organisation or look at how others have managed to break through that invisible ceiling. Q: And what advice is the report likely to give? A: There is a lot of good information, and conclusions, in the report about how individuals have broken through that ceiling. One of the main conclusions is that every organisation goes through some form of crisis, from time to time, and the most important thing for the risk manager is to put their hand up and say ‘I want to be part of the solution and to try and be as visible and helpful as possible’. To take that opportunity in adversity, to step up and be noticed and be counted, that is the common theme. Out of ten interviews I think eight had had, at some stage in their career, one of those moments of truth where either their insurance programme or their risk management strategy had to be proven and tested and had absolutely risen to the occasion. Q: What do you think of the state of education in risk management in general? Is the industry as professional as it needs to be? A: I think it is all there. If you define risk management in the way that we define it, as opposed to the way the banks define it, I think it is well served. I think the real challenge is the recognition that risk management qualifications have at board level. It is not there. Most board members will be qualified lawyers or qualified accountants and they will not quite appreciate the level of professionalism and hard work that has gone into the qualifications that their colleagues have got on the risk management side. What we all have to do is obtain a greater level of recognition. It is not because of the lack of academic rigour, it is just not as well recognised as it should be.

Crisis boosts interest in training among U.K. risk managers

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