Risk management practices are meant to reduce business uncertainty and allow firms to continue operating without the fear of “going out of business” because of the occurrence of risks that they cannot overcome. Therefore, effective risk management practices are designed to promote business continuity. The complaints facing TBS Plc carry the same amount of risk for its operations because the erosion of its business reputation may be detrimental to the long-term continuity of the business. Consequently, it is pertinent for managers to employ effective risk management practices that would minimize the possibility of this happening in the first place.
Employing the correct risk management strategies could also help to introduce flexibility in the management of business plans, which would then help the firm to address complaints. For example, implementing a good risk management plan would avoid some of the missed deadlines and slow response time associated with new business quotations because there would be greater flexibility in the management of business tasks. Completing effective risk management practices in the firm could also ensure that the organization meets its objectives because it would help managers to better define them. Without such a plan, it is possible that the material occurrence of risk would eventually cause the firm to miss its objectives. Indeed, if TBS Plc defines its objectives to its partners without taking into account the risks involved, it would be difficult to steer it back to its original course when a risk factor occurs.
The risk management plan would help the firm to identify some of the main origins of the complaints and address them before they even occur. This way, the company would be taking a proactive approach in managing its risks because it would be guarding against them, hence protecting the company’s reputation. To execute these strategies, it would be crucial for all members of the organization to co-operate in overseeing risk management practices. Doing so would not only protect the company from further reputational loss but also help its managers to prioritize risks that have the greatest effect on its reputation. This way, they would be in a position to divert resources towards addressing the most important tasks and build on the gains made to improve performance.
For example, having a robust risk management plan would allow managers to know whether late and inaccurate policy documentation processes are linked to slow response times when providing business quotations and help them to determine whether they add to the incorrect payment of commissions to insurance brokers. By using effective risk management policies to prioritize the late and inaccurate policy documentation processes as a primary risk management area, managers will be in a better position to improve documentation processes and reduce the time taken to approve new business quotations. Using this example, the relevance of employing effective risk management practices in prioritizing risk will make it easier to know which areas to address first and how the gains made in them can be useful in addressing other types of risk.
Overall, the adoption of effective risk management practices at TBS Plc will help in improving the firm’s response to customer complaints because it will allow responsible parties to manage these issues positively and constructively. The failure to include such practices in the company’s business plan will lead to not only customer frustrations but also the loss of business because most customers will not complain to the firm when they are frustrated; they will simply take their business elsewhere.