The Risks of Making Decisions in a Vacuum

Leaders face immense pressure as they work to keep employees happy, costs low, performance high and success always within reach. They work to hire the best talent, delegate decisions to experts within the company, and ensure their business is constantly growing.

But if the leaders within an organization aren’t talking to one another as they make important business decisions, the company can suffer. Making decisions in a vacuum can eat up valuable resources, cause gaps in insurance coverage, or lead to overlooked cost savings.

Connecting the Dots

A committee isn’t necessary for every business decision, but company leaders need to be in touch with one another to know what’s happening in different sectors. A change made by HR to reduce pharmacy costs could lead to discriminatory impacts on certain employees and employment practices claims. A shift to consumer-driven healthcare plans could cause workers compensation claims to rise. There are complexities involved in all insurance decisions that may not be completely clear within single departments.

Risk 1: Overlooked Cost Savings

As department leaders evaluate insurance options, they look at how those options will lower costs, enhance savings, and overall impact their bottom line. However, decisions made without informing colleagues could lead to overlooked cost savings. Discussing the needs of individual departments and aligning those with insurance options can provide a clear view of how unified insurance decisions affect the overall bottom line for the company, not just the costs of individual departments.

Risk 2: Gaps in Coverage

A new HR system could expose a business to new cyber threats. A change in safety practices could lead to an unexpected increase in workers compensation claims. Some decisions made in human resources can lead to legal liability. If risk managers don’t know it needs to be included in coverage, a potential gap could lead to thousands of dollars in loss.

Risk 3: Compliance Issues

Compliance should be top of mind for organizations. The evolution of workforces to remote work environments, the digital transformation of jobs, increased climate-based regulations, and overall increased business practice scrutiny come with their own complicated compliance demands. If leaders aren’t engaging in open dialogue to ensure all components of compliance are being met, the risk for compliance issues increases.

Risk 4: Loss of Best Practices

Engaging best practices allows organizations to continually evolve, becoming better in business, faster in production, and having fewer mistakes and problems. The right insurance programs in place will ensure efficiency and safety, allowing each department to retain best practices.

Stop Making Decisions in a Vacuum

Protecting a business from these risks means creating a culture of communication. Leaders need to:

• Communicate clearly
• Develop a common language
• Understand the goals and processes of other departments
• Be transparent

Additionally, businesses need to engage the right insurance experts. With an advisor serving as an insurance partner, leaders can make more efficient decisions through common conversations and singular decision dates.

Above all, the right advisor can provide confidence in a comprehensive risk strategy, ensuring organizations are protected, aligned and efficient.