Retail

Risk Function at an Australian Retailer

One of Australia's Largest Retailers (Risk Function)

The Story

The Challenge

The client is the Risk function of one of Australia's largest retailers, with over 200,000 employees and 1,000 stores nationwide. The Risk function was decentralized, with cells of highly-skilled risk professionals spread across the organization. This led to challenges relating to:

Alignment: Team members were not clear on their roles and responsibilities. They lacked clarity around how their work, or the work of others, fit into a bigger picture to deliver results
End-user focus: There was a disconnect between the work being done and the value sought by the end user in their efforts to control material risks
Visibility: Risk management was too reactive and event-focused, rather than proactive or predictive and system-focused
Community: There was a sense of limited opportunity to connect and share with their fellow risk team members

Our Approach

The client's objective was to centralize the risk team, allowing for enhanced alignment, end-user focus, and increased visibility and community.

ADAPTOVATE worked with senior leaders to align on a set of principles to guide the operating model codesign toward best addressing those challenges. The operating model was then codesigned with key stakeholders through a series of immersive virtual workshops. Teams were designed to provide the tools, frameworks and foundations required by the business to manage material risks. Cadences were added to support the business in applying these tools effectively, and align risk teams to business needs.

Outcomes

This culminated in a model which brought risk professionals together to share, bond, learn and collaborate. The model fostered enhanced visibility and alignment, uniting the team behind their mission — to deliver confidence, together. The codesign process was central to the model’s success, as it aligned the Risk leadership behind the new model and way of working, equipping them to foster higher levels of engagement, coordination and collaboration throughout the group.