Why CRM?
People ask why we chose to qualify as Canadian Risk Managers this late in our career. We are at a stage in our careers when most folks are looking forward to retirement.
The simple answer is that we do not feel that we have achieved our mission yet. These are exciting times. We believe that we can still contribute. We decided that we needed to refresh our learning, meet new people, and explore new horizons. Qualifying for our CRMs did this for us.
What is a CRM?
A CRM is a Canadian Risk Management professional designation governed by the Global Risk Management Institute (GRMI), in New York. The CRM is an internationally recognized professional certification for specialists in risk management. The designation is closely related to the American Associate in Risk Management (ARM) certification. However, the CRM presents a more detailed examination of Canadian risk management issues.
Qualifying for the CRM was a year-long process. Qualification required the completion of three university course. Upon passing each course, GRMI required additional rigorous professional practice exams. During the year we sat for ten different, comprehensive, examinations. The training covered the fundamentals of risk management, risk assessment and treatment, and finally risk finance.
A Whole New Language
We have worked with hazard risk throughout our careers, and even developed hazard risk assessment tools. Even so, the CRM qualification process introduced us to a whole new language based on the finance and insurance industry perspectives.
Understanding each other is essential!
Throughout our professional lives, we discovered that different disciplines often use similar words with nuanced shades of meaning or sometimes entirely different definitions. This can lead to confusion and even conflict among multi-disciplinary teams. We witnessed professionals hotly arguing with each other because they ascribed different meanings to words and thought that they had fundamental disagreements while agreeing on core concepts.
Though our training we gained fluency in the language of enterprise risk management and insurance. We find that this fluency is already helping us work with our clients and other risk professionals to identify new, more holistic, approaches to address their climate change risks.
Enterprise Risk and Sustainable Development
Over the past year, we noted striking similarities between enterprise risk management and sustainable development. Both concepts strive to achieve balance in business practices. Both concepts attempt to break down barriers, and both concepts support the holistic management of our enterprises. Enterprise risk management provides a different lens through which we can evaluate sustainable development. ERM helps us establish quantifiable metrics to measure progress on sustainability, and for that matter resiliency. These are useful tools that augment our toolkit, and which we are already applying to address our clients’ needs.
And Now the Administrivia …
We have completed the qualifications for CRMs. We are in the process of completing the paperwork with GRMI to complete our registration. GRMI states that this process can take upwards of five weeks. So, sometime in late February, we expect our brand new, shiny, certificates. We move forward into our expanded professional community and continue on our mission to promote sustainable development and climate resiliency.
Give us a Shout
If you wish to discuss how our enhanced risk management services can help your organization, please feel free to contact us.