Orion introduced the Thinking Portfolio Risk Portfolio to harmonise the risk management process and risk assessment and reporting. Today, the Risk Portfolio manages and monitors hundreds of risks from different business areas and functions.
One hundred users get a unified view of Orion’s risk situation from the portfolio
Kari-Pekka Mäkelä, who is responsible for Orion’s risk management process, says that before the introduction of Thinking Portfolio’s Risk Portfolio, Orion’s risk monitoring was fragmented and PowerPoints were heavily used. Kari-Pekka Mäkelä is the owner and main user of Thinking Portfolio’s Risk Portfolio. He was responsible for the portfolio implementation project and the further development of the portfolio.
“The main thing was to get the process and reporting harmonised. We wanted risk management to be done in one place with the same look and feel and with consistent assessment criteria.”
At Orion, the main objective of the Risk Portfolio acquisition was to harmonise the process and reporting. They wanted risk management to be done in one place with the same look and feel and with consistent assessment criteria. The tool was chosen with a focus on ease of use; the portfolio should be simple enough for anyone to use. It was also hoped that there would be as little maintenance work as possible in using the tool.
Today, Orion’s Risk Portfolio has a hundred users and around three hundred risks to manage. Risk information has moved smoothly from separate PowerPoints to a single online platform, where it remains up-to-date and quantified.
Implementation was an easy and quick project
“It was an easy and straightforward sprint to get the portfolio up and running,” says Mäkelä.
Orion already had several Thinking Portfolio’s portfolio models in use. The data models of the portfolios are interconnected on the Thinking Portfolio HUB platform. This enables, for example, common user management and resource management between portfolios.
“It is a big advantage for us that Orion’s resources are visible in all portfolios. It’s easy for the main users to view roles and, for example, resource allocation between portfolios.”
The Risk Portfolio has functions that facilitated its implementation. For example, Mäkelä has encouraged people in his organisation to set tasks, milestones and deadlines in the portfolio, so that it provides reminders of forgotten entries.
Risks are assessed with strict criteria
In less than a year, the Risk Portfolio has harmonised Orion’s risk assessment and reporting. Strict criteria have been defined for risk assessment. In practice, every risk now must be considered from Orion’s perspective, not just from the perspective of, for example, your own unit.
“A machine failure can be unfortunate for a single production department, but at Orion level, this kind of risk does not necessarily get a very high score,” Mäkelä summarises the criteria.
Seeing the impact and likelihood of risks at an organisation-wide level makes it easier to compare, sort and report risks.
Orion’s risk management measures have improved
The portfolio is well adapted to Orion’s risk management process. For example, the language and vocabulary of the portfolio was adapted to the terminology used by Orion to ensure that the platform truly reflects what Orion does in practice.
Since its launch, further development of the portfolio has been easy with Thinking Portfolio’s consultants. The next step for the Risk Portfolio will be to improve the processing of residual risk and add Orion’s strategic objectives so that their connection to risks can be monitored better than before.
“Seeing the impact and likelihood of risks at an organisation-wide level makes it easier to compare, sort and report risks”
Mäkelä says he is very pleased that Risk Portfolio is able to sort and filter information easily. Direct reports and views can be run from the portfolio to support the process.
Mäkelä says that nowadays Orion’s risks are identified and described comprehensively.
“With the introduction of the portfolio, Orion’s risk management measures have also improved on a practical level, as risk reporting has become a mandatory part of everyday life and annual planning processes.”
Based on an interview of
Mr Kari-Pekka Mäkelä
Director, Risk Management and Corporate Development
Orion
Text in Finnish by Tyyne Taunila, Marketing Specialist, Thinking Portfolio
