In today’s complex business environment it is easy to find an organization that has outsourced one or more of its non-core business functions. Whether for financial reasons, resource constraints, or the need to tap into expertise a company does not have, outsourcing may be a powerful tool and a key aspect of many strategic initiatives. However, the decision to outsource needs to be made in conjunction with an organization’s business goals and objectives.

Organizations may decide to outsource their risk management functions as a strategic business decision or as an interim measure while they are between risk managers. Whatever the case, there may be a period of time when Marsh’s Risk Consulting practice can provide day-to-day transitional outsourced risk management services.

What Will You Say When They Ask What Happened?
When assessing either their current or future risk management outsourcing requirements, executives need to be asking themselves the following questions:

• Do I fully understand the activities currently being performed by our risk management group?
• Have we successfully completed the necessary due diligence when contemplating outsourcing?
• Does outsourcing of the risk management function support our business goals and objectives?
• Do we understand the financial implications of outsourcing?
• Are we planning to outsource all or some of the risk management functions?
• Is outsourcing a long-term decision or just a stopgap measure?