October Technical Meeting – The Role of Safety in Reputation Risk Management

According to the famous quote by Warren Buffet, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation, and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” Organizations that manage risk the most effectively are those that have a plan. This session will provide information and examples about how failing to manage safety in an organization can lead to reputation risk. We will discuss how to manage that risk, how to mitigate the risk if something does happen, and will explore the role the media plays in a crisis. With the prevalence of social media and electronic devices in our world, the time an organization must respond to a crisis has shrunk from a day or more, to mere seconds. The reality is that your catastrophe may be streaming live as it occurs.

Attendees will learn:

• How reputation risk arises out of day to day operations
• How to develop a crisis management plan to address potential risks
• Legal exposures that may arise from failure to plan and respond
• Media communication basics, including buy-time statements and how to communicate to the media 

Trish Ennis, MS, CSP, ARM

Trish Ennis is a risk management and occupational safety & health professional with over 30 years-experience.

Trish has expertise in many different areas including but not limited to construction, multifamily/property management, and health care, as well as zoo and animal management. Trish is the Executive Director for the Colorado Safety Association in Denver, CO.

Prior to joining the Colorado Safety Association, Trish worked in risk management for 14 years, and served as the first Director of Workplace Safety for the Denver Zoological Foundation from 2009-2011. Ennis served 10 years on the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) Board of Directors as Region II VP, VP of the Council on Professional Development, and served as the 100th Society President in 2015. She is currently serving as the ASSP Foundation Board of Trustees Chair.