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Illustration by iStock; Security Management

Survey: Professional Associations Have Room for Improvement on Risk Management

There are nearly 500,000 membership organizations in the world, according to data from Associations Unlimited, and they face some unique security challenges and risk management issues.

Associations are people-centric businesses, engaging with members and volunteers, along with staff and event attendees. As with any other business sector, risk is ever-present and can place organizations’ survival at risk.  

Professional organizations, trade associations, clubs, and other membership groups often focus their year’s activities on an annual, large-scale event (for ASIS International, that would mean GSX). As such, many association leaders are hyper-focused on the risks associated with those events, and they craft risk and safety efforts on those programs, according to a survey from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

ASAE’s 2024 Association Risk and Safety Survey of 198 association directors or leaders found that a significant majority of organization leaders (85 percent) are discussing risks with their boards of directors, indicating a recognition of the strategic importance of risk management.

Most organization leaders (78 percent) said that business area leaders have at least some degree of understanding about how risk affects overall strategy and operations. But there is notable room for improvement—only 25 percent said their leaders have a good understanding of this concept.

The top concern was cyber threats, including data security, intellectual property protection, and ransomware. But it was quickly followed by crime and general safety, event cities and locations, and medical emergencies. Social unrest (protests, riots, and event disruption), extreme weather, and political uncertainty and war were mid-rank concerns. Executives ranked embezzlement or fraud and active assailant risks lowest out of the selection offered.

The survey results were presented as part of a larger free resource document from ASAE—The Associations’ Guide to Risk and Crisis Management, sponsored by AON and created in collaboration with ASIS International and the Risk Management Society (RIMS). The guide is meant to help associations understand where they are compared to their peers on risk and safety; gain insights into key concepts of risk, emergencies, and crisis management; and build foundational knowledge about how to get started with an enterprise approach to association risk and crisis management.

“The association community is at its best when we’re learning together and sharing with each other. This toolkit is a tangible example of that,” wrote ASAE President and CEO Michelle Mason, FASAE, CAE, in the guide’s foreword. “As noted, many associations and industry experts have come together to create this resource for the benefit of the association community. We thank them for their expertise and commitment and truly hope this toolkit helps make associations, and the world, safer.”

Andy Cutler, vice president of communications at ASIS International, says the guide exemplifies the association's commitment to elevating security and risk management issues across business verticals.

“This resource, developed in partnership with RIMS, underscores ASIS International's dedication to facilitating change, fostering knowledge sharing, and collaborating with like-minded organizations,” Cutler adds. “Our members are dedicated to protecting organizations and their employees worldwide, and this guide brings together their crisis management, resilience, and site security expertise. It serves as an invaluable tool for associations seeking guidance in crafting robust security plans.”

Risk management and security considerations notably influence associations' decision-making process around events. Crime and safety, destination weather or climate predictions, and health and safety measures were most influential when deciding on a destination. Social factors such as political climate, perceptions of social justice and equality, and active legislation around human rights ranked lower.

But how are organizations gathering that information to make decisions? Association leaders are predominantly relying on word of mouth from peers and online community platforms focused on business events (60 percent), followed by crime statics (42 percent), media outlets (40 percent), and local health data (29.6 percent).

Most organizations (86 percent) work with hotels in their host city to create and execute event safety and security plans, but other stakeholders and partners are a mixed bag. Slightly more than half of survey respondents said they work with convention centers on safety and security plans. Just 28 percent said they work with local authorities to develop plans.

“Thorough planning is essential to help ensure the physical safety of event participants. Every conference, convention and event should have a detailed security plan, and a crisis management and communication plan,” according to The Associations’ Guide to Risk and Crisis Management. “Engaging with local law enforcement and the safety officials from the meeting venue prior to the event is another measure associations can take, as well as increasing training on rapid response, communication, and evacuation plans.”

During the past three years, 30 percent of organizations saw an increase in their budget for managing security and safety at events. But 41 percent of security budgets remained the same, and roughly one in five (21 percent) do not have a budget allocated for risk management.

Meanwhile, more than half (58 percent) of associations do not have risk management, safety, and security integrated into their strategic plans, and only 31 percent have positions or teams dedicated to risk management. Nearly half do not have an enterprise risk management plan.

Emergency response is top-of-mind for many, though. Two-thirds of organizations have held leadership-level conversations about how to respond to crises at an association event, but the effectiveness of emergency communications or response is debatable. Less than 30 percent of association survey respondents said their emergency response was not at all or only somewhat effective, and 36 percent said their plans would be quite or very effective. The remaining third said their plans would be moderately effective.

“Given the importance of response plans on safety and high impact events, there is room to move on these numbers,” ASAE noted.

 

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