Empower Your Team: Proven Methods for Effective Employee Risk Management

About the Author – Empower Your Team: Proven Methods for Effective Employee Risk Management

You arrive at work on Monday morning, coffee in hand, and notice an appointment on your calendar that makes your stomach sink—the annual risk assessment. For most cybersecurity professionals, risk assessments are not just necessary; they are a critical tool for measuring progress over the past year and setting priorities for the year ahead.

The annual risk assessment is far more comprehensive than the periodic evaluations conducted on vendors, contractors, or software development features. It requires a thorough review of the entire company and every department. Instead of exploring the full scope of this process, I will focus on a specific area: assessing employee risk.

It is essential to understand that a risk assessment is not a performance review or an exercise in personal criticism. Instead, it is a structured evaluation to identify potential vulnerabilities and ensure all employees align with the organization’s security objectives. We can categorize employee risk into several key areas to facilitate this process.

Let’s begin with Role and access Risk. This step is crucial in understanding whether each employee has the right access to perform their duties effectively and securely. Start by creating a spreadsheet listing all job roles within your organization. This will serve as the foundation for your checklist.

• Job Description Review: Ensure a well-defined job description identifies the responsibilities and expectations for each role. This clarity helps understand what is required from each position and sets a standard for performance and access.
• Access Level Verification: Confirm that each role has specific access levels that align with its responsibilities. This means that employees should only have access to the systems and data necessary to perform their jobs, no more, no less. For example, a Marketing Manager should not have access to financial systems unless it directly relates to their job.
• Separation of Duties: Check that no single employee controls multiple critical aspects of a process. This helps prevent potential fraud or errors. For instance, an employee responsible for approving payments should not be able to process those payments.

Now that you’ve checked these three key areas, it’s time to look for gaps or overlaps in your roles and access levels. These represent your potential risks and vulnerabilities.

You might think, “Great, I’ve identified these issues—now what?” Remember, the risk assessment aims to pinpoint these risks, not necessarily fix them immediately. Addressing the risks comes in the next phase of your security planning.

To better understand each risk’s impact and likelihood, add two more columns to your spreadsheet: “Risk Impact” and “Risk Likelihood.” Use a scale that makes sense for your organization, such as “Low, Medium, High,” or a numerical scale like “1-10.”

• Risk Impact: Consider the potential impact on your organization if a role’s definition or access levels are not appropriately managed. For example, if a Database Administrator (DBA) role lacks a clear definition and has excessive access, similar to a Systems Administrator and Network Administrator, this could lead to data loss or security breaches. While you may trust this person, evaluating the risk based on access and role clarity is essential.
• Risk Likelihood: Next, think about how likely this risk will occur. This is where you assess the individual’s behavior and the company’s controls. Even if you trust the DBA, the risk remains because their role and access are not well-defined. This evaluation helps prioritize which risks to address first.

By following this process, you’ll better understand where your role and access risks lie and be better prepared to address them in the future.  The following sections will cover how to determine the risk likelihood.

Now, let’s look at the individuals behind the roles. Here, we’ll focus on three main points:

• Work History and Performance: Assess each employee’s track record regarding reliability, punctuality, and overall performance. Understanding these patterns helps highlight any areas of concern.
• Behavioral Red Flags: Look for signs like a reluctance to take vacations, frequent overtime, or behaviors that might indicate stress or dissatisfaction. Spotting these early can help you address potential issues before they become bigger problems.
• Conflicts of Interest: Check for situations where personal interests might clash with professional duties. This could be anything from outside business ventures to personal relationships that might influence decision-making.

To get started, create a new tab in your spreadsheet and list all the employees in your company. Include columns for their role and the three criteria above. This is where you’ll sit down with your HR team. Schedule a private meeting with the Head of HR, who can provide insights from employee performance reviews over the past year.

You aim to rate each employee based on their risk level for each criterion. A scale from 0 to 10 works well, with 0 meaning no risk and 10 indicating high risk. But feel free to use whatever scale makes the most sense for you.

Working closely with your HR team during this part of the assessment will also help educate them on identifying areas where employees can grow and improve. Some behavioral risks may not be dangerous but could fall under diversity, equity, and inclusion, highlighting opportunities for better support and engagement.

Doing this will give you a clearer picture of potential behavioral risks, helping you support a more secure and positive workplace environment.

Now, it’s time to involve your security analyst in the conversation as we examine the compliance aspect. A strong security program should monitor employees’ adherence to company policies and compliance standards. Your security analyst can provide reports on policy violations and confirm whether employees have read and accepted all company policies over the past year.

Using the same tab from the behavioral risk assessment, add three new columns:

• Policy Violations: Check for any breaches of company policies, such as attendance issues, misuse of company resources, or failure to follow security protocols.
• Training and Certifications: Verify that each employee has completed the necessary compliance and security training. This is essential to ensure everyone is up-to-date with the latest policies and practices.
• Incident History: Review any past incidents involving policy violations or security breaches. This helps identify patterns of non-compliance or potential risks associated with specific individuals.

Use the same 0-10 scale, where 0 indicates no risk, and 10 indicates high risk. This data will give you an objective view of compliance across your organization.

As you complete this assessment, involve your HR team to gain insights into how to improve compliance and policy adherence. This collaborative approach identifies risks and highlights areas where additional training or resources may be needed. Remember, compliance isn’t just about following rules; it’s about creating an environment where employees understand and value these standards.

Incorporating these factors into your risk assessment gives you a comprehensive view of each employee’s compliance and policy adherence. This will set the stage for informed decisions on strengthening your security posture while supporting employee development and engagement.

Let’s keep your security analyst by your side as we dive into how each employee interacts with your security controls. Depending on your existing procedures, this could be a straightforward review or a more detailed forensic analysis. If it feels complicated this time around, consider streamlining the process for next year.

Using the same tab where you’ve been tracking individual employee information, add three new columns:

• Data Handling and Protection: Evaluate how well employees manage sensitive data and adhere to data protection policies. Are they securely storing, transmitting, and accessing data?
• Access to Critical Systems: Review who has access to critical systems or sensitive data and whether this access is necessary for their role. This helps prevent unauthorized access or accidental misuse.
• Use of Security Controls: Check adherence to essential security practices like password management, two-factor authentication, and secure communication methods. Compliance with these controls is a basic yet vital part of maintaining security.

If your security program is well-established, this section should be relatively easy. A mature program will have robust data loss prevention, comprehensive logging and monitoring, and federated access controls. If you are lacking in any of these areas, consider these as high-risk items in your overall risk assessment and prioritize them for remediation before the next cycle.

For those with solid security measures in place, you can quickly generate reports for each category. Use the number of violations over the past 12 months to score each employee’s risk level. This will give you a clear view of how well your team adheres to security policies and where improvements may be needed.

If you lack visibility in these areas, empower your operations and security teams to work together to build a robust access control and observability framework. This collaboration will significantly strengthen your security posture moving forward.

By systematically assessing these elements, you’ll be better equipped to address any security gaps and ensure your organization operates securely and efficiently.

Social and external risks can sometimes be overlooked due to privacy concerns, but they are crucial in specific industries, such as government, finance, and healthcare. Understanding these risks protects the organization and helps employees align their behavior with company standards.

We’ll focus on two main areas:

• Social Media and External Communications: Monitor public social media activity for potential risks, such as employees inadvertently disclosing sensitive company information. This isn’t about policing personal behavior but ensuring that everyone understands the impact of their online presence. Engage your marketing team, as they often have tools and insights to help identify and address potential risks while supporting employees in maintaining a positive digital footprint.
• Personal Financial Health: While sensitive, understanding if any employees are experiencing financial stress is essential, as it can increase the risk of unethical behavior. Work closely with your HR team to confidentially assess if any employees might need support. This isn’t about penalizing individuals but identifying areas where additional resources or assistance could be beneficial.

To empower your team, approach this process with a mindset of support and collaboration. Include key stakeholders, such as HR and department managers, to foster a sense of shared responsibility. This collaboration can also help highlight opportunities to educate employees on digital security and personal finance, further reducing risk.

Add columns for the Social Media Activity and Financial Health in your risk assessment tab to create actionable steps for this assessment. Assign each employee a risk score based on these criteria, ensuring you use this information to support and guide employees rather than judge them. Emphasize the goal of building a secure, trustworthy environment where everyone feels valued and protected.

Adopting this approach transforms risk assessments into opportunities for growth and development, fostering a culture of transparency and empowerment across your organization.

Not all employees have the ability to make changes within an organization. This section focuses on those who do—whether it’s software, environment, or policy changes. These individuals often have unique access, credentials, or specialized knowledge, making them key players in maintaining smooth operations and security. Because of this, assessing their roles carefully can empower them and the organization as a whole.

Add two more columns to your existing spreadsheet to evaluate the following:

• Change Management: Assess each employee’s role in managing changes and associated risks. Do they follow the proper change management procedures? Are they involved in critical updates or deployments? Identifying these elements helps manage risk and highlights where employees might benefit from additional training or resources to enhance their capabilities.
• Process Ownership and Knowledge: Determine how critical an employee’s knowledge is to your organization. Consider the potential impact if this person were to leave or disclose sensitive information. Do others have the training and expertise to perform these tasks if needed? This assessment can reveal opportunities to cross-train team members, reducing the burden on key individuals and ensuring operational resilience.

To conduct this assessment, involve your operations and IT teams. This collaborative effort helps ensure all credentials are integrated into your federated identity management system. If exceptions exist, ensure multiple people can access unique user IDs and passwords for those resources, promoting shared responsibility and reducing risk.

Encourage team members to document their processes and knowledge. This safeguards the organization in case of turnover and empowers employees by acknowledging their expertise and making them integral to its success. Use this assessment as an opportunity to recognize and support their contributions.

By taking these steps, you’ll better understand your organization’s operational and procedural risks and be better prepared to handle transitions smoothly. This approach strengthens security and fosters a culture of support and growth where employees feel valued and empowered to contribute to the organization’s success.

We’ve reached the final area of your employee risk assessment: Organizational Impact and Dependency. This section focuses on the “what if” scenarios, specifically on your organization’s redundancy. There are two main points to consider:

• Single Point of Failure: Identify employees whose departure or absence would significantly impact the organization due to their unique skills or knowledge. These are individuals whose roles are critical and not easily covered by others.
• Succession Planning: Review whether trained backups or successors for key roles exist. This helps ensure that the organization can function smoothly if someone leaves.

The concept of a single point of failure will come up often, especially as we encourage employees to take vacations and avoid burnout from constant overtime. It’s crucial to have multiple people trained to handle the same tasks. Meet with managers and ask, “If this person goes on vacation, do we have adequate coverage for their tasks and responsibilities, or are there gaps that only they can fill?” Listen carefully for any gaps in coverage that might exist.

For the second point, ask managers, “If this employee were to give notice tomorrow, what impact would this have on your team, processes, procedures, and knowledge?” This question helps reveal any critical dependencies on that employee and whether succession planning needs attention.

Addressing these questions will help you spot potential vulnerabilities and ensure your organization doesn’t rely too heavily on any single individual. This proactive approach will also help you build a more resilient and adaptable team.

By now, you should have a comprehensive spreadsheet with two tabs: one for employees with 17 columns and a primary tab with five columns. It’s time to crunch some numbers and clearly understand your employee risk landscape.

First, calculate the average risk level for each employee, expressed as a percentage from 0% to 100%. The lower the percentage, the lower the risk. Next, group the employees by their roles and calculate the average risk for each role. This will give you a role-based risk assessment highlighting areas of concern across your organization.

Enter these role-based averages into the “Likelihood” column on the primary tab. This method provides an unbiased, data-driven view of your employee risk, allowing you to move away from guesswork and make informed decisions based on real insights.

Using this structured approach gives you a reliable foundation for understanding and addressing employee risks, helping you build a more secure and resilient organization.

When conducting an employee risk assessment, it’s essential to prioritize ethical considerations and adhere strictly to privacy laws. Evaluating personal information or external behaviors, such as social media activity or financial health, must be approached with sensitivity and respect for individual rights. It is crucial to ensure that any data collected is relevant to the assessment’s purpose, handled confidentially, and used solely to enhance organizational security and integrity. Organizations should establish clear policies outlining what information can be assessed, obtain consent where necessary, and ensure that all evaluations are free from bias or discrimination. By maintaining transparency and respecting privacy boundaries, companies can foster a culture of trust and responsibility while still achieving their risk management goals.

Conducting your first employee risk assessment can feel overwhelming, but remember, you’re not alone. Whether you’re a new security professional or a seasoned leader looking to enhance your skills, seeking guidance and mentorship is okay. Risk assessments are powerful tools that help safeguard your organization and support your team in achieving their best. If you ever need advice or a second set of eyes, don’t hesitate to contact peers or experienced professionals who can help guide you. By approaching this with diligence, transparency, and a commitment to fairness, you’re contributing to a safer and more resilient organization. Keep learning, stay curious, and trust that you build a stronger, more secure future for your company with each assessment.