In business, risks are around every corner. If left unmanaged, these risks can disrupt operations, complicate decision-making, and even threaten a company’s future.
That’s why a risk mitigation strategy is essential for business continuity. It’s a way to understand, reduce, prioritize, and monitor risks to keep them at acceptable levels.
If you’re in charge of mail for your organization, you’ll want to consider mail-related risks and their potential impact. In this post, we’ll cover how to identify common mail management risks and how to build a risk strategy that helps protect your business.
Risk mitigation means reducing common business risks' impact and/or likelihood. While you can’t eliminate all risks, it’s essential to understand both the severity and probability of what you could face and to have a response plan ready.
By determining how the business will respond when a risk becomes a reality, leaders position their organizations to handle threats better and bounce back stronger. Most organizations document their risk strategies in a formal risk management plan.
Risk mitigation helps businesses identify, understand, and prepare for anything that could threaten business success. It’s more about preventing setbacks than aiming for wins — but avoiding major setbacks is essential for a business to thrive.
Today, risk awareness is valuable for all types of businesses, as risks are near their highest level in over a decade — both in volume and complexity.
Companies often focus first on digital threats (like data breaches), then physical dangers (like natural disasters). But they often overlook less obvious vulnerabilities like physical mail risks, even though mail items can contain confidential information and important business documents.
In reality, if sensitive mail is mishandled or intercepted, it can lead to data breaches, financial losses, and operational disruptions. Accordingly, physical documents that aren't stored digitally or securely can be easy targets for unauthorized access.
Legal consequences are also a factor. If documents containing personally identifiable information (PII), financial details, or protected health information (PHI) are lost, stolen, or exposed, businesses can face legal liability, especially in more regulated industries. For instance, HIPAA, the body that regulates PHI, has four tiers of violations, with penalties ranging from $100 to $1.5 million.
Ultimately, a good risk management strategy will protect a business's bottom line, future outlook, and reputation.
Mail managers may face many of the same risk types as other business leaders, but the specifics can vary in the context of business mail.
Consider how these six risk categories play out when it comes to physical mail.
It may feel like risk is everywhere, but the good news is that risk doesn’t equal reality. With the right risk mitigation plan, you can reduce the chances of these risks impacting your business.
Risks can’t be eliminated, but you can plan for them. Use these five common risk mitigation strategies to reduce the likelihood of identified risks and the amount of damage caused by risks that do occur.
Risk avoidance is what it sounds like — stepping out of the way, patching the leak, and locking the door. In other words, risk avoidance means taking steps to address risks and keep them from happening altogether. Avoidance strategies include identifying risks and addressing them fully or fixing vulnerabilities before they become a problem.
In this instance, let’s look at data exposure. Many organizations collect sensitive information from customers, some of which is sent and received through postal mail. But not everyone in your company is authorized to see that data, and storing sensitive physical mail on site increases the risk that it may be mishandled, lost, or viewed by unapproved parties.
You can eliminate this risk altogether by using a reputable virtual mailbox service like Stable that processes, digitizes, and securely stores or shreds your mail. Instead of having physical mail sitting around where everyone can see, all mail is uploaded to a secure digital platform where only authorized parties can view and interact with it.
Like risk avoidance, risk reduction minimizes the chances of a risk occurring or reduces the damage if it does. Some risks are unavoidable. We can’t control or reliably predict inflation, industry disruptions, or natural disasters, but we can lessen their impact.
For business mail, this might mean reducing reliance on physical mail to prepare for higher mailing costs or potential delays. Digitizing mail earlier in your workflow also ensures a secure backup if physical mail is lost or damaged.
Small businesses and entrepreneurs may also use a virtual mail service for privacy reasons, which is another form of risk reduction. Business addresses are a part of public record, so if you run your business from home, that means anyone can view your home address online, opening you up to all kinds of privacy concerns.
Risk transference is passing off some or all of a possible risk to another person or entity. A classic example is an insurance policy — you pay a premium so the insurance company takes on the financial risk if something goes wrong. You’re paying someone else to take on the risk associated with whatever was insured.
Businesses also transfer risk by working with third parties for various services and business functions. For instance, using a cloud or managed IT services provider can transfer the risk of cyberattacks.
Using a safe, secure virtual mail service is also an example of risk transference. The virtual mail management provider takes on many risks associated with physical storage, digital storage, and destruction of sensitive mail. Just make sure you look for a virtual mail service provider that’s compliant with your industry’s regulations, such as HIPAA and SOC 2.
Risk acceptance is sometimes a strategic choice. You recognize that a risk is real, but you’re willing to accept that level of risk without much (or any) action.
If you’re using a risk assessment matrix, which typically categorizes risks by likelihood and impact, you’ll find some risks are rare and insignificant. If a risk can be managed through normal operations and isn’t too disruptive, you can accept it and focus your attention and resources on high-priority risks.
Mail loss could be a relevant example in this context, especially if your business receives a lot of mail that isn’t crucial or sensitive. But on the other hand, if you operate in a heavily regulated industry and/or mail a lot of sensitive documents, mail loss may be an unacceptable risk.
Risk monitoring is about closely watching all the risk-related decisions you’ve made. Organizations monitor their mitigation strategies to see how effectively they’re working, assess changes in risk levels, and refine plans if a risk presents itself.
A risk monitoring strategy is an essential part of any risk management process, but having a plan is only step one. The next step is knowing when to activate it. This helps you make more informed decisions and safely navigate potential risk events.
Your business strategy should include risk identification and mitigation efforts across your organization, including your approach to business mail. Switching to a virtual mail service can help reduce physical and digital risks by offering a secure alternative to traditional mail.
Virtual mail providers like Stable offer businesses a better, more secure approach to mail management. With a virtual mailbox, your mail is sent to a business address managed by the provider, where it’s scanned and uploaded to your digital dashboard. From there, you can review, archive, forward, or securely discard each piece as needed.
With Stable’s secure, HIPAA and SOC 2 compliant processes, you can reduce the chances and impact of mail-related risks and better protect your business.
It’s time to lower your risks by switching to virtual mail with Stable. Get started today.
In business, risks are around every corner. If left unmanaged, these risks can disrupt operations, complicate decision-making, and even threaten a company’s future.
That’s why a risk mitigation strategy is essential for business continuity. It’s a way to understand, reduce, prioritize, and monitor risks to keep them at acceptable levels.
If you’re in charge of mail for your organization, you’ll want to consider mail-related risks and their potential impact. In this post, we’ll cover how to identify common mail management risks and how to build a risk strategy that helps protect your business.
Risk mitigation means reducing common business risks' impact and/or likelihood. While you can’t eliminate all risks, it’s essential to understand both the severity and probability of what you could face and to have a response plan ready.
By determining how the business will respond when a risk becomes a reality, leaders position their organizations to handle threats better and bounce back stronger. Most organizations document their risk strategies in a formal risk management plan.
Risk mitigation helps businesses identify, understand, and prepare for anything that could threaten business success. It’s more about preventing setbacks than aiming for wins — but avoiding major setbacks is essential for a business to thrive.
Today, risk awareness is valuable for all types of businesses, as risks are near their highest level in over a decade — both in volume and complexity.
Companies often focus first on digital threats (like data breaches), then physical dangers (like natural disasters). But they often overlook less obvious vulnerabilities like physical mail risks, even though mail items can contain confidential information and important business documents.
In reality, if sensitive mail is mishandled or intercepted, it can lead to data breaches, financial losses, and operational disruptions. Accordingly, physical documents that aren't stored digitally or securely can be easy targets for unauthorized access.
Legal consequences are also a factor. If documents containing personally identifiable information (PII), financial details, or protected health information (PHI) are lost, stolen, or exposed, businesses can face legal liability, especially in more regulated industries. For instance, HIPAA, the body that regulates PHI, has four tiers of violations, with penalties ranging from $100 to $1.5 million.
Ultimately, a good risk management strategy will protect a business's bottom line, future outlook, and reputation.
Mail managers may face many of the same risk types as other business leaders, but the specifics can vary in the context of business mail.
Consider how these six risk categories play out when it comes to physical mail.
It may feel like risk is everywhere, but the good news is that risk doesn’t equal reality. With the right risk mitigation plan, you can reduce the chances of these risks impacting your business.
Risks can’t be eliminated, but you can plan for them. Use these five common risk mitigation strategies to reduce the likelihood of identified risks and the amount of damage caused by risks that do occur.
Risk avoidance is what it sounds like — stepping out of the way, patching the leak, and locking the door. In other words, risk avoidance means taking steps to address risks and keep them from happening altogether. Avoidance strategies include identifying risks and addressing them fully or fixing vulnerabilities before they become a problem.
In this instance, let’s look at data exposure. Many organizations collect sensitive information from customers, some of which is sent and received through postal mail. But not everyone in your company is authorized to see that data, and storing sensitive physical mail on site increases the risk that it may be mishandled, lost, or viewed by unapproved parties.
You can eliminate this risk altogether by using a reputable virtual mailbox service like Stable that processes, digitizes, and securely stores or shreds your mail. Instead of having physical mail sitting around where everyone can see, all mail is uploaded to a secure digital platform where only authorized parties can view and interact with it.
Like risk avoidance, risk reduction minimizes the chances of a risk occurring or reduces the damage if it does. Some risks are unavoidable. We can’t control or reliably predict inflation, industry disruptions, or natural disasters, but we can lessen their impact.
For business mail, this might mean reducing reliance on physical mail to prepare for higher mailing costs or potential delays. Digitizing mail earlier in your workflow also ensures a secure backup if physical mail is lost or damaged.
Small businesses and entrepreneurs may also use a virtual mail service for privacy reasons, which is another form of risk reduction. Business addresses are a part of public record, so if you run your business from home, that means anyone can view your home address online, opening you up to all kinds of privacy concerns.
Risk transference is passing off some or all of a possible risk to another person or entity. A classic example is an insurance policy — you pay a premium so the insurance company takes on the financial risk if something goes wrong. You’re paying someone else to take on the risk associated with whatever was insured.
Businesses also transfer risk by working with third parties for various services and business functions. For instance, using a cloud or managed IT services provider can transfer the risk of cyberattacks.
Using a safe, secure virtual mail service is also an example of risk transference. The virtual mail management provider takes on many risks associated with physical storage, digital storage, and destruction of sensitive mail. Just make sure you look for a virtual mail service provider that’s compliant with your industry’s regulations, such as HIPAA and SOC 2.
Risk acceptance is sometimes a strategic choice. You recognize that a risk is real, but you’re willing to accept that level of risk without much (or any) action.
If you’re using a risk assessment matrix, which typically categorizes risks by likelihood and impact, you’ll find some risks are rare and insignificant. If a risk can be managed through normal operations and isn’t too disruptive, you can accept it and focus your attention and resources on high-priority risks.
Mail loss could be a relevant example in this context, especially if your business receives a lot of mail that isn’t crucial or sensitive. But on the other hand, if you operate in a heavily regulated industry and/or mail a lot of sensitive documents, mail loss may be an unacceptable risk.
Risk monitoring is about closely watching all the risk-related decisions you’ve made. Organizations monitor their mitigation strategies to see how effectively they’re working, assess changes in risk levels, and refine plans if a risk presents itself.
A risk monitoring strategy is an essential part of any risk management process, but having a plan is only step one. The next step is knowing when to activate it. This helps you make more informed decisions and safely navigate potential risk events.
Your business strategy should include risk identification and mitigation efforts across your organization, including your approach to business mail. Switching to a virtual mail service can help reduce physical and digital risks by offering a secure alternative to traditional mail.
Virtual mail providers like Stable offer businesses a better, more secure approach to mail management. With a virtual mailbox, your mail is sent to a business address managed by the provider, where it’s scanned and uploaded to your digital dashboard. From there, you can review, archive, forward, or securely discard each piece as needed.
With Stable’s secure, HIPAA and SOC 2 compliant processes, you can reduce the chances and impact of mail-related risks and better protect your business.
It’s time to lower your risks by switching to virtual mail with Stable. Get started today.
