Operational risk management in the postal sector: A case study of a developing country

Abstract

The Tunisian Post is a multi-business organization and operates in a changing environment; it faces risks, internal or external. The Tunisian Post has taken a step in this new area of expertise, which is reflected in the establishment of an Operational Risk Management Unit. The main purpose of this article is to present the first experience of the Tunisian Post in this area of expertise. A survey was conducted by the risk management unit (RMU) on a sample of 65 postal offices in the period between 2015 and 2017. The survey covers almost all of the Tunisian territory. A database containing all the probable risks was sent to the post managers at the regional level to give their assessment in terms of frequency and impact of each type of risk on their structures. More than 40 executives and employees at the regional and central levels participated in the brainstorming for the development of recommendations and the establishment of a road map. The results showed that the risks related to IT risks are more frequent and critical, which can deter the quality of the services at the regional level. Despite the increasing attention to risk management in the public sector, more research is required, especially in the postal sector. Operational risk management is the unrevealed black box (Bracci, Tallaki, Gobbo, & Papi, 2021). So, this paper presents a practical and professional manner to analyze better the entities’ function at the regional level.