Most Risk Treatment controls seem to be aimed at controlling downside risk but we must consider how to control our upside risks.

Upside Risk Treatment or Opportunity Risk Treatment takes into consideration how to act in order to improve the likelihood and impact of desirable business activity.

When speaking about opportunity treatment options there are four main categories of controls that can be used.

1. Accept
2. Exploit
3. Improve
4. Transfer

Accept (or tolerate)

The accepting of an opportunity is used in the same instance as accepting risk. It takes a ‘do nothing’ approach to opportunity treatment. Accepting an opportunity basically leaves everything to chance. If the opportunity occurs then this is a positive outcome, yet if it doesn’t then it is simply ignored.

Exploit

Exploiting the opportunity aims to make the most of an opportunity that arises to make the probability of its outcome to be 100%. It uses extensive measures to ensure that the opportunity becomes a certainty.

Improve

Control methods put in place to increase the likelihood or increase the impact of the opportunity. Improvement methods are not as extensive as exploit controls because they do not aim at making the opportunity a certainty.

Transfer

Used in a similar stance to transferring risk. It aims to transfer the opportunity to a more specialised organisation that will help maximise its effects.

When deciding on an opportunity treatment method there are also these Factors to Consider.