6 steps to Organizational Resilience

We recently conducted global research with The Economist Intelligence Unit  looking at attitudes towards Organizational Resilience. Organizational Resilience is “the ability of an organization to anticipate, prepare for, respond and adapt to incremental change and sudden disruptions in order to survive and prosper.” 

Organizational Resilience encourages businesses to look beyond risk management towards a more holistic view of business health and success. A resilient organization should not only survive over the long term, but should also flourish – passing the test of time.

The report identifies six key features of resilient organizations:

1. Proactive approach – a willingness to adapt before being forced to

2. Dynamic leadership – support from the top of organization to embed process, CEO down

3. Responsiveness to change – a willingness to listen to market needs

4. Strong corporate culture – holistic inclusion and recognition of everyone’s responsibility and contribution to the business

5. Keeping focused – possessing a clear vision, purpose and identity

6. Long-term view – avoiding responding solely to short-term financial goals

The study of business leaders revealed that just one third (29%) trust that their firms have fully embedded resilience practices, and less than half (44%) expect it to be the case in three years’ time. This is despite 88% believing that resilience is a priority for their organizations, and indispensable for long-term growth (80%).

The research also found that achieving the resilience to survive and prosper in the long-term is held back by a lack of skills and knowledge, insufficient leadership commitment and short-term financial considerations. It also highlighted that cultural resistance and skills silos create weak-points and bottlenecks within an organization. Two fifths (39%) of business leaders struggle to secure business support for essential resilience measures such as information security, supply chain efficiency and corporate governance.

How resilient is your organization? Let us know below or read more about Organizational Resilience.