Discussions on Organisational Resilience

I was recently a panellist at a seminar produced by icare and Suncorp Risk Services on organisational resilience held in Sydney. It was a great forum with a fantastic group of presenters and attendees. The opportunity allowed discussion on many of the key themes in the evolution of organisational resilience thinking.

Here are a few key points from the discussion that should be of interest to all risk managers:

• Resilience was said to be a broad topic, with many definitions often used to explain the concept across many different contexts. Ultimately, resilience was seen by the panel as an outcome of effective risk management, with concepts of risk management and resilience clearly interrelated.
• In many cases investments by organisations in resilience programs were said to be being made after the impact of a disruptive event. It was identified, however, that disruption, is becoming more of the norm rather than the exception, and that organisations need to take a more proactive approach to risk and resilience.
• It was identified that resilience should be an important consideration at both the strategic and operational levels of an organisation. Executives should set corporate strategy with resilience in-mind, whilst operationally key functions such as business continuity and crisis management must exist to help safeguard business operations. A resilient workforce culture is also critical, built to be adaptable, capable and innovative.
• When identifying risks of disruption, broad strategic thinking is needed, giving consideration to interrelationships between risks, which may ultimately lead to cascading consequences during a crisis.
• Quantitative risk modelling can be used to establish an evidence basis behind risk assessments, and provide scenarios against which organisational capability and plans can be tested.
• Five characteristics of resilient organisations were drawn from and adapted from Judith Rodin’s book ‘the Resilience Dividend’. These characteristics were outlined as risk aware, diverse, integrated, self-regulating and adaptive.
• Keys ways of influencing the agenda around organisational resilience within an organisation were identified as:
  • Engaging 360 degrees across an organisation,
  • Using other like events to communicate the level of risk,
  • Promoting a clear value add to the organisation,
  • Exercising existing plans with senior management to identify gaps, and
  • Having a clear champion in senior management accountable for leading the approach.

Thanks again to the organisers for having me participate.

For more information contact me at [email protected]

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