Resilience is a multifaceted concept that has been defined and applied in various ways across different fields. In psychology, it refers to the ability to adapt and recover from adversity, trauma or significant stress. In contrast, engineering and ecological resilience focus on the ability of systems to maintain their function and structure when faced with disturbances.
Organisational resilience can be defined as the ability to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to disruptions to survive and prosper. It's about being prepared for the unexpected and having the agility to respond effectively. Organisations that embed resilience into their strategy are better positioned to maintain continuity, protect reputation and drive long-term success.
Organisational resilience isn’t just about weathering crises; it's about leveraging those challenges as opportunities for growth and improvement. A resilient organisation combines stress tolerance with flexibility, enabling it to maintain operations, serve customers and meet obligations even during significant disruptions, such as economic downturns, supply chain issues or natural disasters.
Research from Cranfield University[1] highlights four key capabilities: anticipating threats and opportunities early, preparing for change to reduce impact, responding quickly, effectively and adapting to stay ahead. These principles are also embedded in ISO 22361[2], which offers a framework for building resilience into your operations.
Despite its strategic value, some organisations hesitate to invest heavily in resilience due to several challenges. Common barriers can include high upfront costs for tech, training and restructuring; competing priorities that push resilience down the list; and the tension between efficiency and redundancy. Resilience can often require spare capacity, which can seem inefficient. And because success often means avoiding visible failure, measuring the return on investment (ROI) can be challenging.
Investing in resilience pays off in ways that matter to your business beyond simply avoiding a crisis. A resilient organisation can:
A good place to start is by asking questions within your organisation across various aspects of your operations: What’s our biggest vulnerability in the next 12 months? What if our main supplier fails - do we have a plan B? Can we operate for three to six months without revenue? Are employees empowered to act during a crisis? Are our systems secure and backed up?
By asking and answering these questions, your organisation can identify areas for improvement and develop targeted strategies to enhance its resilience.
To help you better understand resilience, we support organisations in developing strategies to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to disruptions. Here are the key strategies to become more resilient:
To explore how we can help you build organisational resilience, get in touch with our specialists.
