In most organisations, resilience capabilities remain siloed in ways that potentially hamper organisational resilience. Yet the prevailing business environment and the interrelatedness of risks demand robust resilience at the organisational level. That points to the need for a more holistic approach which expands beyond operational or financial resilience. However, well over half of respondents indicate that resilience sits within the risk function (or a specific risk function, such as operational risk). While risk functions play an irreplaceable role in resilience, the need to address a broader range of threats to the value and viability of the organisation calls for a new approach. In addition, organisations remain heavily focused on operational resilience at a time when they need to expand resilience capabilities.

When resilience sits in the risk function and specialised risk or crisis management functions, it may fail to focus broadly enough. It may also receive insufficient senior leadership attention. This can be remedied by elevating resilience to a strategic, enterprise-wide issue to be continually addressed by senior executives and the board. Placing organisational resilience on senior executive and board agendas fosters the attention—and funding—that it now warrants. In addition, a strong majority of organisations favour having a chief resilience officer, which could accomplish this goal.

Until recently, organisations around the world could rely on certain domestic and global institutions and conditions to remain stable over traditional investment and planning horizons. That no longer holds true, even as those horizons have shortened. This instability resembles tectonic shifts which at best generate deep uncertainty and at worst destroy large and complex structures. While no single private, or even public, entity can address these threats, each organisation must plan for them. This means that organisational leaders should acknowledge that geopolitical forces such as income inequality, political opportunism, nationalism, and degradation of institutions threaten economic and cultural structures that have long been taken for granted, and that those realities should be factored into strategies, plans, and capabilities related to resilience. Geopolitical threats also support the decision to elevate resilience as a strategic priority.

Regulators have proven that they can play an essential role in resilience, particularly during crises that impact financial and economic systems, industry segments, or the public. Executives recognise and respect that role. Moreover, they welcome regulators playing an even greater role in resilience going forward and can be expected to do so across a broader range of industries. Yet certain caveats regarding over-reliance on regulators are in order. For example, regulators tend to look backward and aim to avoid or mitigate crises that resemble the last one. Organisations need to be more forward-looking and proactive, while continually engaging with regulators.

ESG encompasses many issues, each of which can differ significantly for a given organisation. Regarding environmental resilience, organisations must both defend and enhance value in the face of environmental changes. From the social perspective, they must understand and monitor their reputations, stakeholders’ expectations, and the impact of social change on their business. In terms of governance, organisations often need more robust board practices, governance mechanisms, and education of the board and its committees to achieve organisational resilience. The broad nature of ESG may partly explain why less than one-fifth of organisations cite the ESG function as having an active role in resilience. That said, they understand the role of social responsibility in their organisation and plan to hire talent in this area.

Trust in an organisation, as reflected in its reputation in general and among specific stakeholder groups, stands among its most valuable forms of capital. Reputation impacts brand equity, customer loyalty, investor sentiment, and value. If reputational capital is not proactively managed, it can be rapidly destroyed. So, executives need to consider the reputational impact of potential risks and build corresponding capabilities. Relative to operational, financial, and cyber resilience, organisations lag in this area. Although reputational risks usually stem from operational, financial, cyber, geopolitical, and ESG risks, reputation itself must be proactively managed, with appropriate investments in monitoring and communication capabilities. Those specific capabilities enable measurement of stakeholders’ current perceptions and, critically, the constantly shifting expectations stakeholders place on organisations.

In addition to siloed functions and structural and leadership issues, organisations seeking greater resilience face a shortage of talent as well as competing investment demands. When properly selected and deployed, digital technologies can enable enterprise-wide capabilities that support organisational resilience despite talent shortages and cost pressures. Digital technologies have a proven record of cost-effectively performing activities such as risk monitoring, data analytics, and risk reporting, thus freeing up talent and funding for tasks requiring human intelligence and intervention. Digital tools can also bridge silos and enhance communications and visibility into processes. Organisational resilience is further supported by advances in scenario modelling, situational awareness, and digital twins. (The latter being virtual representations, entities or processes used to gauge the impact of risks on those entities or processes.)

The three most cited barriers to achieving greater resilience were scarcity of talent (59 percent), closely followed by competing strategic priorities and lack of organisational understanding of resilience (tied at 57 percent). Lack of funding came next at 44 percent. While lack of talent involves the challenges of hiring and retaining people in a highly competitive marketplace, it can be mitigated through rotational and cross-training programmes, alternative talent models (such as co-sourcing and managed services), and, as noted, digital technologies. Strategic priorities and lack of organisational understanding of resilience can be addressed through senior leadership initiatives and increased funding of resilience plans, programmes, and capabilities.