Organisational resilience beyond Business Continuity Planning

Current practices for crisis and disaster recovery often focus on technology continuity, but a foundation of organisational resilience will make your business better prepared for the unexpected.

Covid-19 has probably put these ideas on your radar already – how helpful was your Business Continuity Plan (BCP) in grappling with a global pandemic? Did you refer to these documents, or did you draw on your team’s resources, skills and innovative thinking in the moment?

Organisational resilience is a feature of company culture. Your staff, leadership teams, customers, community – any crisis planning must include them and prioritise their wellbeing. And effective crisis leadership doesn’t run from the top down; collaboration is essential. Work with staff from different disciplines and skillsets when creating your BCP and look wide to your community to create and maintain relationships of value and mutual support.

8 steps to organisational resilience

  1. Plan as a team

    Talk to your staff to learn how they might be impacted or left vulnerable in a crisis. Create crisis strategies collaboratively; there will be more buy-in if staff are invested in the company’s survival.

  2. Connect with your community and customers

    Strong partnerships create a support network that can be drawn on in an emergency. Which customers and suppliers are crucial to your company purpose? Find out what their business continuity strategies are and how you can help them too.

  3. Identify opportunities for your staff

    Offer training to staff to support key personnel and set up clear delegation of authority to keep your teams flexible.

  4. Reward staff who spot business risks

    Encourage your team to share insights about potential threats to your business and risks to your industry. A proactive stance is more useful than being reactive.

  5. Lead with compassion

    Everyone will be impacted by a crisis differently, so listen carefully and lead with openness. Disruptions will ripple beyond the office. Staff may find they now have their children at home full time. Others may no longer be able to commute easily. Consider the full picture of how a crisis affects the lives of your teams and factor it into your recovery plans.

  6. Define your purpose

    If everyone understands your company’s core values, you'll have an easier time getting everyone working together on essential operations during and following a crisis.

  7. Technology and access

    Use cloud-based storage for records and backups. Make sure passwords, contacts and crisis planning documents can be accessed securely by a range of authorised people in multiple formats. If losing your paper records in a disaster would be a huge disruption, get them into the cloud.

  8. Stress test your plans and review them regularly

    A resilient organisation is responsive and proactive. Testing crisis scenarios will reveal weaknesses and opportunities. Don’t forget about your plans; schedule regular reviews to keep them relevant.

Are you ready to develop your organisational resilience? Brightly services include developing roadmaps for crisis recovery.

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