Demonstrating business resilience in an ever-changing world
Has the world around us ever felt so uncertain? It’s a pertinent question to ask with the world still reeling from the once-in-a-lifetime disruption of the pandemic, and facing the threats of climate change, war in Europe and almost unprecedented levels of inflation which is placing a squeeze on even the most robust of household budgets.
Since the turn of the new decade, businesses have had to deal with a number of challenges, often adapting to huge turns of events with minimal warning. If the last two years have taught us anything, it’s reaffirmed the fact that all businesses of all shapes and sizes need to be able to demonstrate a high degree of business resilience, so they can continue to operate effectively in times of great change and uncertainty.
By doing this, organizations can safeguard against unforeseen circumstances and ensure their long-term security -- while ensuring they have all the pieces in place to survive and thrive in more challenging times.
No matter how this period in our history plans out, one thing we can be sure of is that businesses will always be expected to be able to adapt to the changing world around them. With this in mind, here are five key things that businesses can do to boost their business resilience in 2022.
Acting quickly and decisively is vitally important as it enable the business to adapt quickly and minimize any disruptions, while also capitalizing on new opportunities.
To enable this to happen, it is essential that management teams work collaboratively and efficiently as a unit. They must also be upskilled in decision making processes to enable them to react quickly and autonomously in the event of a challenge to the business.
Stakeholder engagement is key for businesses for a number of reasons -- not only does it enable leaders to maintain networks and identify any potential issues ahead of time, but it can also lead to further opportunities for new leads and business development.
Risk management process and crisis planning enable businesses to make data-driven business decisions and undertake contingency planning to enable them to be prepared for any future crises.
This directly supports the requirement to act quickly and decisively in the face of a crisis, by providing a plan of action driven by real world insights and data which leaders can trust.
Workforce empowerment and engagement is key to ensuring that key members of the team are on side in times of difficulty and that the workforce trusts and believes in the leadership team.
To achieve this, business leaders should encourage transparency in communication and ensure that they embrace employee participation. In this way, businesses can harness shared ideas and diversity, while capitalizing on the wider skills of their workforce.
Staff need to be adaptable and have the mindset of embracing change, so they are ready for any challenge that the business may meet.
To achieve this, the organization itself must promote a change culture and help its employees to navigate any transitions that may be needed to keep the organization on track against its objectives.
Photo Credit: Olivier Le Moal / Shutterstock
Dr. Alison Watson is the Head of School of Leadership and Management at Arden University. Having taught at Arden for 15 years, she has supported many students on various management courses at all levels of study. Prior to this, Alison was an operations and project manager for a number of large retailers, and therefore has a wealth of experience in the field of business and management.