Business Resilience Is No Longer Optional

Too many business and technology leaders have referred to the global pandemic as a black swan -- an entirely unpredictable and devastating event. The truth is that a global pandemic was entirely predictable, and it was a risk that infectious disease experts and health organizations have been warning about for years. What the pandemic has done is laid bare the immaturity of our enterprise risk management programs and our business continuity planning and preparedness. It's also laid bare the extent to which so many enterprises have underinvested in dependable technology that underpins employee experience and customer engagement. 

In the 2020s, the aftermath of the pandemic and ongoing systemic risk will force every company to become much more resilient. In fact, we believe that resilience -- the ability to deliver on your mission and vision regardless of any kind of crisis or disruption, be it extreme weather, political upheaval, cyberattack, or the next disease outbreak -- will become a competitive advantage for those that embrace it as a core principle. 

Resilient companies have a strategy and framework for risk identification and mitigation; thorough business continuity planning and preparedness; flexible crisis and incident response capabilities; and business systems designed for redundancy and dependability.

 Resilient companies: 

1. Build strong, trusted, and dependable relationships with customers; 
2. Become a preferred employer that can easily recruit and retain the best talent; 
3. Protect their revenues and reputation during a crisis; and 4) recover quicker than their competitors. 

For the latest guidance for leaders to address the growing business and employee experience implications of the coronavirus pandemic, visit Forrester's COVID-19 Insights Hub. 

This post was written by VP, Group Director Stephanie Balaouras, and it originally appeared here.