Control Risks Group Holdings Ltd
Source: Control Risks Group Holdings Ltd |

A Lack of Relevant Skills and Talent Slows Down the Implementation of Resilience Programmes

Control Risks, the global business risk consultancy, today published its survey “The State of Enterprise Resilience”

The successful implementation of a resilience programme takes time

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, October 5, 2016/APO/ --

Over one third of respondents of Control Risks’ Business Resilience Survey 2016/2017 (www.ControlRisks.com) felt that their organisations lacked the relevant skills or talent to drive corporate resilience; this is an increase of 17% on 2015. This is in spite of the fact that 27% of respondents have actively recruited dedicated resources to support the resilience agenda, and 46% have invested in training, awareness, and communications. Control Risks, the global business risk consultancy, today published its survey “The State of Enterprise Resilience”, assessing the degree to which the concept of resilience has gained traction and become embedded within organisations.      

Further key findings include:

1 - ISO 22316 provides guidance on resilience programmes. 62% of respondents were either aware of or have read the draft of ISO 22316 – the guide to organisational resilience. 92% of respondents agree with the core principles which focus largely on shared purpose and collaboration across functions. However, 18% of respondents indicated that they would not be striving to adopt the core principles, preferring instead to stick to existing processes.

2 - The importance of effective leadership. 53% of all respondents indicated that the effectiveness of leadership was the highest-priority objective supporting the resilience agenda. This aligns to the guidance in ISO 22316 which states effective management and governance supports organisational resilience. Anticipation of and managing change rated as the next highest priority for organisations. To build sufficient adaptability, resilience should be driven from the executive and management and should be embedded across the organisation.

3 - Companies are more worried about long-term reputational damage than short-term financial loss. Over 70% of respondents see reputational damage as the most significant concern to their business in the event of a disruption – considerably more than reduced revenue (38%), the loss of new business opportunities (25%), or reduced shareholder value (26%).

4 - Increasing concern over cyber threats. Respondents rated cyber security as the most potentially disruptive external threat to their organisation, with 47% stating this was their primary concern.

5 - 92% of respondents agree that cross-functional working and sharing of information is a key principle of resilience. However, 48% of respondents remain reliant on centralised governance and oversight instead of multi-disciplinary risk meetings that would perhaps encourage greater cross-functional collaboration and information sharing.

Mark Whyte, Senior Partner at Control Risks and author of the survey, comments:

“The increased threat from disruptive events has encouraged companies from all sectors to consider specific threats to their operations and identify areas of vulnerability. It is clear that many organisations are focussed on the need to become more resilient, but the implementation of the strategies and tactics that support this is currently taking too long”.

“To build a resilient organisation the emphasis should not purely be on strategy, or the culture of the organisation, or the way it handles risk management. A resilient organisation is one where these three components integrate to achieve the desired effect”.

Andy Cox, Director at Control Risks and the report’s co-author, adds:

“The successful implementation of a resilience programme takes time. The development of resilience frameworks that span the enterprise, capturing and integrating existing risk management activities requires resource and patience. Having set-up many of these programmes for our clients, we have learned that the best way to approach this huge task is to consider it as a series of prioritised projects that incrementally increase the resilience of the organisation over time.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Control Risks Group Holdings Ltd.

Download the full report (http://apo.af/lQRTmP). Download the graphic “The DNA of resilience”: jpg.(http://apo.af/7xKr1n)/pdf(http://apo.af/vYQQat). 
Download the infographic (http://apo.af/tVGnkS).

Media Contact:
Control Risks
Friederike Lyon
Marketing Director Europe & Africa
+49 30 533 288 55
friederike.lyon@controlrisks.com  

About Control Risks:
Control Risks (www.ControlRisks.com) is a global risk consultancy specialising in political, security and integrity risk. The company enables its clients to understand and manage the risks of operating in complex or hostile environments. Control Risks have been supporting clients build organisational resilience with the capability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to and recover from disruptive events. We have developed both preventative strategies and adaptive capacity in client organisations to enhance their resilience. Through a unique combination of services, wide geographical reach and by adopting a close partnership approach with clients, Control Risks helps organisations effectively solve problems and realise new opportunities across the world www.ControlRisks.com.
 
About the survey:
With an increasing focus on the development of resilience, Control Risks’ global survey was commissioned to receive feedback on the progress and challenges in implementing the concept of resilience. This global survey, conducted between June and August 2016, took the opinion of 144 respondents into account. While there was a geographical focus on Europe, we had respondents from across the globe, representing all major industries.