Resilience of organisations

We live in a world of great uncertainty and organizational resilience has become an essential strategic skill.
It is defined as an organization's ability to anticipate, prepare, respond and adapt to disruptions to not only survive but also thrive.
The notion of resilience, originally from physics, describing the ability of a material to regain its shape after deformation, was transposed to organizations in the 1970s. It gained importance following various global crises, revealing the critical need for businesses to develop increased flexibility and robustness. Organizational resilience encompasses several aspects, ranging from operational resilience, which ensures the maintenance of essential operations, to strategic resilience, which allows rapid adaptation of strategies to changing market conditions.
These aspects are complemented by financial resilience, which focuses on the effective management of financial resources in times of crisis, and informational resilience, essential for securing and quickly restoring vital data.
Organizational resilience is based on several axes which are currently more or less developed in companies.
Cyber security management, business continuity management, security management are, among others, part of these key components on which resilience strategies are based. Bringing these management systems into line is a crucial step in developing resilience.
Among the various founding organizations of modern resilience, the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) offers well-established resilience principles that help structure organizations' approach to business continuity.
These principles include deep understanding of the organization through business impact analyzes and risk assessments, as well as leadership engagement, which is crucial to embedding resilience into organizational culture.
The design of resilience strategies must be robust, with well-defined plans for business continuity, while their implementation must be supported by ongoing training, regular testing, and rigorous maintenance.
Validation of implemented strategies is another central pillar, including regular testing and adjustments based on results.
This process ensures that plans remain not only functional but also responsive to changing conditions.
Finally, measurement and continuous improvement allows organizations to track performance and identify potential improvements, using metrics and key performance indicators to assess the effectiveness of resilience strategies.
Concrete examples illustrate the importance and effectiveness of organizational resilience. Toyota, for example, demonstrated remarkable recovery following the 2011 earthquake in Japan, thanks to its flexible production system and diversified supply chain. Microsoft, during the COVID-19 pandemic, was able to strengthen its cloud infrastructure to support the increase in the use of online services, demonstrating strong information resilience. Airbnb, faced with the paralysis of the tourism sector during the same period, pivoted towards promoting long-term rentals and virtual experiences, proving its strategic resilience.
Organizational resilience is more than a necessity; it is a strategic imperative that enables organizations to transform challenges into opportunities. By integrating resilience into their operations, companies can not only ensure business continuity in times of crisis but also foster sustainable growth and constant innovation.

Our methods for resilience management

Our method for implementing organizational resilience is essentially based on the ISO 22336 standard of which it is an improved adaptation.
It is part of the ISO 22300 series of standards, which specifically address management systems for resilience, security, and business continuity.
These standards are designed to help organizations prepare for, respond to, and recover from diverse and unanticipated disruptions.
The ISO 22336 standard provides a framework for understanding, developing, and maintaining organizational resilience. It emphasizes the following aspects:

• Understanding risks: Assessing and managing risks to anticipate and mitigate potential impacts on the organization.
• Planning and Strategy: Development of resilience strategies that encompass business continuity, crisis management, and incident recovery.
• Capacities and resources: Identification and management of the resources necessary to support the resilience strategy, including human skills, technologies, and infrastructure.
• Training and Awareness: Education and training of employees to make them aware of resilience practices and to prepare them to respond effectively in the event of a crisis.
• Exercises and testing: Conducting regular exercises to test the robustness of resilience plans and their ability to meet expectations.
• Continuous improvement: Continuous assessment and improvement of resilience practices to stay aligned with internal and external developments.

The aim of the ISO 22336 standard is to offer a guide to organizations so that they can not only survive shocks and disruptions but also thrive in an ever-changing environment. It is applicable to any type of organization, regardless of its size or sector of activity, allowing a flexible approach adapted to different organizational contexts.
We do not provide a detailed brochure on our method because it includes many innovations about which we wish to remain discreet. We invite you to contact us for further explanations.

Taylor Made resilience training

We can create training suitable exactly to your needs.
To do this, you must provide us with all the information concerning your needs so that we build the offer you need.
Please send us a request by email with the following information:

• Last name, first name, function, telephone and email of the applicant
• Company name and address
• Name and description of the desired training
• Training perimeter
• Audience experience (beginner/confirmed/expert)
• Duration of training in days
• Place of training
• Logistics needs (room, equipment, meal delivery)
• Language of training (French / English
• Budget and constraints
• Other requests

One of our highly successful tailor-made training courses is "crisis management in the industrial world". Our client has ordered this training cycle every year since 2017 and it shows no signs of stopping.