The importance of flexibility for the next day
The Business Continuity Institute conducted a major global survey last month with the participation of organizations from 19 different industries (including pharma, tech, banking, supply, real estate, tourism) in 64 countries regarding preparation, management and restoration of critical functions (human resources, technology business processes) around the Covid19 occurrence.
Going through the very interesting findings of the research, one pauses at the approx. 82% of the organizations that activated the emergency and crisis management teams and the approx. 57% that had tested the plans and teams during the last year (while many organizations did this testing at the very early stage of the pandemic).
Even more important is the fact that over 70% of these organizations are not sure whether the plans and processes are ultimately viable and sustainable in order to support the continuity of their operations from now on, while they understand that the day-to-day “lives” of the organizations need to change in order to be sustainable in the future.
Unanswered questions at the moment…
At this point we must emphasize that the risk of Covid19 is not a risk or an event that can be dealt with by the usual continuity procedures but requires a broader framework of resilience for the organizations in order to deal with and recover from this situation, with the participation of all stakeholders at a national and global level.
Every global crisis leaves a legacy behind. Some changes may be short-term, and we will simply keep them as memories to discuss. But many of the changes we expect to see will be long-term, acute and structural.
Changes that will affect the way we live our lives every day and the way we work. The importance of a flexible mindset and thinking will be crucial for the resilience and continuity of an organization and our society in general.
All stats are from the BCI COVID19 Organizational Preparedness Report Apr. 2020
