The Rise of the Resilience Profession

In today's rapidly changing world, the concept of RESILIENCE has taken center stage, both personally and professionally. As businesses face increasing uncertainties, there is a growing emphasis on the role of resilience professionals, who are quickly becoming essential assets in the corporate environment.

The Evolution of Risk to Resilience

Traditionally, roles like Business Continuity were more siloed, focusing on specific areas of risk management, typically with a focus on immediate and swift recovery. However, the landscape is shifting towards taking a longer term view with organisations looking to anticipate, absorb, and recover from disruptions effectively. We are seeing this transition to a more integrated approach with the emergence of roles such as "Business Resilience" and "Operational Resilience", being driven by regulatory requirements as well as the general evolution of the risk management profession.

Risk Management vs. Resilience

While risk management and resilience may seem similar, they serve distinct purposes:

• Risk Management involves predicting potential risks and implementing strategies to minimise their impact.

• Resilience, on the other hand, focuses on the ability to adapt and recover from adversities, ensuring continuity despite unforeseen challenges.

The key difference lies in the focus - risk management is preventive, while resilience emphasizes adaptation and recovery.

Why Is Resilience Gaining Traction?

Several factors have contributed to the rising importance of resilience professionals:

Pandemic Preparedness: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for robust resilience strategies and saw a surge in resilience building activities across organizations.

Cyber Resilience: Cyber-attacks and privacy breaches have significantly impacted reputations and public trust in data management. These events underscored the need for cyber resilience and highlighted issues relating to IT process failures and managing third-party risks.

Regulatory Changes: The upcoming CPS230 prudential standard has been another significant driver for the focus on operational risk and resilience, including management of material risk providers to ensure operational continuity amid external shocks.

Environmental Factors: Businesses must also prepare for climate-related disruptions, such as extreme weather events.

Skills of an Effective Resilience Professional

An effective resilience professional is expected to possess a blend of skills including:

• A comprehensive understanding of business systems and processes

• Strong interpersonal skills for relationship-building and facilitation

• Pragmatic and strategic thinking

• Proficient problem-solving capabilities

• Analytical skills for identifying risks and planning mitigation

• Curiosity and an inquisitive nature to identify and address gaps

The Candidate Supply Challenge

As the demand for resilience professionals grows, sourcing candidates with the right mix of experience can be challenging. Traditionally, these roles have been filled by individuals from IT, security, or operational risk backgrounds. Identifying candidates with a holistic view of risk and resilience will be crucial for achieving organisational maturity.

Candidates from IT and data backgrounds often possess relevant skills in vulnerability management, cloud security, cyber defence, and disaster recovery. Operational or enterprise risk professionals typically engage in business continuity planning, crisis management, and risk training.

For roles requiring engagement at the C-Suite and Board/Committee levels, candidates with enterprise risk expertise should be able to provide a comprehensive view and effectively articulate technical concepts. Candidates coming from the first line will understand business processes and be able to undertake BIAs and can assist with implementing or uplifting controls.

One thing is for sure: the rise in demand will lead to a shortage of candidates that have the breadth of experience. Compensation for these candidates is also expected to rise.

Conclusion

The resilience profession is evolving, and its importance cannot be understated. As businesses navigate a complex and uncertain future, the role of resilience professionals will be pivotal in ensuring sustained operations and long-term success.