What is resilience and how it helps companies
Along with the crisis, the word that is always repeated in the presentation of the economic reality of 2021 is resilience. We have the category resilience of SMEs to the impact of COVID. We have the industry resilience of the HORECA companies to the restrictive measures. And finally, we have the resilience of the country, through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan to the general impact of the pandemic on the economy.
In other words, if the virus is the cause of the crisis, resilience is an antidote for this crisis. And yet, beyond the concept, there are many other attributes that help SMEs, HORECA, or Romania in terms of resilience. Of these, the top 5 most relevant to a company’s resilience are as follows:
Preparation
Good preparation helps to anticipate situations, both in the short and long term. According to a survey conducted by Valoria, over 80% of companies that successfully balanced their approach to short-term and long-term priorities (31% of the total) considered that they pivoted very efficiently to adapt to events by 2020, while less than half (49%) of organizations that did not have that balance had the same experience.
Adaptability
Leaders recognize the importance of having versatile employees, especially after a year like 2020. To this end, flexibility or adaptability has been by far the feature of the workforce that policymakers have considered most important for the future. their organizations.
Cooperation
Decision-makers indicated the importance of collaboration within their organizations, noting that it accelerated the decision-making process, mitigated risk, and led to increased innovation. In fact, eliminating fragmented work across departments and increasing collaboration was one of the most important strategic actions undertaken by decision-makers in 2020.
Trust
Leaders understand the challenge of building trust. The same study mentioned above shows that more than a third of them were not sure that their organizations had managed to build trust between decision-makers and employees. Those who succeed focus on improving communication and transparency with stakeholders, as well as empathy-based leadership.
Responsibility
Most leaders recognize that the business environment has a responsibility beyond profit. Most policymakers say they have done very well in balancing all the needs of stakeholders and also considered that their organizations could adapt and pivot quickly in response to the crisis. The company exists because there are stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, employees, legislators, trade unions, and other stakeholders whose needs management depends on the success of the company.
These attributes of companies, designed through clear actions, support each other. They are not fixed and do not appear only organically. All require leadership, investment, and action to cultivate and nurture them.
Companies that deliberately build these attributes into their mindsets and cultures are better positioned to overcome the crisis and pivot toward post-pandemic business models.
In conclusion
The “stress test” that this crisis proposes is the contrast substance that highlights companies that have resilience, but also those that do not. Especially now when resilience is demonstrated through diversification, technologization, new mentalities, pivoting towards a business model adapted to the context.
Companies that have made strategic investments, in labor and technology, in capabilities that increase resilience have outperformed their competition. The fundamental lesson that the pandemic has taught us is that resilience means both being visionary and doing what is necessary to respond relevantly and recover from a crisis.
Alina Făniță este CEO și Partener al PKF Finconta. A lucrat cu companii multinaționale sau firme antreprenoriale din domenii diverse de activitate, pentru a le oferi servicii de audit financiar, due diligence, restructurări de grupuri, audit intern și alte servicii conexe activității de control intern. Este membră a celor mai prestigioase asociații profesionale din domeniu: ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), CECCAR (Corpul Experților Contabili și Contabililior Autorizați din România), CAFR (Camera Auditorilor Financiari) și IIA (Institute of Internal Auditors). A absolvit EMBA Asebuss la Kennesaw State University, a fost trainer pentru cursuri IFRS și este invitată ca expert la numeroase conferințe de business. alina.fanita@pkffinconta.ro
