Protecting reputation tops business leaders’ list of priorities, ahead of financial achievements and business leadership, according to the world’s first benchmark of Organizational Resilience published by BSI (British Standards).
The study found that reputation is seen as the most important element to the long term success of the business, even more than financial aspects, leadership and vision and purpose. Despite this, 43pc of those interviewed as part of the global study, believed their organization was strongly susceptible to reputational risk. Some 1,250 senior leaders of organisations took part in the study, which covered ten sectors across three regions: UK and Ireland, USA and Asia Pacific.
The magnitude of reputational risk was found to vary by geography. Globally 62pc rate their organization’s current reputation as excellent or very good, but this figure rises to 75pc in the US and falls to 55pc and 56pc in the UK and Ireland and Asia Pacific respectively. Of the 16 elements that make up Organizational Resilience, the study found that the most and least important are:
Most important
Reputational Risk
Financial Aspects
Leadership
Vision and Purpose
Information and Knowledge Management
Least important
Horizon Scanning
Alignment
Community Engagement
Culture
Adaptive Capacity
The study also looked at how these elements ranked in terms of perceived performance. It found:
Highest performing
Financial Aspects
Alignment
Leadership
Vision and Purpose
Governance and Accountability
Worst performing
Supply Chain
Innovation
Horizon Scanning
Information and Knowledge Management
Awareness, Training and Testing
Howard Kerr, Chief Executive at BSI, saidd: “In today’s volatile and uncertain world, understanding what it takes to survive and thrive is tougher than ever. It is encouraging that business leaders understand that success is measured by more than market share, with trust and reputation clearly seen as critical to long-term success. However, our culture of instant communication means that reputations can be destroyed in minutes. This makes it particularly concerning that only 62pc of respondents rated themselves as very good or excellent when it came to proactively building their reputation.”
Supply chain was perceived as the least resilient of the elements. Horizon scanning was identified as the least important aspect of resilience, with one third believing their organizations are average to poor at doing it. This is the case for businesses of all ages, where a lack of processes and systems mean that organizations are unable to learn from past events, understand potential threats, and make the changes they need to.
Kerr added: “The challenges identified by our report cannot be addressed with quick and easy fixes, and Organizational Resilience has no finishing line. Instead, weaknesses should be tackled through a process of continual improvement. Past prosperity is no guarantee of future success, and it is only by embedding this kind of culture that organizations will be able to master resilience.
