How do you become an agile and resilient organization?

To deal with the various crises and uncertainty that a company may face during its existence, it must be agile and resilient. We are not talking here about agile methodology, but to be able to adapt to all types of situations in order to bounce back better and thus survive in all circumstances.

The impact of the health crisis caused by the coronavirus has been terrible for many businesses that have had to close their doors. For others, it was and still is necessary to organize, evolve and transform the way you work in order to comply with government directives, adapt to new consumer behaviors and meet their new needs while protecting employees.

What is adaptability and resilience?

Adaptability refers to the ability of a person, thing or organization to adapt to a new situation, a new environment. For a company, it is about its ability to adapt, to be flexible, flexible to face a crisis and survive it by changing the way it works, the products or services offered, its structure, its organization, its processes, etc. In addition to being a competitive advantage, this ability is now essential for the survival of a company in the face of ambient uncertainty.

The first definition of resilience is the impact resistance of a material. This concept has been taken up in psychology where it refers to the ability of an individual to overcome a trauma and to rebuild himself. This principle also applies to organizations.

In his article “The Quest for Resilience” published in the Harvard Business Review in 2003, Gary Hamel, founder of Strategies, combines the resilience of a company with its ability to reinvent its business.

In business, there are three types of resilience:

• Organizational resilience which concerns the preparation of the company to face the various crises (in particular thanks to the PCA, BY, etc.) and its ability not to reproduce past mistakes.
• Collective resilience which corresponds to the way in which the teams overcome the various challenges together.
• Individual resilience which relates to how each employee will perceive and deal with the crisis individually.

Discover 6 tips to transform your business into an agile and resilient organization to ensure its survival and sustainability, regardless of the circumstances.

6 tips for becoming an adaptable and resilient business

1. Be ready to change everything

Adaptable and resilient businesses don't fear change. They focus on results and do not hesitate to innovate and transform the way they operate, their processes and the rules to remain efficient. They are implementing a profound change in culture while maintaining their core values, brand image and ethics.

2. Have committed employees

A company is adaptable and resilient if its employees are adaptable and resilient. And to do that, you need to ensure the commitment of your employees to your business. Committed employees have a strong sense of belonging to the team and to the organization. They are motivated, do not hesitate to go beyond their limits and to make efforts to achieve the desired results. They share the values of the company, are loyal and participate actively in various company events.

There are various levers to promote the commitment of your employees such as recognition, remuneration, training, well-being at work, the atmosphere and relationships or even autonomy.

Engaged employees will be more productive, but above all they will be ready to accept the changes necessary to face a delicate situation.

3. Focus on transparency and honesty

Cultivating transparency within your company allows your employees to know where they are going, what they are doing and above all, why they are doing it. Giving meaning to their work is another essential tool for encouraging the commitment of your employees.

But beyond transparency, honesty is another essential element for adaptable businesses because it creates trust. Telling the truth to your employees when the situation is bad is not only much better than lying to them, but above all it will allow them to understand the situation, to accept the decisions made and to be more involved in order to successfully get out of the crisis together.

4. Have good visibility

To guarantee the agility and responsiveness of your organization, you must have a 360 degree visibility both on what is happening within the company and on the markets (competition, trends, etc.) and in the world (crises, shortage of raw materials, etc.).

You need to continuously monitor the status of your projects and identify trends in your industry in order to make faster and more proactive decisions. Finally, you must ensure that the decisions taken and the actions carried out are in perfect alignment with the company's priorities and overall strategic directions.

5. Know how to take advantage of failure

Instead of fearing failure, agile and resilient businesses know that failure is critical to success and use it to their advantage. As Cathy Reed, a Japanese figure skater, said, “Chess is a rehearsal for success.”

In order to constantly improve their performance and obtain ever better results, adaptable companies do not hesitate to experiment with new ways, new ways, and regardless of whether they fail. Rather than going backwards, they continue to move forward while remaining open to all possibilities. They objectively analyze their mistakes in order to understand what worked and what did not work. This is how they always succeed in what they do.

6. Training in crisis management

The life of a company is made up of uncertainty, risks, unforeseen events and crises, whether economic, financial or health. Without focusing only on the worst that could happen, it is important to develop your skills in crisis management in order to avoid disastrous consequences and thus ensure the sustainability of your business. Identifying risks, setting up a crisis unit, defining a response plan, developing crisis communication, etc., effectively managing a complex situation cannot be improvised.

To conclude

Change and uncertainty are the only things that can't change in business. By accepting this, you will be well on your way to becoming an agile and resilient business.