Workforce resilience has emerged as a vital concept that has garnered considerable attention in recent years. It pertains to an organization and employee capacity to adjust and flourish in the face of change and adversity. A resilient workforce is one that can effectively confront unforeseen changes and challenges and overcome setbacks. In the continually evolving landscape of today’s business world, the importance of cultivating a resilient workforce cannot be overstated.
Advantages of a Resilient Workforce
The advantages of nurturing a resilient workforce include heightened productivity, diminished absenteeism and turnover, improved employee well-being, and stimulation of innovation and creativity.
Resilient employees exhibit heightened productivity, maintaining their focus and motivation even when confronted with adversity, and displaying a reduced tendency to be absent from work or seek employment elsewhere. They possess the ability to recover from setbacks and challenges, demonstrating a steadfast commitment to their responsibilities. Resilient workers enjoy better overall well-being, adeptly manage stress and cope with challenges in a healthier manner, ultimately leading to an improvement in both physical and mental health. This, in turn, serves to boost productivity while reducing absenteeism. A resilient workforce also exhibits greater innovation and creativity, willingly embracing risk and new ideas, and demonstrating an ability to learn from their mistakes, thereby leading to the generation of novel and innovative solutions.
How to Build a Resilient Workforce
Several common attributes contribute to the effective development of workforce resilience. These include maintaining composure when faced with work-related pressures and challenges, intrinsic motivation to excel without requiring external stimuli, adaptability in the face of changing circumstances, a sense of belonging and shared purpose within the organization, positivity and optimism in confronting adversity, and a forward-looking approach that rapidly generates novel solutions to address challenges. Although not every team member needs to possess all these attributes, having a majority of resilient employees fosters an environment where others can adapt and meet the requirements to develop resilience.
By following best practices, organizations can build a more resilient workforce that is better able to adapt to and thrive in the face of change and adversity. These best practices include:
- Create a culture of support and trust—Employees need to feel like they are supported by their managers and colleagues and can trust them to have their backs.
- Promote employee well-being—Employees need to have access to resources and support to help them manage stress and cope with challenges. This includes opportunities to relax and recharge.
- Implement flexible work arrangements—Flexible work arrangements can help employees better balance their work and personal lives. This can lead to reduced stress and improved well-being, which can boost resilience.
- Encourage open communication and feedback—Employees need to feel comfortable communicating with their managers and colleagues and that their feedback is valued and appreciated.
- Upskill your teams—Organizations should provide employees with opportunities to develop new skills and knowledge, especially skills that are relevant to emerging technologies and trends. This will help employees become more adaptable and resilient in the face of change.
- Promote a culture of learning and development—Organizations should encourage employees to be proactive in their learning and development. Creating a culture where employees are comfortable asking for help and where mistakes are seen as learning opportunities can help with this.
In addition, frameworks such as COBIT, ISACA’s Risk IT Framework and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Infrastructure Resilience Planning Framework (IRPF) can serve as valuable tools to help organizations cultivate a resilient workforce capable of adapting and thriving in uncertain environments. Effective governance and management practices, proactive risk management, robust information systems operations, resilient infrastructure, efficient human resource management and agile software development practices all contribute to workforce resilience.
Foster Innovation Through Workforce Resilience
Establishing workforce resilience is essential for organizations to succeed in today’s dynamic and challenging business environment. A resilient workforce not only enhances productivity and reduces absenteeism and turnover but also promotes improved employee well-being and fosters innovation and creativity. Organizations should remain focused on leveraging pertinent frameworks and providing opportunities for their teams to acquire the skills necessary to build a resilient workforce. The proactive identification and resolution of issues related to mental well-being, workforce motivation and adaptation are paramount in this endeavor.
Editor’s note: For further insights on this topic, read Hakan Kantaş’s recent Journal article, “The Benefits of Achieving Workforce Resilience,” ISACA Journal, volume 6, 2023.