Risk and resilience, two sides of the same coin: Explore the latest research

In September’s Education Series webinar, Measuring Risk: What’s Your Temperature, we were joined by John Ferguson, Practice Lead for Globalization, Trade, and Finance for Economist Impact, to discuss our 2023 sponsored global study on executives’ changing attitudes toward risk. As a follow-up to the resilience research we sponsored last year, we explored how executives are taking a new look at how to identify, anticipate, and manage risk given heightened and complex disruptions since 2020.

Resilience and risk are two sides of the same coin. What we’ve learned about resilience mirrors what executives are now thinking about, and how they’re reacting to, risk in response to a difficult past three years. An overwhelming 90% of global executives are evolving their approach to risk, examining who is responsible for risk management and how they can adopt solutions that protect all parts of the organization.

So why should organizations be thinking about risk differently? Risk has always been present, but we’re now facing more complex risks that have a global impact, such as climate change, economic uncertainty, disrupted supply chains, geopolitical tensions, and a surge in cybersecurity and technological threats. This research confirms that risk management must evolve from a siloed function to an integrated and active part of an organization’s culture.

“Over 90% of respondents say that identifying risks is now a top priority. But there’s a difference between identifying risks and doing something about it. And I think there’s a gap there between the thinking and the doing when it comes to risk and resilience.”

While the study found that 77% of executives agree that risk management spans the entire organization, over half admit that they need to improve cross-functional collaboration and only 46% have invested in the creation of enterprise-wide risk management teams. Only 36% report integrating risk management into their overall strategy or placing decision-making as a priority feature of their risk management system.

Going beyond the singular role of risk manager or risk officer, risk management is an effort that requires an interdisciplinary, interconnected approach. At the heart of all this is information governance and the secure management of an organization’s data. Records and information managers know where the records and data are—whether at rest or in motion—and where there might be areas of vulnerability, so they must be part of the collaborative team involved in risk awareness and risk management.

“Risk management isn’t a one shot game. It has to be an ongoing part of your business practices.”

— John Ferguson, Practice Lead for Globalization, Trade, and Finance, Economist Impact

By adopting the language of risk management and investing in mitigation strategies, leaders create a culture that promotes the proactive identification and assessment of risks, which results in a more resilient organization that can absorb shocks and bounce back quickly.

Interested in learning more about this research? Visit our risk and resilience resource center, or register for upcoming webinars through our Iron Mountain Education Series.