Irish businesses need to embrace a strategic approach to resilience to thrive in an era of constant disruption - PwC’s 2023 Irish and Global Crisis and Resilience Survey

PwC’s latest Irish and Global Crisis and Resilience Survey published in Ireland today reveals that Irish businesses need to fully embrace and invest in resilience to transform the way they operate as disruption is set to continue.  The new research finds we are in an era of ‘permacrisis’ fueled by constant disruption and many Irish businesses lack the foundations needed for resilience success. This press release deals with the Irish findings in the survey.

Organisational resilience can be described as the ability of a business to evolve continuously, protect from shocks while at the same time being able to adapt, create value and maintain a competitive edge. 

Data from nearly 2,000 respondents worldwide including Ireland provides insights into how business leaders are preparing for, and responding to, this new world of constant disruption. Over half (57%) of Irish respondents told us that resilience is ‘very important’ on their list of strategic priorities.  At the same time, less than half (47%) have a business resilience programme in existence for five years or more (Global: 42%).  

Following a war in Ukraine, inflationary pressures and geopolitical uncertainty, it is unsurprising that nine in ten (97%) Irish respondents reported to be concerned that their organisation will continue to face multiple disruptions for at least another two years. 76% of survey respondents said that the impact of the most serious disruption on operations was medium/high, disrupting critical business processes and services and causing financial and reputational issues. 

Irish respondents more concerned about future disruptions than global counterparts

Irish respondents are more concerned than global counterparts about most types of disruption in the future. According to the survey the most concerning disruptions anticipated in the next two years are: Cyber attacks (Ireland: 60%; Global: 30%)), geopolitical disruption (Ireland:43%; Global: 21%), climate change/natural disaster (Ireland: 37%; Global: 21%), employee retention/recruitment disruption (Ireland: 37%; Global: 36%) and supply chain disruption (Ireland: 30%; Global: 23%). 

Challenges more severe in Ireland

Many of the key challenges faced by Irish organisations in establishing a resilience programme are more severe in Ireland compared to global counterparts. 40% cited maintaining and developing the resilience programme as a key challenge (Global: 35%), another 40% cited team and expertise constraints (Global: 28%) and 33% cited executive sponsorship (Global: 26%). 

Andy Banks, Risk Assurance Partner, PwC Ireland, commented: “Business leaders face an unprecedented level of disruption and uncertainty in today’s rapidly changing environment. Organisations are contending with external macro forces and internal business transformations, and it is against this backdrop that resilience has become one of the most vital strategic priorities in the corporate world.”

“Overall, the trends on how global businesses are developing organisational resilience are similar in Ireland. The survey shows that Irish businesses need to embrace a strategic approach to resilience to thrive in an era of constant disruption or ‘permacrisis’. Irish businesses are more concerned than global peers about the scale of future disruptions and they are also more challenged when it comes to implementing resilience programmes. Investment is key but Irish organisations are planning less investment than global counterparts over the next two years in key areas such as workforce resilience and disaster recovery.”

More strategic approach needed 

Just around a third or less of survey respondents are highly confident in their ability to recover from multiple disruptions. Many lack the foundations needed for resilience success, for example, less than half (43%) of Irish respondents reported to be ‘fully involved’ in the overall business resilience governance of their organisaion (Global: 60%). Just a fifth (20%) admitted that their organisation’s approach to resilience is ‘fully integrated’ in their overall business strategy (Global: 21%).  

One in five or less (in Ireland and globally) reported that they had the foundations needed for an industry leading resilience programme. This confidence gap puts organisations at risk of being exposed – particularly when the disruption spotlight is solely on them, as opposed to broader global or sector challenges. 

A minority of Irish survey respondents revealed that their organisation had a crisis/recovery plan that is reviewed and regularly tested. For example, just 33% had such a plan for business continuity, 27% for cyber recovery and 20% for disaster recovery. Just 27% confirmed that their business resilience ‘training and coaching’ programme is ‘industry leading’.  

Notes to editors:

What is organisational resilience? Organisational resilience can be described as the ability of a business to evolve continuously, protect from shocks while at the same time being able to adapt, create value and maintain a competitive edge. It includes the ability to evolve and build agility into the organisation, maintain critical operations during disruption and maintain capital and cash flow during disruption. 

About the Survey: 

The research was carried out in late 2022  having 1,812  business leaders across many business sectors representing 42 countries and various industries sharing their observations on business resilience and disruption including 30 respondents in Ireland. This is PwC’s third such study analysing corporate crisis and resilience data. 41% of respondents were C-Suite.