Operational Resilience

What is operational resilience - and why it matters?

Operational resilience is the ability of an organisation to prevent, respond to and recover from disruption while continuing to deliver its critical services. It goes beyond traditional risk management and business continuity by focusing on what matters most - ensuring that important services remain available, even in the face of severe but plausible disruption. In practice, operational resilience helps organisations prepare for the unexpected, reduce the impact of disruption and maintain trust with customers, regulators and stakeholders.

Common challenges

Many organisations have elements of resilience in place, but these are often fragmented across risk, business continuity, IT and operations.

Important business services may not be clearly defined, and there is often limited understanding of the dependencies that support them. Scenario testing, where it exists, can lack structure or realism.

In some cases, resilience activities are treated as compliance exercises rather than practical tools, resulting in plans that are not tested or used effectively in real situations.

What good looks like

Operational resilience is clearly defined, understood and embedded across the organisation.

Important business services are identified and prioritised, with clear mapping of the people, processes, technology and third parties that support them. Impact tolerances are defined, setting clear expectations for disruption.

Scenario testing is used to assess resilience under stress, with lessons learned feeding into continuous improvement. There is clear ownership, governance and accountability, supported by regular review and reporting.