What does being resilient mean? One definition is to withstand shock without permanent deformation or rupture. Another is to recover from, or adjust easily to , misfortune or change.
What makes an organisation strong and therefore resilient to outside forces?
My answer is “the people”
There are a few steps you can take to build strong organisations- I have listed a few that I think can be easily implemented in any organisation.
- Recruit well: Select people for attitude and build the skills they need to do the job well
- Train well: From day one, have an orientation programme that helps your new recruit to understand the culture and become part of the organisation quickly. Have a range of training options to continually up skill your staff member (ie one-on-one “buddy” system, mentoring/coaching, formal study programmes etc)
- Communicate well: tell people stuff! Involve your staff in what is going on, good and bad. Involve them in solutions, trust them with information. Have conversations about your organisation, the industry, the economy- what ever is going to affect you.
- Empower: Delegate authority to the level it needs to be. Not everything needs to be held by the management team. Your life, your staff’s working life, the customer experience; will be much better if your staff are empowered to make decisions.
- Reward: Pay as much as you can for the skills, experience and attitude your staff member brings to the job. However, reward is not just about money- shout morning tea, send a thank you email, take someone to coffee, say thank-you, tell someone they have done a good job- simple things that will make a difference.
- Systemise: Develop systems that support the jobs that need to be done and the people doing them. Take out the hassle, the bureaucracy, the unnecessary steps and create more efficiency.
- Continuously improve: develop a culture of continuous improvement, of looking for a better way and challenging the status quo. Have the conversations that matter to your organisation.
A strong and resilient organisation will withstand outside pressure and get better and better- and you will have a team who can help build it.