Answering the Top Questions Asked About Business Resiliency (Part 2)

Last week we shared with the SSON community answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about business resiliency.

In part 2 of our series on business resiliency, the SSON Editorial team will dive further into the topic, explaining how to build a business resiliency strategy, some of the top technologies helping businesses stay resilient, and some of the skills businesses are looking for in resilient employees. 

Where do I begin with designing a business resiliency strategy? 

A business resiliency strategy (also referred to as a business continuity plan) is essential for a business's ability to react quickly to any unexpected challenges. During times of crisis, businesses need to transition to a more resilient operating model that can best protect their people, serve their customers, and secure business support for the future.

In order to shift their operating model businesses must consider: 

• Investing in digital transformation to boost human capital
• Harnessing technology to create a collaborative and sustainable work environment 
• Upskilling employees with tools and resources to further push innovation 

Once a business has devised how they plan to shift its operating model, it must then determine the best ways to secure its cyberspace and the safety of its employees. This means investing in preventative tools and resources, educating teams on possible security threats, and ensuring business can continue despite an attack through comprehensive disaster recovery strategies.

With the security of the business and its employees guaranteed, and the operating model reimagined, businesses can begin embracing agile technology, enabling automation opportunities, and fostering a data-driven approach that creates resiliency across the business. 

What is digital business resiliency? 

As mentioned in part 1, business resiliency is a business's ability to adapt to new, unpredictable circumstances through a framework of continuous improvement. But what is the digital counterpart to this definition? 

In an SSON Digital report from October 2021 titled “Map, Manage and Automate Processes for Digital Business Resiliency” digital resiliency is defined as “the ability for an organization to leverage digital capabilities to safeguard itself from emergencies, as well as recover from adversity, so that it is in a position to outperform its peers, and eventually reimagine its business to get—and stay—ahead of rivals in an ever-changing future.” In simpler terms, digital business resiliency is the use of technology to help your business weather any challenges it might face. 

What are some of the top technologies driving business resiliency? 

Intelligent automation (IA) technologies are the latest solutions sweeping through the shared services landscape, and they can also have an impact on how resilient a business can remain amidst uncertainty. When SSOs work with IA technologies, they greatly expand their arsenal of capabilities that are applied to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of business operations, thus enabling a business to remain resilient. Some of the top IA technologies making this possible include:

• Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) - Paper documents pose a challenge to any business's quest for resiliency, but with IDP a solution exists that allows businesses to digitize and organize their documents with limited manual intervention. IDP increases accuracy and control over documents, thus allowing businesses to be prepared when challenges arise.  
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) - The service offerings of AI have been expanding at a rapid pace over the past decade, and can have an impact on just about every area of business, including how a business can stay resilient. AI software can recognize the complexity of certain situations and route them to the proper workflows, ensuring that when a problem arises, it is quickly sent to the teams most capable of handling it. 
• Robotic Process Automation (RPA) - RPA has long been a tool that helps businesses improve process operations without requiring assistance from the IT department, but how does this improve a business's capacity to stay resilient? When processes are automated businesses can understand their process variations and have the agility to handle any bottlenecks or other process issues that might arise. 
• Business Process Automation (BPA) - BPA is primarily focused on using technology to automate or replace previously manual processes. BPA can typically utilize low-code/no-code software that replace, enhance, and improve process operations. With these updated processes, businesses have access to insights and real-time data that allows them to remain resilient.
• Natural Language Generation (NLG) – Many businesses are burdened with large amounts of unstructured data, which can be difficult to navigate during difficult times. With NLG, there is a resource for businesses that allows them to create structured data, which in turn helps businesses have actionable data that can be useful during an automation journey. 

If you are interested in learning more about each of these IA solutions, be sure to download the “Driving Business Resiliency & Digital Excellence in Shared Services” report. 

What are some skills businesses look for in employees to drive resiliency? 

With the Covid pandemic seemingly behind, businesses will begin asking themselves “how can I be prepared for the next event that has a global impact?” and oftentimes, the answer begins with the skills of their workforce.

During SSON’s 2021 Future of Work and Business Resiliency Digital Summit, speakers discussed this very topic. One thing that became clear during the segment titled “Decoding the Skills of the Future” is that many believe the skills that businesses were looking for as they entered the remote workplace at the onset of Covid are the same skills that will maintain business resiliency for years to come. One of the top skills businesses will need for years to come is knowledge of digital technologies. No longer can businesses rely on IT departments to troubleshoot every technical issue. They need tech-savvy employees who understand the software they work with and can solve problems on their own.

Additionally, the pandemic has shown us the need to support the mental well-being of others, which is why emotional intelligence (EQ) is an attribute that businesses will continue to search for. In the future of work, SSOs will want employees who not only take into account the needs of their co-workers but can also deliver excellent customer service and ensure they are delivering a positive experience to everyone they interact with. By employing people with strong EQs, businesses are ensuring employees are looking after each other and staying resilient. 

Are there any other topics in business resiliency you wish we had addressed? If so, feel free to send your comments and questions to info@ssonetwork.com