Airmic has released a new 21-page guide that is calling for organisations to “learn the lessons, boost preparedness, and build resilience” following two years of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Produced in association with specialist risk consultancy Control Risks, the report entitled “The pandemic goes endemic” revisits the pandemic crisis management issues examined in an earlier guide, this time highlighting the “looping” nature of the crisis.
“Organisations now have an opportunity – and an imperative – to reflect on what has gone well over the last two years, and where crisis management and resilience can be improved,” reads the new guide.
“They ignore the lessons of the past two years at their own peril. But learning the lessons requires a process and structure, rather than sheer aspiration.”
According to the Airmic resource, the adoption and application of a process for identifying and acting on lessons learnt from adverse events to inform future planning is a key characteristic of any preparedness system.
Meanwhile, the trade body noted: “As COVID-19 shifts from ‘pandemic’ to ‘endemic’ status, businesses face an evolving risk landscape where unplanned and multifaceted risks have now begun to emerge as long-term features affecting business operations on multiple levels.
“In a post-pandemic era, businesses are facing a web of interlinked and complex risks, such as insider threats, employee activism, the ‘great resignation’, focus on corporate citizenship, and the supply chain meltdown.”
Boosting preparedness, it was cited in the report, will involve a continuous scan of the horizon for the next emerging risks.
“This is the time for organisations to think about any previous lack of preparedness and to change things going forward so that they are better prepared for the next pandemic wave or major crisis,” stated Airmic.
“As the organisation looks forward, it is valuable to gain the perspective of those actively managing the crisis as well as those managing the everyday business, who are often faced with secondary effects of the crisis.”
The association said these discussions should be used to identify potential emerging risks as the crisis continues to unfold and slow down.
Airmic stressed: “Identifying the risks now, ahead of them materialising, puts the company in a great position to avoid them, or at least minimise their impact.”
As for organisational resilience, it was pointed out that this cannot be achieved without first learning lessons and boosting preparedness.
“If the correct lessons are not captured and learnt, then organisations cannot prepare for the next wave of the pandemic or for other such crises,” concluded Airmic.
“And if they are found wanting in preparedness, they will not find themselves becoming the kind of resilient organisation they need to be in this age of heightened uncertainty and volatility.”
