Change the name and change the approach says Airmic technical director

Airmic technical director Paul Hopkin says integrating risk approaches holistically under a resilience banner is the best way to achieve greater resilience.

Hopkin said: “The scope of what you can put under resilience is broader so it’s a more appealing concept as well as, I hope, a more appealing terminology.”

He added: “I’m not just advocating a change of name; I’m advocating a change of approach. From our research we have found organisations become resilient when they combine two things – the things they expect to go wrong and things they don’t expect to go wrong.

“I think truly resilient organisations actually have those two things working in harmony so they are not just prepared for the expected and ready to cope with the unexpected but they actually learn, benefit and proactively look for enhancement.”

Hopkin made the point in last month’s edition of Airmic News stating that senior risk managers should be called ‘resilience managers’ as it better represents the opportunities that the role could bring to an organisation.

He also revealed that the association intends to release a report advising on how to integrate risk approaches to bring about greater resilience.

He added: “Resilient organisations know what is going on in the marketplace, what’s happening to it, and can see what’s over the horizon. They have flexible resources and assets so they are prepared when things change.”