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Building resilience during geopolitical crises: challenges and best practices

By Bogdana Sardak, Risk and Resilience, Fusion Risk Management Vice President

In today's global landscape of uncertainty and permacrises, organizations are encountering distinct challenges in upholding resilience, maintaining deliverability of goods and services, and ensuring employee safety – especially amidst geopolitical events. Many large organizations have global operations, and while this dispersal of operations can be a strong benefit, it requires additional consideration and accountability in times of crisis. It is becoming increasingly crucial that proactivity and agility in response plans are a priority for organizations during such unprecedented events. Geopolitical events cause global uneasiness – and they can have far-reaching implications on an organization’s employees, business operations, vendors and supply chain, and customers. In order to reduce their potential impact and safeguard staff well-being, employee safety, and operational continuity, organizations must remain vigilant and prioritize key considerations throughout these events.

Shortage of personnel

Organizations with a presence in affected areas may experience a shortage of employees due to military activation or emotional strain. This shortage can affect teams across the organization, leading to decreased productivity, project delays, and increased strain on other employees. To manage operational resilience, organizations should consider the following strategies:

• Transfer workload to cross-trained staff: Activate a strategy to transfer workload to teams across the organization or global teams working in shifts.
• Continue impacted processes at a reduced level: Prioritize critical activities and reduce output until employees are ready to ramp up or when an appropriate number of employees are available.
• Suspend operations until your workforce is available: Temporarily suspend non-critical processes and activities, reallocating those team members to support more critical activities.
• Temporarily contract with an agency for trained staff: Consider contracting third-party subcontractors to help carry the workload and support employees, protecting them from burnout.

It is essential to recognize that the risk of employee shortages or significant loss can strain and burn out available employees. The long-term impact can result in talent loss across the organization. Providing ongoing support and resources to employees throughout a crisis is crucial to mitigate these risks. By considering these strategies and supporting employees, organizations will better navigate the challenges posed by geopolitical events and ensure the continuity and resilience of their operations.

Employee extraction

In the event of a conflict, it is essential to prioritize the safety of employees who may be living in or visiting the affected country or region. To ensure employee safety and that of locals, it is crucial to have accurate data on the whereabouts of employees and take appropriate action when a crisis is activated. Strategies that organizations should consider for employee extraction include:

• Partner with extraction specialists: Some organizations may choose to collaborate with specialized firms that have expertise in employee extractions. These firms offer armed and unarmed options to safely extract employees to designated safety areas.
• Utilize commercial and private charters: Organizations can partner with commercial and private charter services to provide employees with options to leave the conflict area. It is important to consider employees with pets, as not all charters allow for their transportation. Providing accommodations for employees' pets ensures their peace of mind and cooperation.

By implementing these strategies, organizations can prioritize the safety of their employees and effectively extract them from conflict zones.

Relocation support

Organizations should also consider providing relocation support to employees affected by conflicts. It is important to ensure a smooth transition for employees who need to move to a different location. Relocation support can include:

• Visa sponsorship: Assist employees and their families with the immigration process, including visa sponsorship, to ensure legal entry into the new location.
• Temporary or permanent housing accommodations: Provide assistance in securing temporary or permanent housing for employees in the new area.
• Healthcare registration: Help employees who are relocating to register for local healthcare services to ensure that they have access to necessary medical care.
• Opening local bank accounts: Assist employees in opening local bank accounts to facilitate their financial transactions in the new location.

By offering comprehensive relocation support, organizations can alleviate the challenges and uncertainties that employees may be facing during the transitional phase, ensuring their well-being and enabling them to focus on their work in the new location.

Physical location disruptions

During geopolitical events, it may not be wise to keep physical offices open. In such situations, organizations should have several strategies to consider, including reducing office space or completely closing the physical location and transitioning to a work-from-home setup. If closing the physical location is not possible, organizations can minimize the number of workers required to be on-site and reduce employees' exposure to external environments.

Cybersecurity threats

During times of crisis, cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in the region, leading to an increase in cyberattacks. Their aim is to disrupt critical infrastructure such as banks and stock exchanges as well as essential services like payroll. These attacks can severely impact morale and weaken the overall organizational system. To counter such threats and enhance resilience, organizations should consider the following strategies:

• Activate cyber incident response plans: Ensure that well-defined incident response plans are in place and ready to be activated. These plans should clearly outline the steps that must be taken in the event of a cyberattack, enabling a swift and coordinated response.
• Enhance cybersecurity precautions: Implement additional cybersecurity measures to protect against emerging threats. This can include strengthening access controls, conducting regular vulnerability assessments, and ensuring robust endpoint protection.
• Monitor alerts and logs: Pay close attention to security alerts and monitor detailed logs for any suspicious activity. This heightened vigilance can help identify and mitigate potential threats at an early stage.
• Implement additional security and IT controls: Consider implementing additional security controls such as multi-factor authentication, network segmentation, and encryption. Strengthening IT controls can further fortify the system against cyber threats.

By adopting these strategies, organizations will be better prepared to respond to actual threat events, ensuring the continuity and resilience of critical services and minimizing the impact of cyberattacks during times of crisis.

Third-party/supply chain disruptions

In today's ever-changing business landscape, organizations often rely on critical vendors and supply chains to ensure their operations run smoothly. However, disruptions to these vendors or the supply chain can have a significant impact. To mitigate the risks, it is crucial to have strategies in place to address potential disruptions to the supply chain or the loss of vendors. Some key continuity and resilience strategies to consider include:

• Utilize alternate vendors: If you have already-established relationships with alternate vendors that can provide similar goods or services, utilize them as a backup option. This strategy minimizes disruption and ensures continuity.
• Identify and approve an alternative vendor: In cases where an alternate vendor is not already in place, quickly identify and gain approval for a new vendor that can step in to fulfill your requirements. This proactive approach helps minimize downtime.
• Perform the process internally: In the absence of a vendor, consider performing the tasks or processes internally. This requires coordination and resource allocation within your organization but ensures that key processes can continue without interruption.
• Utilize excess inventory: If available, utilize spare supplies or inventory until the vendor is back in operation. This strategy helps bridge the gap and maintain business continuity until the vendor can resume services.
• Defer activities until the vendor is available: If the vendor's services are temporarily unavailable, consider pausing the business processes or tasks that require their involvement. This strategy allows for flexibility and prevents wasted efforts.

Additionally, if your organization operates in a conflict zone, effective crisis communications become paramount. Communicate with your customers proactively, manage their expectations, provide regular updates, and be transparent about the situation. This helps maintain trust and minimizes the impact of the crisis on your customers.

Goods distribution and logistics challenges

Organizations involved in the production and distribution of goods in conflict zones face numerous challenges. These challenges include ensuring the safety and security of staff, assets, and beneficiaries as well as gaining access to affected areas. Conflict situations bring about violence, instability, insecurity, and threats from armed groups, criminals, or hostile authorities. Additionally, there may be unstable legal and regulatory environments, leading to disruptions in the flow of goods. Customs procedures, permits, and trade restrictions can change frequently, adding complexity and cost to supply chains. To address these challenges and maintain continuity and resilience, organizations should consider the following strategies:

• Diversify supplier and transportation options: Seek to diversify suppliers and engage multiple transportation options including alternative routes, modes of transportation, and local partners. This approach helps mitigate the impact of disruptions and ensures access to essential goods.
• Identify alternative routes: Be proactive in identifying alternative transportation routes and develop contingency plans in case primary routes become blocked or unsafe. Establish clear guidelines and protocols for activating these alternative routes to ensure the smooth flow of goods during disruptions.
• Flexibility in inventory management: Adopt flexible inventory management practices that allow for optimization of stock levels based on anticipated disruptions. This may involve maintaining adequate buffer or safety stock to compensate for potential delays or disruptions in the supply chain. Regularly review inventory levels and adjust them as needed to maintain continuity.

By implementing these strategies, organizations can enhance the resilience of their goods distribution and logistics operations in conflict zones, ensuring the continued availability of essential goods despite the challenges being faced.

Remain resilient in times of geopolitical crisis

 It is crucial that organizations remain vigilant and resilient during times of crisis. With employee safety and operational continuity at the forefront of importance, organizations must focus on their critical services and the potential impact of geopolitical events. Identifying personnel shortages, strategies for employee extraction, support for relocation, disruptions to physical locations, cybersecurity threats, third-party/supply chain disruptions, and challenges to logistics and the distribution of goods is paramount, for each of these factors is crucial in limiting disruption to the delivery of goods and services. Ensuring that your organization has various strategies in place will not only ensure staff well-being, employee safety, and operational continuity but also that your organization is able to navigate geopolitical challenges successfully.