Growth Resilience & Everyday Excellence: A 10-point ‘Resilience Code’ for London Market firms in 2021

Shân Millie – Founding Associate and GreenKite Innovation & Customer Lead

Regulators (FCA, PRA and The Bank of England) introduced the concept of ‘resilience’ back in December 2019, with their joint Consultation Papers on Operational Resilience.  It remains a theme to be unpacked, understood and acted upon – both for the ‘here and now’, and for that ‘day after tomorrow’ that Growth Resilient firms must routinely consider.

GreenKite’s Growth Resilience & Everyday Excellence webinar series aims to ask and answer questions around:

• Are the 2020s materially different in working out what matters for Resilience? How should firms define and go about achieving it?
• What does a rigorous, growth-enabling Business Resilience Strategy look like in a post-pandemic world?

Our first webinar, which can be viewed here ,was a wide-ranging discussion looking at today’s real-world to-do list for London Market and MGA practitioners that took us well beyond the Business Continuity Plan. We’ve pulled together the key insights from our expert panellists and the feedback from our audience to present this first iteration of a ‘Resilience Code’.

What do you think?

(1) Assess the coherence of the business in its general approach, as this will enhance its capability to make decisions faster and prioritise resources faster.

(2) Validate who, how and at what frequency the future of the business is focused upon (both strategically and operationally).  Consider what proportion of time the business spends maintaining a BAU status, essentially focusing on the ‘past’ and ‘present’ to the detriment of dedicating resource to build a  roadmap for sustainable growth for its future.    

(3) Evaluate whether the ethos of the business is explicit in its approach and the emphasis placed upon activities such a risk profiling and risk actions, employee engagement and its ongoing commitment to diversity, wellbeing, ESG and Sustainability initiatives.

(4) What progress has the business made toward identifying, articulating and nurturing the right culture, incentivising the right behaviours, offering training to the right people, and offering the right products to its customers? Outline the steps taken by the business to align with its stakeholders, both internal and external.

(5) Demonstrate transparency in how the business has chosen to operate proactively and as standard e.g. commission and remuneration structures

(6) Reflect upon the practical steps being taken to reduce costs in an ethical manner, including decisions to outsource some activities.

(7) Reconsider the centralisation of resources, whether this is already a practice adopted by the business, review whether further centralisation would in reality inhibit or support the business to flourish in the future.

(8) Identify areas of inefficiency in current business practices, such as the use of multiple systems by a single team or member of personnel.  Take steps to reduce these distractions and tackle ‘work-arounds’.

(9) Show that getting the basics right (Everyday Excellence) is a priority to the business and acknowledge that this will span its commitment to its people and processes, as well as the systems its operations are dependent upon.

(10) Prioritise the proactive utilisation of internal data to make more informed business decisions, as well as educate the wider business of its shared responsibility to mitigate risks wherever possible in the day-to-day.

Our Resilience Code is definitely a work-in-progress and we’ll continue to refine it as our Growth Resilience & Everyday Excellence webinar series continues. The diagnosis is always only the first step, but we hope that bringing together the key insights of real-world practitioners, leaders and experts gives you a richer starting-point for your own thinking, and accelerates your progression to ACTION.

GreenKite’s reason for being is to help firms go well beyond even the best diagnosis, and we’ll carry on sharing insights over the coming months.

About GreenKite 

GreenKite is a fresh option for ambitious firms in Insurance looking for a different kind of professional services support. We think like business-owners to help you achieve your best Growth & Resilience in today’s world. Specialists in Delegated Authority, we work with teams, Boards & founders on the real-world issues of creating and growing Value: services include Set-up Business Advisory & Execution; Delegated Authority set-up, management and improvement; and People Integration in Insurance M&A. We deliver results through creative thinking, expert doing, driven by purposeful Founders and a carefully-selected network of partners & Associates.

This piece was written prior to the FCA’s finalised PS21/3: Building Operational Resilience feedback and finale rules. Download it here: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/policy/ps21-3-operational-resilience.pdf  PS21/3 is, in many ways, where the ‘rubber hits the road’: it requires ‘proof’ of HOW organisational plans are translated into what actually happens through People, Process and Technology, and how that does (or does not) enable continued Value Generation through crisis and disruption (of whatever kind) — for the business, its customers and for the interconnected financial system as a whole. The range of compliance and risk management issues for the business to be considered afresh in light of PS21/3 will be the focus of a future Resilience webinar.