Strategic Risk and Emergency Management
Note: Survey responses were collected between February 18 and March 26, 2021. This survey is part of a series to understand how Canadians are leveraging technology in the pandemic.
Tech Checkup
Most organizations aren’t taking advantage of technologies that could help with their risk and emergency management programs. And some of those taking advantage could be ill-equipped to deal with cyber threats.
May 11, 2021
Q: Which best describes the current state of your organization’s workers who were on-site before the pandemic?
Source: The Conference Board of Canada.
(percentage of respondents; n = 97)
The state of work is still dynamic, with most respondents saying they’re working remotely
COVID-19 fundamentally changed how businesses operate. And with new operations comes new technological risks—especially for a remote workforce.
How are organizations switching up their strategic roles in light of the pandemic? Which day-to-day operations are feeling the strain? And how have companies adapted their risk mitigation and emergency management strategies—and the accompanying shifts in technology?
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This is what we learned.
To find out, The Conference Board of Canada surveyed 97 risk and emergency management leaders and practitioners.
The changing nature of work
Most organizations forsee new strategic roles to deal with pandemic-related changes
Q: Do you see any new strategic roles emerging within your organization to deal with the changed nature of business (e.g., virtual workforce management) or future business prospects (e.g., online service delivery)?
(percentage of respondents; n = 97)
Source: The Conference Board of Canada.
These new strategic roles are largely emerging from existing management roles
Q: Which types?
(percentage of respondents; n = 89)
Source: The Conference Board of Canada.
Pandemic pressures and responses
A large majority of organizations feel more resilient because of their pandemic experiences
Q: Is your organization better prepared to respond to future crises because of COVID-19?
(percentage of respondents; n = 93)
Source: The Conference Board of Canada.
However, the pandemic isn’t over—organizations are still dealing with new operational pressures, especially around employee engagement and collaboration
Q: What new operational pressures have you had to deal with because of the pandemic?
(percentage of respondents; n = 92)
Source: The Conference Board of Canada.
To deal with these pressures and the shift to remote work, organizations are making changes to several of their corporate programs
Q: What corporate programs has your company changed in response to remote work requirements?
(percentage of respondents; n = 89)
Source: The Conference Board of Canada.
Technology uptake, artificial intelligence, and machine learning
Less than 40 per cent of organizations have adopted new technologies they consider vital to risk and emergency management
Q: Have you adopted or considered new technology to support your risk or emergency management program?
(percentage of respondents; n = 85)
Source: The Conference Board of Canada.
Even more striking: Most organizations aren’t using—and don’t plan to use—artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) to identify and manage risks
Q: Have you deployed, or are you planning to deploy, AI or ML tools to better identify and manage risks/threats/opportunities?
(percentage of respondents; n = 85)
Source: The Conference Board of Canada.
The talent gap: Nearly 40 per cent of respondents using new technologies or AI/ML say they don’t have enough in-house expertise
Q: Do you have the in-house skills to effectively deploy the new technologies?
(percentage of respondents; n = 58)
Source: The Conference Board of Canada.
Similarly worrying: Over a third of organizations haven’t introduced new controls to guard their new tech against cyber threats
Q: Have you introduced new controls to guard against cyber threats related to these technologies?
(percentage of respondents; n = 58)
Source: The Conference Board of Canada.
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