The sustainable business: Resilience as strategy

Resilience has become a permanent feature of business life. Over the past five years, businesses have navigated a steady stream of disruption, from the pandemic to supply chain issues, labour shortages, inflation and regulation.

But this is no longer simply a story of reacting under pressure. Something more fundamental is emerging: resilience is becoming embedded in how businesses operate. 

In recent client conversations, I’ve seen a shift. Businesses are no longer waiting for the next shock. They’ve built the systems, habits and mindset to manage uncertainty as standard. Resilience is no longer a stopgap; it is increasingly becoming the model by which businesses operate. 

This change is creating space for longer-term thinking and more deliberate action. Rather than aiming to return to stability, businesses are planning with agility built in from the outset.

Cost, control and confidence

Clarity through control

The pressure on costs remains high. Wages, input prices and energy bills are continuing to squeeze margins, and for many businesses, those pressures aren’t expected to ease any time soon. But what’s become clear in recent discussions is how the response has evolved. It’s less about short-term cuts and more about reviewing the fundamentals. 

Pricing is under scrutiny, especially where costs have shifted significantly over the past 12–18 months. Some are revisiting contracts. Others are stepping back and asking whether their model still works under sustained pressure. 

The latest ICAEW Business Confidence Monitor shows that overall business confidence dipped back into negative territory in early 2025. But the picture on the ground feels more complex. I am speaking to businesses that are cautious, yes, but they’re also more measured. They are not waiting to react. They’re planning forward, with more clarity than they’ve had in a while. 

That includes tightening financial reporting, improving forecasting and putting more structure around where money is going. In some cases, that’s linked to external conversations, with lenders, for instance. But in many cases, it’s internal. Businesses want better oversight, better decision-making and a clearer sense of control.

Technology and risk: Resilience in infrastructure

Building digital oversight

Technology continues to move quickly. More businesses are adopting AI tools and digital platforms, in managing their finances. marketing, recruitment, customer service and back-office operations. In many cases, these tools are helping to create capacity. But they are also prompting questions, particularly around oversight, risk and unintended consequences. 

As digital processes become more embedded, many businesses are starting to review the systems and controls that sit around them. That includes looking again at access rights, decision-making structures, and what risks might emerge as automation increases. These reviews are often in the early stages, but they’re becoming more frequent, both in client conversations and in our own internal reflections at Kreston Reeves. 

The Government’s Cyber Security and Resilience Bill has sharpened awareness around digital risk. But most of the momentum I’m seeing isn’t being driven by compliance. It’s coming from businesses that want to make sure their reputation is maintained, and systems are resilient as digital tools become more embedded in how they operate. 

One concern that’s coming up more often is the experience of the client or customer at the end of the process. While automation can improve internal efficiency, it can also add friction or remove the human judgement that matters in service-based environments. That’s something businesses will need to weigh carefully, particularly in areas where trust and relationships are core to how they deliver value.

Governance that supports action

Adapting to structural change

Governance isn’t usually the first thing people think about when building resilience. But it comes up more than you might expect in recent conversations, particularly where businesses are trying to move quickly or make more confident decisions under pressure. 

Often, it’s not about major changes. It’s small but important things: clearer board reporting, more defined roles, or better access to operational data. In smaller businesses, this can be the difference between decisions that flow, and ones that stall or get made in isolation. 

Companies House reforms are also raising awareness around control and compliance. But the businesses I speak to aren’t just responding to external change. They’re looking inward and asking whether their structures still fit how they work today, and whether the right people are asking the right questions. 

In many cases, governance also supports continuity. When key roles are concentrated in one or two people — as they often are in smaller businesses — it’s easy for decisions to bottleneck, or for knowledge to stay stuck. That’s rarely intentional. But it becomes a risk if someone steps back or if the business needs to scale quickly. 

A few small adjustments can make all the difference: clearer delegation, better access to reporting, and more defined decision pathways. These don’t add red tape. They create the space to act faster, and with more confidence.

People and capability

Leadership and flexibility

The labour market remains tight. I’m hearing from many businesses that recruitment and talent acquisition continues to be difficult. Even where hiring is possible, talent retention is often the bigger challenge. 

According to the Office for National Statistics report Business insights and impact on the UK economy: 5 June 2025, one in three businesses with 10 or more employees are facing recruitment difficulties. Of those, nearly half say the issue is a lack of qualified applicants. That reflects what I’m hearing too. It’s not just about finding people; it’s about finding the right fit. 

HRD Connect also reports that 90% of SMEs expect talent gaps to persist throughout 2025. The biggest gaps are at entry level and in specialist roles. There is also a growing focus on adaptability, not just technical skills, but the ability to learn, collaborate and respond to change. There is also increasing concern around digital capability, particularly in areas like AI and data literacy, which are becoming more important across a wide range of roles. 

Leadership plays a part in this too. Some clients are taking a more deliberate approach to succession and skills development, not just for senior teams but across their wider workforce. Others are looking more seriously at flexibility. Not as a trend, but as a practical tool for attraction and retention. 

The businesses navigating this best are the ones thinking ahead. Not just about who they need now, but what kind of capability they will need next.

Resilience as the new routine

Resilience used to be something businesses turned to in a crisis. Now it’s become part of the everyday, more than a bolt on and instead, as a way of thinking, planning and making decisions under pressure. 

That doesn’t mean the challenges have eased. For most businesses I speak to, the pressures are still there, and in many cases, they’re structural. But there’s also a shift. More businesses are working with greater clarity. They’ve taken what they learned from the last few years and used it to make their operations stronger, not just more reactive. 

Resilience isn’t the end goal. But it is the framework that’s helping many businesses move forward with more confidence, even when the conditions remain tough.

Five actions to embed strategic resilience

• Reassess pricing and cost structures to reflect sustained pressure 

• Build governance that supports faster, more confident decisions 

• Review digital tools and risks as part of your operating infrastructure 

• Invest in leadership and capability as a form of long-term resilience 

• Strengthen financial reporting and forecasting to support agility 

If your business is revisiting its financial model, reporting processes or governance structures in response to ongoing pressures, these are not abstract discussions. They are happening now, in real time. 

We work with business owners to strengthen financial resilience, improve oversight, and bring more structure to decision-making. If you would like to explore what that could look like for your business or some guidance in this area, please get in touch.