In an interview with StrategicRisk, Darren Holmes, Risk Advisory Partner in Marsh’s UK Risk Management Practice, explains why resilient workforces are essential to continuity, culture and competitiveness, and what risk professionals must do to support them.
Absenteeism, presenteeism, high turnover and eroding workplace culture are no longer just HR concerns, they’re business continuity threats. As companies battle to do more with leaner teams, those that fail to invest in their people risk rising costs, reputational damage and the loss of vital organisational knowledge.
As such, workforce resilience, once a byword for employee wellbeing, is now a far broader and more strategic priority touching every aspect of business, according to Holmes.
He explains: “For me, workforce resilience is an incredibly broad term that encapsulates everything from wellbeing, physical and mental health. But also how organisations manage talent and career within their organisation, to align with the needs of new generations of talent… and their expectations of what a good employer looks like or what a good employer should be.”
The changing risk landscape: cost, culture and compliance
Several forces are accelerating the need for a more resilient workforce. One of the most pressing is the shift in workforce demographics. Expectations from employees, particularly around purpose, flexibility and wellbeing, are reshaping what the employment relationship looks like. At the same time, tighter budgets are forcing organisations to ask more of smaller teams, compounding stress and exposing skill gaps.
Holmes also highlights regulatory shifts as a critical factor. Mental health is no longer treated as a secondary issue in health and safety frameworks, and is moving to the forefront of compliance and governance.
“We’ve addressed some of the stigma associated with talking about mental health issues and stress and anxiety,” he says. “Regulations are changing globally … historically, it was all focused on physical safety. Now codes of practice talk around the need to focus on mental health and safety.”
The landscape is also being shaped by public scrutiny. Organisations are more exposed than ever to reputational risk via social media and employee activism. Failures to support or protect staff can quickly become public, especially if internal values are not genuinely reflected in workplace culture.
“We’ve addressed some of the stigma associated with talking about mental health issues and stress and anxiety,”
Consequently, failing to invest in workforce resilience has immediate and long-term consequences. Talent attrition, presenteeism, disengagement and rising absence costs are only part of the picture. Poor workforce strategies can also jeopardise continuity, slow innovation and trigger compliance or reputational crises.
“There are hidden costs in things like absenteeism and presenteeism that are driven by poor management of workforce resilience,” says Holmes. “Presenteeism costs the UK economy billions each year… but organisations are often, not equipped to measure the cost of that impact within their own organisation, and therefore it makes it hard to understand where to focus their attention and efforts to improve it.”
By contrast, organisations that prioritise workforce resilience tend to see better engagement, lower turnover and faster recovery from disruption. Critically, they also benefit from what Holmes calls “tacit knowledge”, the internal know-how that builds up over years and helps teams navigate change effectively.
The role of risk management
Risk professionals are well positioned to drive more meaningful action on workforce resilience. Holmes recommends starting with a review of organisational values and assessing whether they are still relevant and truly embedded.
“Where organisations have already set out their core values as a business, I would really encourage them to reflect back on those. Are they still in line with the needs of their business and their workforce? Do they still reflect who they are as an organisation?”
From there, risk and people leaders must work together to create measurable frameworks. That includes benchmarking workforce health and engagement, assessing retention and absence data, and understanding how demographic changes affect benefit design and policy relevance.
“Culture within an organisation is now equally, if not more important, than what the organisation does”
A common pitfall, says Holmes, is allowing policies or people strategies to stagnate. Organisations that fail to evolve their approach risk drifting out of alignment with employee expectations, which can lead to rising turnover and weaker performance.
In a cost-conscious environment, risk managers should also support HR and people teams in linking these strategies to return on investment. Metrics such as engagement scores, sickness absence and employee retention can offer a clearer picture of organisational resilience and help boards make smarter decisions about where to invest.
Above all, Holmes believes culture is emerging as the most important differentiator, and one that risk professionals must actively help shape.
“Culture within an organisation is now equally, if not more important, than what the organisation does or the brand of the organisation,” he says. “That’s what is critical to its success in the future.”
