Resilience
Our Resilience campaign focuses on six key areas of resilience – Financial, Workforce, Digital, Supply Chain, Leadership & Governance, and Market & Commercial – with practical resources, events and guides to follow over the coming months.
Join fellow Devon businesses at our resilience events to share experience, hear from experts, and connect with others facing the same challenges.
Guides, tools and insight to help you understand and strengthen resilience across your organisation, at your own pace.
Practical Workshops to Build Your Business Resilience
Practical, focused sessions designed to help you build resilience across your business, from cashflow and digital security to leadership and supply chains.
The Six Pillars of Resilience
Devon Chamber will focus on six key areas to help your business anticipate, adapt and thrive.
- Financial
- Workforce
- Digital
- Supply Chain
- Leadership & Governance
- Market & Commercial
Together, these represent the areas where Devon businesses are under the most pressure, and where the greatest opportunities for growth also lie.
Chamber Workshops
Over the coming months, we’ll be hosting a programme of events, both face-to-face and online, to help you and your business build resilience. We’re partnering with members across Devon to bring you real-world expertise, shared experience and practical insight you can put to use straight away.
Workforce Resilience: Skills, Leadership and Retention
Thursday 1 October 2026
EVENT DETAILS
Your people are the largest investment most businesses make – and often the one with the least structured plan behind it.
Led by Samantha Mullins, Director of Latitude HR, this session explores workforce resilience with the same clarity you’d apply to cashflow: what’s coming in, what’s going out, where the risks sit, and what to prioritise first.
Designed for busy employers, this is clear, actionable and built for real-world pressures.
Employment Law Lunch: Legal Update & Networking
Tuesday 6 October 2026
EVENT DETAILS
Join Ashfords’ employment team from 12.30-2pm for a lunchtime legal update at The Box, Plymouth. With the introduction of the new Employment Rights Act and further reforms on the horizon, employers are facing one of the most significant periods of workplace change in recent years.
This session will provide a practical, commercially focused overview of what these developments mean in practice, and equip you with clear, actionable guidance to support your people strategy and ensure compliance in a shifting legal HR landscape.
It will cover:
- The most significant changes under the new legislation including:
including enhanced protection from unfair dismissal
strengthened flexible working rights
enhanced Trade Union powers
Duty to prevent workplace harassment and statutory obligations
Engagement models, low and zero-hours arrangements
What’s coming next: dismissal processes, redundancy practices, and employee consultation
Practical next steps for HR teams
Trading in a World on Edge
Wednesday 28 October 2026
EVENT DETAILS
A briefing for Devon businesses, presented by International Trade Matters.
Global conflict is no longer something that happens elsewhere. It is reshaping the cost of energy, the reliability of supply chains, the price of food commodities and the complexity of trade compliance.
Attendees will leave with a clearer picture of the risks facing their business, a framework for assessing their own exposure, and four practical actions they can take immediately.
Employment Rights Act 2025
Tuesday 3 November 2026
EVENT DETAILS
The Employment Rights Act 2025 has seen a huge amount of media attention in recent months. It has become known as the UK’s most significant update to workers’ rights in a generation and includes legislative changes which cover a plethora of employment aspects.
In this session, GA Solicitors’ head of employment, Kate Watson, will run through some of the key changes and provides insight as to how employers can prepare for these legal changes as they are rolled out across 2026 and 2027.
Building Business Resilience with AI
Wednesday 18 November 2026
EVENT DETAILS
AI is no longer a future consideration. For many organisations, it is rapidly becoming a valuable tool for improving resilience, efficiency and adaptability.
Join the Devon Chamber and Acronyms for a practical 90-minute workshop exploring how organisations can adopt AI responsibly, identify opportunities for meaningful impact, and strengthen their long-term resilience.
Member Events
Alongside our Resilience workshops, we’re supporting a series of member-led events, bringing Devon businesses together to share experience, hear from those navigating similar challenges, and build connections that support long-term resilience.
Menopause in the Workplace Webinar
Monday 13 October 2026
EVENT DETAILS
Supporting colleagues through menopause can make a significant difference to wellbeing, engagement, and retention in the workplace.
Join Livewell Southwest on 13 October, from 10am to 11am, for an informative MS Teams webinar delivered in partnership with Wolferstans Solicitors
This session is designed for both employers and employees and will provide practical guidance, tools, and confidence to better understand and support people experiencing menopause at work. During the webinar, we’ll explore:
- How to create a more supportive and inclusive workplace
- The impact of menopause on wellbeing and work
- Practical workplace adjustments that can help
- The benefits of open conversations around menopause
- Legal and employment considerations
We’re delighted to be joined by expert speakers, including James Twine, Partner, Employment Solicitor and Head of Business Services at Wolferstans Solicitors, who will share valuable insights and best practice.
By working together to break the stigma surrounding menopause, we can help create workplaces where everyone feels supported and able to thrive.
Understanding Behaviour is The Key to a Resilient Team
Tuesday 10 November 2026
EVENT DETAILS
Ashley Thomas, Associate Director at Coops & Co, will deliver a two-hour workshop in the grounds of Dartington Hall to give you a taste of the benefits and the importance of behavioural profiling. It will also give you a chance to network with other local businesses.
Ashley has expertise that spans digital transformation, process optimisation, team resilience, behaviour and communication as well as delivery of C-Me workshops for individuals and teams.
Practical Skills For Navigating People, Pressure, Change And Challenge at Work
Next cohort starts Wednesday 11 November 2026
EVENT DETAILS
Rhona Munro is a commercial and strategic advisor, facilitator and Associate Lecturer with more than 30 years’ experience working with people and organisations across the UK and internationally.
Her Professional Impact Programme is a practical three-month programme for anyone who works with other people.
Across three highly interactive programme days, Gomarkable will explore the human skills that help us understand ourselves and others, navigate changing or challenging situations, build stronger working relationships and create better outcomes together.
Solar in Action: Turning a Car Park into an Energy Asset
Thursday 12 November 2026
EVENT DETAILS
This practical Plymouth site visit will give Devon Chamber members the opportunity to see a working commercial solar installation and understand the thinking behind it. The 222-panel, 94 kWp system at Theatre Royal Car Park generates electricity for the car park, with surplus energy exported to the local grid.
Attendees will hear how an underused area was turned into a productive energy asset, the operational and environmental benefits being delivered, and the practical considerations for organisations assessing solar on their own premises. The visit will conclude with a discussion about energy costs, electrification, business continuity and how organisations can begin developing a proportionate energy-resilience plan.
Time: 10-11am
Location: Theatre Royal Multi-Storey Car Park, Old George Street, Plymouth, PL1 2TR
Format: In-person site visit and discussion
Solar in Action: Powering a More Resilient Estate
Thursday 19 November 2026
EVENT DETAILS
Join ZLC Energy at the University of Exeter to see its recently completed solar installation at the Forum Library and explore how on-site renewable generation contributes to a larger and more resilient estate.
Devon Chamber members will hear about the reasons for investing in solar, the practical delivery considerations and the role that generation, energy efficiency, monitoring and maintenance can play in controlling costs and reducing reliance on purchased electricity. The session will help attendees identify the questions to ask about their own buildings and develop a clearer starting point for improving energy resilience.
Time: 10-11.30am
Location: Forum Library, University of Exeter, Streatham Campus, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4PT
Format: In-person site visit and discussion
Resources
We’re building a growing library of practical tools, guides and advice to help you strengthen resilience across your business. Whether you want to identify emerging risks, benchmark against best practice, or simply understand where to focus first, these resources are designed to support you at every stage.
Other Resources
Trusted Digital Business: Governance, Skills & Culture for AI Adoption
AI for Productivity: Practical Applications for SMEs
International Trade Documentation Update & Right First Time
Defend Your Digital Assets
Being Resilient in a Hostile Digital World
Bouncing Back After a Digital Breach
Taking Responsibility: Cyber Governance
Understanding the Triple Squeeze
Our analysis shows that Devon businesses have spent the last decade navigating a “Triple Squeeze” of rising costs, supply chain disruption and weakening demand, all compounded by ongoing geopolitical instability and economic uncertainty.
With margins compressed from three directions at once, there’s less room to absorb any single shock. Understanding this convergence is the first step to building a more resilient business, and a more resilient Devon economy.
Find out more by downloading our White Paper, which explores the decade of disruption facing Devon businesses and sets out our framework for building resilience across all six key areas.
Contact form
If your business requires support and you can’t find a route to help with the resources on this page, complete the form below and we can signpost you to the best support or introduce you to a member.
Submit your idea
If you have another idea for how you could support fellow members on business resilience, we want to hear that too! To tell us more about your offers, simply complete the form below and we’ll be in touch to discuss how it could fit into the programme.