You may have noticed, for a while now a new buzzword is being bandied about the office: Agile!
Agile originally comes from software development, where continuous improvement and delivery is the holy grail. A product is never really completed, it just keeps evolving and improving. Just think: 2.0, then comes along 2.1, 2.2 and so on.
The Agile movement has spread from tech departments to become a natural process for companies like Apple, Spotify and Dropbox. But it has also been embraced by more traditional global companies such as Barclays Bank, John Deer and Saab.
Faster, Faster, Faster
The Agile approach is spreading fast, from software development into all areas within organisations. CEOs are talking about Agile as a new way to lead a business. And some business leaders say, it’s needed right now – as we enter a faster and faster age, in which methods built for slow growth won’t work anymore. So, what is Agile…? And what implications does it have for HR?
Agile is how do you do things more quickly, in a tested iterate (perform repeatedly) model. In a nutshell, Agile is about delivering value to customers faster, while minimising bureaucracy. It is an alternative to the process and document-heavy plan-driven approach. Agile is about delivering value to stakeholders early and often using a simple progression of steps: Plan, Develop, Complete, Test and Release. Then repeat. The key is to do things within a small amount of time – a sprint – and then to make incremental adjustments based on stakeholder feedback.
With Agile, there is a belief that you can’t plan success. You need to try things on the market to see if they work, need refinement or are a ‘fail’. You improve your product or service with experimenting instead of planning.
Today, business are desperate to move faster, leading to the rapid take-up of Agile. But Agile is tricky. Staff work in teams, and instead of following a plan devised by the boss they must work everything out for themselves. Teams might need goals instead of plans, and setting them isn’t easy.
Agile and HR
Can software development principles be applied to the development of human talent? A growing number of HR professionals are exploring the possibilities and looking at ways to manage volatility, enhance adaptability, and strengthen the organisation by applying Agile methodologies to their talent-management processes.
In recent years, disciplines as varied as marketing, accounting, manufacturing, and more have been successfully reframed in Agile terms, and Agile HR is gaining recognition as a means of helping the organisation stay current and aligned with the realities of today’s talent requirements.
There is surprisingly little published knowledge about how to integrate HR and other supporting functions into the product development process or how to increase the agility in the ways they work. Agile advocates short cycles, regular re-thinking and course correction based on evidence collected during the development process. Yet HR regularly works in annual or quarterly cycles.
HR also manages complex projects and serves multiple stakeholders, often with competing priorities that require consistent, effective strategies in their approach to communication, programs, administration, and talent management.
In an Agile organisation, HR needs to provide the same services it has always provided — hiring, professional development, performance management, conflict resolution — but in ways that are responsive to the ongoing changes in the culture and work style of the organization.
With Agile, HR is no longer limited to implementing controls and standards to drive execution. Agile has emerged as a popular discipline with the goal of empowering HR professionals to better manage volatility, enhance adaptability and strengthen the organisation by applying Agile methodologies to their talent-management processes. It exists to facilitate programs and strategies that improve organisational agility, innovation, collaboration and enhance decision-making.
Agile HR is:
- A way of working and organising the HR function that enables responsiveness and adaptiveness of an organisation’s activities and structures
- Enabling organisational flexibility in matching workforce fluctuations to demand
- The way the HR function supports the organisation in becoming more responsive and adaptive
Here are some of the ways in which Agile methodologies influence key areas of HR:
Traditional versus Agile HR
| TRADITIONAL | AGILE |
| Corrective approach to learning
An employee who is under performing in their role or needs to prepare for a new role is allocated training to achieve a certain performance level. |
Continuous learning environment
Employees are given numerous opportunities for personal improvement independent of an identified goal. |
| ‘Recruiting’ mindset
As a position becomes available, the search for candidates starts. Once the most suitable candidate is identified, the acquisition process is complete.
|
Continuous talent acquisition
Organisations invest in their employer brand and nurture ongoing relationships with talent across multiple channels, including social.
|
| Opaque talent processes
The processes by which talent is acquired evaluated is owned by HR.
|
Transparent access to talent information
Talent management is facilitated by HR, which empowers employees to take ownership of their own development. Employees are active participants in talent acquisition, evaluation and development. |
| Siloed objectives
Jobs are discrete elements in a complex system. Job requirements are related to specific workplace tasks.
|
Unified mission and values
All jobs directly support the mission and values of the organisation. All employees understand how their performance supports these components. |
| Implementing systems
Large-scale systems are carefully researched, resourced, and deployed over many months or years.
|
Piloting small initiatives
Small-scale initiatives are piloted within a specific team or business unit. Feedback is gathered early and often to determine whether an initiative should be expanded or scrapped.
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| HR as ‘system of record’
The HR function is focused on record-keeping and defensibility. Employee files and records of HR activities and outcomes track progress and note issues. HR success is measured in the completeness of documentation.
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HR as ‘system of engagement’
The HR function is focused on engaging employees to enhance self-motivation and encourage collaboration. HR success is measured in employee retention, employee satisfaction levels, innovation, and organisational goodwill and trust.
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Reframing HR as an Agile discipline can help HR create a more resilient organisation that’s increasingly nimble and open. But transitioning from a traditional to an Agile HR methodology is a big change. Before putting Agile in motion, it’s important to have the underlying supports in place. These include:
- An amenable organizational culture—one that prioritises engagement and trusts its employees
- An HR department and managerial function that is ready to relinquish control
- A workforce that is ready to take greater responsibility, and is supported in doing so
- Technologies that make resources such as self-guided development programs widely accessible
Agile! It’s here to stay, it’s spreading rapidly, and it’s something we all need to be more aware of. This article is just a simple introduction. It would benefit all of us to explore further online about this increasingly important topic.
