Going Agile in HR: Getting There Faster
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How long does it take to fully transition to becoming agile?
It really depends - on factors like how large your organisation is, the culture, structure, age, and whether the management is on board with the idea.
In the case of software company Intuit, its financial services division took four years to shift to agile!
It took so long because its middle managers were not fully on board, people leading the transformation had other work commitments, and the leaders were used to the “waterfall” approach - a linear approach to change management where stage 2 can only start when stage 1 is complete.
“Waterfall” is the opposite of agile - which comprises small self-directed teams working on short project sprints with fast feedback loops so they can respond to change on the go.
Take the example of a house building project. Clients may think they know where they want their windows installed, only to realise that the position of the windows does not feel “right” after the house is built. But it's too late to make any changes. With agile, however, the architect would have changed the position of the windows during development!
But it is clear that because agile is a process involving employees at all levels of an organisation that requires a mindset change and structural changes, it is not simple.
Joumana Youssef, strategic change leader at Intuit, highlights several critical discoveries, which can accelerate the pace of agile adoption for companies that are already in the midst of it.
Excerpt: Ensure a Smooth and Fast Transition
Focus on early adopters
Early adopters have the vision to seize on innovation as an opportunity to address pressing needs. A survey of 98 early adopters [1] in the software industry revealed that personal interest is the driving force behind agile adoption, averaging the highest 6.32 score on a 7-point survey scale [2]. This beats peer group influence (4.6) and organisational influence (3.6)
Form "triple-S" teams (Small, Stable, Self-managed)
Give them ownership of their work, and hold them accountable for their commitments. Such teams should consist of knowledgeable and experienced members with well-defined roles and responsibilities, to reduce ambiguity.
Experience shows that assigning people to new roles and holding them accountable will not always be well-received, without well-defined responsibilities [3].
“Summing up the transition, I’m happy that we transitioned to such an agile way of working. It makes my workday easier and more fun if I’m allowed to say that. Less stressful and I feel more ownership and responsibility for the functionality we deliver as a team ”
Train leaders
Quickly train leaders at all levels in agile methods, as well as change managers who would be responsible for the transition. Agile teams need to be fully supported to self-manage. Our research suggests the following:
Help leaders and managers to see the value agile can bring. Then show the value to all stakeholders
Avoid overly using agile terms, as it can confuse people and fade its meaning.
Aim for alignment with agile company-wide
Adopt an agile mindset
Expect a challenge
Beyond the leadership level, changing mindsets at the frontline and middle management levels will be challenging.
Confusion and worry might arise initially, and people need time to acclimatise to "servant leadership", which entails coaching and supporting employees rather than monitoring them.
Servant leadership and organisational support have positive effects on empowerment [4]. Developing coaching skills will help leaders guide newly formed teams to self-manage.
Six virtues of Servant leadership
Servant leadership is an approach that would help to seed and nurture the agile mindset throughout the organisation. This is not a top-down authoritative style of leadership, but one that is guided by [5]:
Empowering and developing people
Providing direction
Interpersonal acceptance
Humility
Authenticity
Stewardship
Bottomline:
Training servant-leaders who are skilled in agile, finding the early adopters and quickly forming “triple-S” teams can help organisations to accelerate their agile journeys. It does take effort, but it can be done!
This article is a part of our ‘Going Agile in HR’ series. Stay tuned for our last article.
