A few thoughts on agility

Agility is currently a number one buzzword in many companies. We have tried to get to the bottom of this phenomenon and invited to a Directors’ Circle for HR and Marketers on May 15th. Here, our speakers Kathrin Megid, long-time HR Director and Agile Coach, and Sven Ullrich, Global Head of Marketing at Dornbracht, explained in theory and practice what agile structures can and cannot do.

For many, agility is currently an indeterminate state in a changing working environment. It describes a flexible, learning, self-controlled and non-hierarchical way of working which, ideally, allows rapid adaptation to changing market situations. However, that does not mean that there are no structures and everyone acts as they please. On the contrary, agile organisations are quite structured and organised in so-called tribes, squads and chapters. Rather, the crucial difference to traditional organisations lies in the cross-functional composition, the transferred responsibility and the orientation towards an overarching goal. Ultimately, however, the market situation is decisive for the effect of the agile approach; the more disruptive and complex a market situation, the clearer the effect of agility becomes.

Not negligible is also the effect on the employee satisfaction and perception of self-efficacy within the workforce. According to a recent study by Gallup, agile organisations are much better able to engage their employees emotionally. According to the study, 43 percent of the workforce is emotionally involved in an agile working environment. In traditional hierarchical companies, however, it is only 6 percent. A significant difference especially with regards to employee retention.

Does your company work according to agile principles? What are your experiences in the practical implementation? I look forward to your feedback and an interesting discourse.