PROF. DR. STEPHAN FISCHER

Digital transformation – it’s all in the mix

Agility isn’t a sure-fire recipe for success

2INSIGHTS | TTS FORUM 2018

Whenever there’s talk about digital transformation,

one term is bound to come up sooner or later – agility.

Being “agile” almost seems to be some magical state

in which companies can effortlessly master the digital

revolution – a state they must achieve at all costs.

But does agility really guarantee companies will survive

the digital (r)evolution? Well, that depends...

But on what? Researchers are (still)

unsure. Even in 2018, there has not

been a single study anywhere in the

world that has proven there is a cor-

relation between agility and business

success. But that doesn’t mean there

is no link at all. The fact that empirical

evidence has yet to emerge may well

have to do with how difficult it is to

statistically exclude other factors

that influence a company’s success.

Another crucial point is that there is

no one agreed definition of “agility”.

Scrum isn’t enough Another common misunderstanding

is that an agile approach and scrum

are one and the same thing. Scrum is

just one specific project management

method and thus only a small piece in

a large jigsaw puzzle. In the words of

Prof. Stephan Fischer, an expert in

promoting agile structures: “You will

not be successful by turning just one

screw.” We start to get to the heart of

the matter by examining the idea be-

hind scrum, i.e. a highly collaborative

approach involving small steps that

are followed by a review or feedback

round. This concept suggests that

agility is about both how we work and

the attitude we adopt. A few decades

ago, the norm was for companies to

have rigid hierarchical structures

and a clear division of power – and

employees had to fit in. Nowadays,

employees naturally expect a feedback

culture, transparent workflows and a

high degree of autonomy. The effects

on companies are diverse and com-

plex. The digital transformation and

demands for greater agility are throw-

ing up new challenges, first and fore-

most for HR experts and managers.

But does that mean businesses whose

employees have an “agile mindset” are

automatically more successful? Not

always – agility isn’t the solution for

everything.

Being agile means being able to adaptThe rules of evolutionary biology

apply directly to the sustainability of

business success – adapt to survive.

Companies that are flexible in how

they respond to the digital transfor-

mation are in with a great chance of

achieving long-lasting prosperity. Yet

how flexible do they need to be? Those

who can react to changes by making

small innovative amendments to ex-

isting products and services can

achieve this better with stability than

with agility. In contrast, those facing

a disruptive transformation can only

survive with genuine innovations and

have to completely reinvent them-

selves. The problem is that – even

despite market analyses – companies

can‘t know how their customers‘

needs are going to change or what

their competitors are thinking. Once

the smartphone had arrived on the

scene, the leading cellphone providers

of the day could never have held their

position, not even by offering longer

battery lives or trendy designs. Evi-

dently, Nokia & co weren’t aware of

just how much interest there was in

carrying around photos and music.

Have you embraced empower ment yet, or are you still micromanaging?Digital transformation requires com-

panies to adapt to the market, but also

to rethink how they are structured.

Those with managerial responsibili-

ties don’t have the same position they

once did, with employees now expect-

ing their managers to communicate

KEYNOTE | PROF. DR. STEPHAN FISCHER

“The digital transformation and demands for greater agility are throwing

up new challenges, first and foremost for HR experts and managers.”

3INSIGHTS | TTS FORUM 2018

and collaborate with them on a level

playing field. “The command and con-

trol approach doesn’t work anymore”,

adds Fischer. Instead of work perfor-

mance being closely monitored,

people want trust, and constructive

feedback in both directions is increas-

ingly taking the place of praise and

admonishment from “on high”. As a

general rule of thumb, the less cen-

tralized power is in a company, the

better agile practices work. The leap

of faith that this requires isn’t always

easy for either party. At the one end,

you have managers struggling to let

go of the reins, who see transferring

knowledge as a risk to their power and

thus their position within the organ-

ization. At the other, you have unsure

or overstretched workers who perform

better in clear structures with precise

guidelines. The good news is that it

can benefit a company when not all

of its staff are agile. A balanced mix of

agile and traditional approaches is

completely wholesome. Every organ-

ization has to strike the right balance

for its specific needs – after all, there

is no “one-size-fits-all” solution.

KEYNOTE | PROF. DR. STEPHAN FISCHER

Facts & Figures

• Prof. Stephan Fischer was

born in 1966 and claims

to be a borderline member of

Generation X

• Since 2013, Fischer has been

the Vice Dean for the Human

Resources Management

master’s program at

Pforzheim University

• Since 2012, he has directed

Pforzheim University’s

Institute for Human

Resources Research

• His most recent publications

examine the conditions and

change processes that

can help boost agility within

organizations

• Fischer has studied sociology,

law and business/economics

“Instead of work performance being closely monitored,

people want trust, and constructive feedback

in both directions is increasingly taking

the place of praise and admonishment

from ‘on high’.”

Agility is more attractiveA 2013 study showed that a company‘s

agility has a significant and positive

impact on its image. It has to be said,

however, that this study only surveyed

engineers from technical businesses.

pends on how big a role agility plays

in recruitment, retention and HR de-

velopment. This is by no means an

easy task. As of yet, HR experts don’t

have an inventory of values to test

applicants’ agility during the selection

process, with aptitude tests also lack-

ing the necessary methods. A key

issue that is emerging is which incen-

tive systems can be used to motivate

employees with an affinity for agility.

After all, personalized target agree-

ments are counterproductive in an

agile culture that strives to promote

collaborative working. Without spe-

cific instructions, there remains a risk

of mismatching companies and ap-

plicants.

Doesn’t it seem tempting in light of all

this uncertainty to pay little or no at-

tention to agility? But you might want

to think again, as Fischer warns: “If

you don’t, someone else will!”

Nevertheless, in the fight for young

talent and specialist workers, agility

could be a decisive advantage over the

competition. To what extent compa-

nies can derive benefit from this de-

4INSIGHTS | TTS FORUM 2018