HR 2014 Trends: The Age of Agility

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Agility

“Agility is an organization’s ability to consistently identify and capture business opportunities more

quickly than its rivals do”◦ Harvard Business Review

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Why is agility important?

We work in a global market where access to information is at our finger tips and resources can be reallocated quickly to create competitive advantage

Times are turbulent – there is a need to be

continually sensing and responding to the market/environment in which we operate

Agility means competitive advantage

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Agility – operational, portfolio, strategic

Ability to improve operations and processes◦Staff who are accountable◦Clear goals and objectives

Ability to quickly reallocate resources from one portfolio to another◦Requires talent and managerial attention

Ability to see strategically game changing opportunities◦Look forward, plan ahead and be ready to act

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Agile Leaders

Push boundaries and challenge old ways of doing things

Encourage risk ◦mistakes are okay as long as we learn from them

Not interested in playing it safe◦Want to know what they can do – not what they can’t

do

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Agile Workforces

Workforce has the attitude that work is something you do – not a place to go◦Flexible on work rules and where work is done

Shift from time and attendance to specific targets and goals◦Balanced score card approach – what gets measured

gets done

Variable job assignments◦Skill set is transferable from one project to another

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Agile – Organizational Structure

Organizational charts are flat

Employees need to be connected to information and knowledge ◦Employees need to have access to the decision

makers

Titles are not as important as the ability to respond to customer needs and have impact on the outcomes of the business

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Agile – Organizational Culture

Learning environment

Sharing of information

Open communication; people checking in often to ask how members of the team are doing

Sensitivity to “availability” as most do not work regular shifts

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Agility – formula for success

Agility = speed + flexibility + nimbleness

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THANKS!

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