Agile
Leadership
Series
Agile Human Resources
As we conclude the first series of blogs around “Agility” and people-focused “best practices,” here are some thoughts on what it means to have an “Agile HR support team.”
For years, HR has been striving for that coveted “seat at the table.” And, based on research, experience, and observations, we believe that steady progress has been made here. Slowly but surely, the “traditional” HR function is being viewed by its internal Customers as a vital contributor to strategic success and growth. We know, the concept of “agility” fits well within how effective HR Teams deliver their services.
Agile HR
- Continuously listen to their internal customers and establish relationships based on mutual trust
- Align HR practices and priorities with current & future business strategy and market needs
- Willing and able to design and adapt HR processes and practices as
situations change - Invest in systems that provide relevant data to “efficiently” drive decisions and enable “self-service”
- Willing to take risks (with guardrails…)
- Focus on problem prevention not “fixing”
- Know when “no” is the right answer
Traditional HR
- Uncomfortable with saying no because they don’t want to make anyone unhappy
- Believe “fire-fighting” creates heroes
- Tend to rely on outdated analytics and doggedly comply with “legacy” HR Policies and procedures that create obstacles to self-service
- Monitor & enforce policies (“Compliance Police”)
- Do things because “it’s the way we’ve always done it…”
- Don’t rock the boat
- Risk averse
We hope the following thoughts provide additional insights into how to adopt “agile” work practices, processes, and organizational communication and effectiveness. Make sure to read our prior posts on having agile workforce planning and agile talent management and stay tuned for more organizational performance posts coming soon.
If you would like to learn more about how Endeavor Management may be able to help, please feel free to reach out to Gerry Gibson at ggibson@endeavormgmt.com
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