Agile HR

The principles of Agile go back to the 1970s when software developers fought to manage the logistic demands of large-scale coding. More recently, they have formed flexible teams that work in short ‘sprints’ to bring their products rapidly to completion. It was a deliberate move away from predictable, planned processes to something more organic. What would a large organisation have to do to make that switch? (see table 1).

Do you really need to become agile?

The risks of not doing so are great – here’s why:

Disruptive innovation – not so long ago, we didn’t even know we needed mobile phones with cameras, let alone selfie sticks or an Uber app. Large corporations like IBM, Kodak and later Nokia, discovered that in a fast-moving world, even well-established market leaders can suddenly get left behind.