The Agile HR function

An HR manager has to be an effective change agent who can contribute to the company’s bottom line by helping it cope with changing times. HR practices influence organisational behaviour and individual performance, writes EJ Sarma

The word “agile” means active, swift, responsive and alert. We are taking a look at this subject particularly now because the HR department is under challenge in the IT industry to cope with changes that have happened never before. It is agility which helps organisations thrive in an uncertain economic environment. Only those who exhibit speed survive. To be agile, a company should be capable of operating profitably in a competitive environment of continuous and unpredictable changing customer needs. An agile HR function is the capability of contributing to the bottom line of a company by not letting go opportunities for lack of resources, by constantly re-energising its human resources in response to unpredictably changing market opportunities.

An agile HR function innovates rapidly and immediately tailors processes and people in unprecedented ways. It integrates employees to share knowledge and skills. A recruiter may meet candidates on the website to screen, interview and hire employees. A company might go to an agency to participate in a kanban (continuous improvement) event to improve the hiring process.

Human Resources and agility

Think about this new HR world. Is your organisation already on this path? Think about the people who will work most successfully in this environment. As an HR professional how do you ensure that your organisation can attract and retain resilient, agile and adaptive people? Agility is going beyond managing change, hence develop this capacity. We will take a look at the work environment that is necessary for this purpose.

“This move toward agility will create a new role for the HR function. In many organisations existing HR systems are major impediments to creating agile workforces. For the most part, HR systems are designed to reduce variability and to standardise behaviour, not to promote flexibility and adaptive behaviour,” wrote Richard A Shafer, challenging traditional HR organisations and structures in the HR Magazine. Shafer is associate dean and executive director of the Center for Leadership in Dynamic Organisations, Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University,

He predicts that HR organisations will become smaller. “Hiring criteria and processes will be altered to reflect agile attributes. Job descriptions will be eliminated and compensation systems redesigned to pay relatively more for enterprise-wide results and relatively less for individual outcomes.” As an HR professional your job is to create an organisation that constantly upgrades its capacity by building the capacity of the people you employ.

Organisation agility demands hiring agile people. HR systems that can contribute to agility are:

• Create selection, testing and hiring criteria that identify resilient, nimble people.
• Provide orientation that emphasises the organisation’s expectations for agility.
• Assist and coach leaders to communicate the urgency addiction and design a work environment that removes barriers, speeds up communication.
• Create flexible job descriptions that change regularly to meet market trends.
• Provide opportunities for people to work on cross-functional, even virtual teams.
• Create training and education that develop individual capacity. Constant skill updating is the norm.
• Create tough consequences for met and unmet goals.
• Push decision making throughout the organisation.
• Design a robust and frequent feedback system that provides ongoing, daily feedback so people always know how they are doing.
• Eliminate the traditional performance appraisal.
• Reward people who produce outstanding results, not longevity or seniority. Consider linking profits to salary hikes.
• Base promotions on contribution and impact only.
• Avoid “group think” consensus style aimed at maintaining relationships. This does not help in fast action.
• Coach line managers to handle “people” issues rather than getting in HR firepower.

The rewards for the HR manager who builds this work culture and work environment are immense. You directly impact the organisation’s bottom line and can expect to influence the overall strategic vision. You are valued on par with the people who manage line functions.

The agile HR function has the following:

Contribution: Uses specialised knowledge to advise and develop HR policies and practices that influence organisational and individual performance and behaviour.

Credibility: It is well respected, having an influential seat at the table influences and makes a positive impression on others.

Alignment: Connecting HR with the business. Thorough knowledge and understanding of the business integrates HR initiatives and helps to shape corporate strategy.

If you are unable to do all the above by influencing your management to become more alert and swift, then you are neither a change agent, nor an agile HR manager.