Building an Agile Workforce: The Key to Rapid Development and Innovation

Change is everywhere; in technology, in people. The world is ever-changing and we have to face it. Every concept of the status quo is getting affected.

The future has arrived and it's time to start preparing for what comes next. Product lifecycles have shortened, boundaries are diminishing- everything is changing fast! It seems like innovation happened overnight but in reality, it was only a few short years ago that we were still using dial phones by hand; now there are smartphones with voice recognition capabilities. The list goes on: faster delivery times due largely to advances made through technology such as 3D printing or additive manufacturing - these types of innovations will allow companies not just to deliver products directly onto store shelves after they're manufactured but will eventually make our lives better.

The length of time it takes an enterprise to develop and release a new vehicle line has changed over the years. Fifty years back, General Motors required 5 years before they could introduce a new model. This was way too long for what is considered today as normal practice in most industries where speed matters more than anything else - even if you're working with customers who want quality products

When the business environment around us is constantly changing and new technologies are developed each day, how can we stay on track and make smart decisions?

This amount of change creates a need for businesses to operate efficiently in an ever-changing environment, an environment where creativity and innovation are needed to keep up with the speed of progress. The corporate settings need employees who can think independently and prepare new ideas to improve existing products as well as develop new ones in a timely manner. Developing these kinds of individuals within your company can make all the difference in a competitive business setting.

Some companies try to adapt to change as it happens. They hire new people, they open new locations, they introduce entirely new solutions to old problems. But adapting to change because it happens is always slower and more expensive than it should be. A company like this will always be frustrated by the gap between what they want their business to be and what it actually is.

In order to keep up with the ever-changing business landscape, companies are rapidly adopting Agile development and management methods. This allows them to create products faster, respond to changing customer needs, and be more innovative than their competitors. However, in order to realize these benefits, it is essential that an organization has a high-quality Agile workforce: one that is able to learn new skills quickly, adapt to a shifting business environment and move around easily within the company.

Rapidly changing technologies, shifting customer expectations and economic downturn have made agility a necessity.

Many organizations have embraced agility to keep pace with the challenges of the global marketplace, but such agility has not been matched by agility in their human resources practices.

A growing business is like a well-trained athlete. It needs to develop its flexibility and conditioning over time. When an organization is nimble it can respond quickly to sudden change. If the team members are open to new ideas they can adapt to various opportunities effectively.

The Management Study Guide (MSG) described it best:

"An organization is agile only when its workforce is agile. Not only leaders and top managers need to exhibit agility but also the employees at all levels of hierarchy. And this is possible only when people feel empowered; develop multiple skill sets; show willingness to take challenges, experiment and innovate. In short, they need to be agile …"

How can we build an Agile Workforce?

Evaluate how you hire and what you look out for when hiring:

You can start by hiring people who are already familiar with the agile methodology, or you can train your current employees on how to use agile techniques.

Most people agree on how to build traditional organizations. Just hire tons of people and teach them to follow the rules. But how do you build a decentralized, potent workforce which is able to quickly adapt and respond? That's a trickier question for sure. Your employees need to know how to think for themselves and be motivated enough to figure out their own tasks.

It's important to invest heavily in hiring good people, and not just before you need them. That's when you have the most power to attract them before they start work. You can't force someone to do a job that is unpleasant, unsatisfying or uninteresting after 3 months on the payroll.

It is expensive to hire the wrong people. Bad hires can drag down your whole organization. They can make productive people miserable, and they are disproportionately likely to cost your company a lot of money

Redesign your organizational structure:

Work has to get done and it can't be completed without employees who are willing or able - so how do we make sure they're invested? The first step towards creating an agile workforce involves looking at your organizational structure.

You can create cross-functional teams that have the authority to make decisions without having to go through layers of bureaucracy. This will allow them to move faster and respond to changes in the market more quickly.

You can't just make a single change and then expect sustainable results. As an organization transforms, its structure must be modified to support the new dynamics. Without this kind of restructuring, you won't have the ability to introduce new Agile practices or tools. The result will be like trying to do carpentry with boxing gloves. To build a great company out of Agile, you need to take agile re-shaping seriously.

Traditional enterprise business processes are designed for efficiency and control. They are not designed for the delivery of customer value and quality. Agile practices represent a completely new way of thinking about how to structure a business. Traditional businesses need to adopt a whole new set of internal structures to support Agile development.

If you want to go agile, your team needs to be self-organizing. That naturally builds in a degree of hierarchy. But you'll find that your hierarchy no longer runs top-down, as in traditional management, but runs side-to-side with the team members organizing themselves into cross-functional teams of all kinds.

Be intentional about your company culture.

Among many other things, the agile movement is about collaboration and communication. Both run on trust and mutual respect. Articulating your new philosophy may be the core of knitting your team together. Employees need to be able to move around easily within the company. This can be done by creating a culture that is open and flexible. Employees should feel comfortable transferring between teams or departments as needed. By doing this, companies can ensure that their employees are able to take on new challenges and grow their skillset.

Work culture plays a significant role in the overall well-being and efficiency of any organization. Culture also has an impact on your customer service and brand value.

Every company has a culture. The best companies make culture a priority, shaping it deliberately and proactively. What's the right kind of culture for your company? Ask yourself: What kind of company do we want to be? How do we want people to feel working here? What values do we prioritize? Answering these questions will provide clarity on the type of culture you're looking for. Clarity leads to attracting the right candidates and retaining the right employees–further strengthening your culture.

Train everyone in your organization. Learning can improve productivity and performance:

Implement training programs that help employees learn about agile methodology and how it can benefit them both professionally and personally. After the training is complete, ongoing support and communication are essential in order for everyone to stay on track.

An important part of an agile workforce is its ability to learn new skills quickly. In order to make sure that employees are able to do this, companies should invest in their employee development programs. These programs should not only teach employees the necessary skills for their current role but also give them the opportunity to learn about other aspects of the business. This will help employees be more flexible and adaptable as they move around within the company.

Let them Experiment:

The ability to adapt quickly to a changing business environment.

You should also encourage employees to take risks and experiment with new ideas. This can help them learn new skills and improve their work performance. It's important to remember that not all of these experiments will be successful, but it's essential to have a culture of learning and feedback so that employees can learn from their mistakes.

Creating an environment where change is encouraged and innovation is rewarded. Employees should feel comfortable speaking up with new ideas and challenging the status quo. By doing this, companies can ensure that their employees are always up-to-date on the latest changes in the business landscape and can quickly adapt to them.

To build an agile workforce, organizations need to create a change-friendly environment, and promote flexibility among employees. By doing this, they will be able to reap the benefits of rapid development and innovation.