The Agile HR Manifesto
The Agile has been adopted to potentialize the value delivery to the clients. More and more organizations are becoming what we call Agile Organizations and their transformation includes a renewal of what we traditionally understand as Human Resources.
I have built consulting projects and guided HR professionals from several companies through their transformation to agile work. I work spreading knowledge and insights about Agile HR through Agile HR Manifesto, created in 2017 by a group of HR professionals from all over the world, being one of them Josh Bersin, Deloitte founder.
This manifest helps to explain what the human capital impact is in the agile organizations, showing better ways of developing an engaging workplace culture by doing it and helping others do it. The Agile HR is about doing, experimenting, moving little by little, tolerating mistakes and learning from them. Below I introduce the manifest and detail each one of the 6 listed values.
Collaborative networks over hierarchical structures — In Agile companies, the structure flows, in the sense that it is capable to adapt quickly if the scenario demands. A network of professionals and talents is the best way to organize the work. Through this value the leadership role is challenged. I always say that the leader is much more a day-by-day process facilitator than a boss in control. An individualist leader leaves, one who makes decisions alone and only gives orders, and enters the leader who knows how to work collaboratively, delegates, gives autonomy, trusts and supports the team’s decisions.
Transparency over secrecy — The more information is shared and available, the better people can get informed and act accordingly. The key words are: communication and clarity. If the answer is either positive or negative, just say it. Make it clear what is possible and what is not, what will happen, what the next steps are and where we are heading. People need clarity. Only this way the security, anxiety and speculation cloud will vanish.
Adaptability over prescriptiveness — The more space people and teams have to do what is necessary to deliver something enchanting and personalized, to deliver what aggregates value and is a client’s need, the better. What happens daily in the organizations is that the rules are made to manage excess and incidents. But doing so is to cut employees’ autonomy and creativity from the root. The HR area must abandon this role as the owner of knowledge and only expert in people, for a role as a catalyst of transformations, a business partner.
Inspiration and engagement over management and retention — Nothing can bring as much productivity and assertiveness as having enthusiastic employees. I loathe the word retention. Retaing for me means to put a fence not allowing people to be free as if they didn’t have the right to leave. And they do! It’s necessary to concentrate on the employees’ development and growth, instead of trying to do management and retention.
Intrinsic motivation over extrinsic reewards — Daniel Pink wrote on his book Drive, “you have to offer people a good salary but above all, pay attention to their intrinsic motivation, providing the need for autonomy, mastery and purpose. Do you know what really motivates your employees?
Ambition over obligation — Forget the negative meaning that we add to the word ambition. Look at the positive side. In Agile organizations, it basically means to do what is necessary to attend the client’s needs. Do whatever is necessary to deliver the value they expect.
As in the Manifesto for Agile Software Development, it is known that there is value in the items on the right, but we value the items on the left more.
Keep focusing on Agile Mindset. When we talk about working the agile way, we are talking about mindset. The HR can and must help to develop this mindset actively by tutoring, training and helping to transform the reality.
To know more about the Agile HR Workshop that I do in open groups and in company around the world, click here.
