Over the past year, companies faced a series of organizational and cultural challenges to which they have to adapt, with technological transformation setting the pace. Digital transformation has been practically imposed. Many companies had been forced to speed up their decision-making processes and improve their productivity while incorporating new technologies at full throttle.
In a “normal” period, this transit would have resulted from a carefully planned long-term process. Today it must be managed under an agile methodology to deal with the uncertainty and constant changes. For this reason, McKinsey – a U.S.-based consulting firm- affirms that one of the conclusions drawn from the current context is that, if agile methodologies were important in pre-pandemic life, now they have become essential.
“We are living through one of the times of greatest uncertainty and volatility that we have seen recently, and much to our regret, it will not be the last. Although we have been talking about the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) model for some time, the global impact and universality of the pandemic make this situation unique,” says Carlos Moure, CEO and founder of Kairós, a Business Agility and digital transformation consultant firm. A situation in which, according to the manager, agile tools make it possible “without a doubt” for a company to be “better adapted to face one of the most complex times in modern history.”
Why Agile?
Agile organizations are designed to be “fast, resilient, and adaptable,” McKinsey says. And these are precisely the qualities that have taken center stage during the COVID-19 crisis to meet the operational and business model challenges.
Also, Agile methodologies help by reorienting the way of working and aligning the company with what is happening in our environment: “They allow to facilitate and manage in a fast, organized and efficient way. the involvement of all participants in the changes that digital transformation brings us so rapidly.”
What do these methodologies contribute?
Implementing agile tools contributes to fostering collaborative work, direct communication, problem-solving and continuous improvement, “and all of it in a very transversal way,” explains Anabel Obeso, a General Manager now with ActioGlobal.
The advantages they offer? All experts highlight productivity improvement. Specifically, it can make workers up to 21% more productive than with linear work models, according to calculations by the International Workspaces Group (IWG).
Furthermore, “organizations react faster to challenges or difficulties; teamwork is improved, and workers have a better perception of their participation because everything is done more transparently,” details Obeso. “At every moment, you are addressing what is most important or provides more value for the project or the client. The lower priority tasks have less focus, and this is achieved by consensus of the team”, she adds.
Therefore, it is a conception of work that implies defining objectives that are close in time, achievable and measurable, which all teams address together. As the CEO of Kairós DS points out, an approach is not possible “without a team-oriented organizational structure (autonomous, self-managed, multidisciplinary and empowered), talent liquidity and a new leadership model.”
A Post-pandemic world is lining up to be an Agile world. Companies that have been implementing Agile find themselves with a slight advantage in a new environment that values teamwork and adaptability over old structures. When we all feel responsible, empowered, and in a safe work environment, we are more productive. It is the ‘glue’ that holds teams and business alignment together.
