Agile HR - Buzzword or Building

Block?
A tool to increase agility and responsiveness in HR

What Is HR Agility?
The capability of the HR function to respond more quickly and effectively to
changing employee expectations, workplace disruptions and business
requirements:

More rapid identification of issues that need to be addressed

Decreasing the time is takes to develop then implement a response
Incorporating analytics and design thinking to predict, design then target
programs with the highest probability of being successful

How Do We Create It?

Take an existing enterprise project methodology, currently
used in most enterprise IT departments, and modify it for the
HR function
If we reduce the time it takes to complete HR projects from
months to weeks while improving customer satisfaction,
doesnt that by definition
make
HR more
agile?
Wayne
Tarken - 609-206-3070
wayne@waynetarken.com

Seemingly Innocuous Memo Creates Big

Engagement Problem
True Story in Fortune 50 Organization

CFOs office sends out a memo indicating that employees should not be using
Uber for transportation while on business travel
Memo indicates that from this point forward, no reimbursements for Uber travel
will be processed
Impact may not seem obvious unless youre on business travel and have to wait
in the rain, snow or be otherwise inconvenienced when you cant use Uber

Do you think this might have an impact on engagement

If so, how quickly do you uncover the problem then how quickly do you
solve it

Engagement disrupters are like pebbles in your shoe

At first its a little annoying but as time goes on the discomfort grows, feeling
worse
How many pebbles are eating away at your employee engagement right now?
Wayne Tarken - 609-206-3070 wayne@waynetarken.com

How Fast Can You Find, Remove the

Dis-engagement Pebble?

1. Theres the previous way The Standard Annual Employee Survey process
2. Now another way - Agile Process that uses social listening and agile project
methodologies
Components

Annual Employee Survey

Social/Agile Project Methodologies

Process

Time

Process

Time

1. Development

Steering team meets to determine goals based upon

strategy and previous findings from last year

Several
weeks

None

None

2.
Implementation

Works with vendor to develop tool for submittal to

employees

Weeks

None uses ongoing conversations, interactions

None

3. Analysis

Data analysts, steering committee, vendor,

consultants meet to review and analyze information

Several
weeks

Predictive analytics identifies problems and

proposed solutions

Days

4. Dissemination

Information is scrubbed, presented to management,

revised and then cascaded down to employees

Month

Full transparency issues discussed online along

with posted results and project plans
Updates on project status in real time

Instantly

Leadership determine priorities and projects to

sponsor

Months after
initial survey
preparation

Agile scrum team is created to address

problems.
Develop roadmap and break project down into
manageable pieces

Few weeks

Project teams are up and running and finish their

projects

2-4 months
after Step #5

Team works in 2-3 week sprints to develop a

series of smaller use cases that are fixed each
sprint.
Eventually scaling up to completion

After each
sprint (2-3
weeks)

5. Develop HR
Project Plan

6. Project
Completion
7. Time-tosee/measure
improvements

After projects are completed several months after initial survey

After 2-3 weeks in each sprint when a use case is delivered
process began Wayne Tarken - 609-206-3070 Results measured within days
Results measured next survey
wayne@waynetarken.com

Key Performance Indicators in

HR Projects
Typical Project
Agile Project
Management

Management

Very long

Shorter

Customer
satisfaction

Low

High

Dependencies on a
few key employees

High

Low

Project completion
time

Long

Short

Sustainable change

Low

Higher

Lagging

Leading

None

Agile

Comparis
ons
Time to impact

Insight
Methodology

Wayne Tarken - 609-206-3070 wayne@waynetarken.com

Why Do We Need A Methodology?

Much of HR work is project driven

Currently projects can take months to years to implement
Need new capabilities to complete projects in weeks not months.

But the challenge remains a lack of sustainability

Its one thing to identify improved processes, practices, etc.; its
another to get people to follow them.
Sustainable behavior change only occurs through a
platform, technology and or methodology to drive
accountability and consistent results.
So agile HR is a philosophy in need of a process or
methodology
Wayne Tarken - 609-206-3070 wayne@waynetarken.com