Being flexible and agile is more important than ever at the moment, given the pressures on organisations to think more innovatively and creatively about how to increase efficiency and do more with less. Organisations need to be able to adapt and thrive in the face of both internal and external change.
We asked you, our Shaping the Future community, to tell us what capabilities organisations need to be changeable. So what did you tell us?
All of you said having a strong sense of shared purpose which is both inspiring and engaging is a fundamental ingredient of agile organisations. Having a shared purpose which permeates the whole of the organisation and is aligned to stakeholder needs is a strategic must-have.
A strong customer focus is another capability that all respondents agreed is essential to successful organisations. It is important to understand and monitor changing demands, ensuring everyone in the organisation understands how they contribute to delivering an excellent customer experience.
An overwhelming 97% of you said effective leadership at all levels is a crucial capability for an organisation to have. You highlighted the importance of top leaders setting a clear vision and direction for staff which is echoed by local managers. It is important for leadership at all levels to set an example, demonstrating the behaviours they expect from the workforce.
Gaining employee involvement and support for change was rated by the majority as important in enabling your organisation to respond rapidly to change. Clear and honest communication about the reasons for change is essential to getting employee buy-in, as well as giving employees the opportunity to take ownership for and help drive change.
You told us about the other factors that make your organisations agile. The skills and experience of employees is an important factor, with multi-skilled employees able to adapt to changing job roles and market demands. The culture of the organisation can either restrict or facilitate the flexibility of people and processes. Last but not least, there needs to be a mechanism by which organisations look externally, both at market needs and stakeholder demands. Feeding this intelligence into internal discussions makes it possible for the organisation to anticipate trends, being proactive rather than reactive.