Table of Contents
“Digital transformation is an ongoing process of strategic renewal that uses advances in digital technologies to build capabilities that refresh or replace an organization’s business model, collaborative approach, and culture.” Warner & Wager
Various organizations worldwide have different principles of operation with their perceived goals and vision. It becomes imperative for organizations to create a company culture that is adaptable to the changing dynamics of the environment. As a consequence, we can observe that the transformation does not only concern the technologies implemented by the company but also strategies, activities, processes, skills, competencies, revenue models, and costs.
Reusing and repurposing existing solutions with traditional infrastructure and adding cloud components to existing solutions are the most popular ways enterprises address digital transformation initiatives. It offers a deep insight into the transformative change that is taking place in the organization. A focus on digital transformation is already present in the organization. Constructing an agile organization is an extension of digital transformation that aids in building a proactive future.
The three important qualities when forming an agile organization are value, flow, and quality. The values of an organization transpire to answer some critical questions about values that need to be captured or improved. This would provide more opportunities for an organization to improve some of its most important goals. The values in an organization should be able to answer difficult and uncomfortable questions, which would help the organization move toward agility and flexibility. While the flow mainly contributes toward talent acquisition and talent retention, which are significant aspects of the organization, the quality depends on the method and methodology used to achieve agility within the organization.
Agile is a collaborative working method that focuses on accepting change, increasing productivity through iteration and customer testing, and gauging success based on results rather than inputs. One of the prominent examples of an agile organization is Cisco. It is an innovative software-defined networking, cloud, and security solution to help transform your business. Cisco’s Subscription Billing Platform used a waterfall method to establish a process. Further, Cisco improved its capabilities by employing an agile framework through Digital First HR.
However, now this strategy is no longer limited to IT and software development companies. Instead, Agile is increasingly used in the enterprise to increase customer engagement with the teams performing the work and deliver quick responses to business needs through collaborative, iterative procedures. The success of digital transformation to deliver solutions devoted to a positive HR customer experience largely depends on an agile approach.
The cloud-based HR software provides fast, intelligent technological solutions that place the customer at the forefront of portfolio prioritization and design decisions. Another tenet for an agile organization is setting up a robust OKR framework, which helps organizations set and achieve their goals more effectively. OKRs provide a framework for organizations to define specific, measurable, and time-bound objectives, along with key results indicating progress toward those objectives.
How to build organizational agility through digital-first HR?
Here, we list five ways to build an organization’s agility through digital-first HR
1. Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is one of the essential aspects of an organization’s success, directly impacting productivity, retention, and overall job satisfaction. Employees play a central role in bringing agility into an organization. At the same time, digital-first HR plays a significant role in fostering employee engagement by leveraging technology to create seamless, personalized employee experience.
Digital-first HR is the stepping stone in transforming organizations from traditional businesses to agile organizations. The digital-first HR is equipped with service portals for employees. They can access their HR information and perform various HR-related tasks, such as updating personal information, accessing their payslips, and requesting time off. Providing easy access to this information empowers employees and saves them time, which can lead to increased engagement. It proves to be one of the vital aspects of the organization. Mobile-first digital HR allows employees to access HR-related information and complete tasks on the go, which is especially useful for remote workers. These apps can be used to provide employees with relevant news, updates, and notifications about their workplace.
2. Performance Management
Digital HR can automate performance management processes such as goal setting, performance reviews, and feedback. By streamlining these processes, employees can focus on their work and development, and managers can provide timely feedback and recognition. Digital-first HR enables managers and employees to give and receive real-time feedback rather than waiting for formal performance reviews. This can lead to more frequent and meaningful conversations about performance, which can help employees improve and stay engaged. These are some essential characteristics of an agile organization. The digital-first HR also acts as a catalyst for collaboration between managers and employees while setting goals. It also aids in providing managers with real-time data on employee performance, allowing them to make more informed decisions about promotions, raises, and development opportunities. At the same time, it identifies high-performing employees who need additional support.
3. Employee Retention
Employee retention is an organization’s ability to retain employees over a period of time. Digital-first HR can significantly impact employee retention, as it provides tools and strategies that can help keep employees engaged, motivated, and satisfied with their work. The digital-first HR tool facilitates the onboarding of the employees, making it easier and more efficient for them to speed up for their new role. The digital-first HR is instrumental in collecting feedback from employees. By actively listening to their feedback, employers can create a more positive work environment and retain employees. At the same time, by giving some constructive feedback on their performance and helping them improve, employers can create a more supportive company culture and retain their employees. Clear communication offers more opportunities for employees to stay in the organization, and digital-first HR plays that role in bridging the gap between the employer and the employee. Digital HR comes with a mechanism to make it easier to offer flexible work arrangements, such as remote work. Employees with more flexible work arrangements are likelier to stay with their employer.
4. Training and Development
Training and development act in close alignment with transformation. Digital-first HR can create personalized employee learning and development plans based on their skills, interests, and career goals to boost organizational agility. This approach provides employees with opportunities for growth and development, which can lead to increased engagement and job satisfaction. Digital-first HR tools make it easier to offer employees learning and development opportunities. By investing in their employees’ development, employers show that they care about their employees’ career growth and increase their chances of retaining them.
Digital HR has made it possible to track and analyze employee performance and engagement in training and development programs. By analyzing this data, organizations can identify gaps in their training programs and make improvements to ensure maximum effectiveness. Tracking and analyzing employee performance and participation in training and development programs is now possible thanks to digital HR. By examining this data, organizations can detect training program shortcomings and make necessary adjustments to guarantee optimal efficacy.
5. OKR Framework
Digital HR is beneficial in the employment and recruitment processes. For instance, ATS systems can assist HR professionals in conducting more efficient candidate screening, and online tests can assist in determining which applicants are best suited for a given position. By granting access to online training and development resources, digital HR may also enhance employee engagement and growth.
Ultimately, using the OKR framework in conjunction with digital HR can help firms create and fulfil their goals while improving how they manage their human resources. Strategic goal-setting combined with digital tools and systems enables businesses to manage their personnel in a more targeted, data-driven, and agile manner.
Conclusion
Change is one of the constant phenomena that presents itself in every form and generation. In the internet and technology age, change is focused on understanding, causing, and accelerating. Yet, being an agile business entails more than just putting the agile approach into practice and forming agile teams; it also necessitates more than just digitalizing existing procedures to boost their efficiency. While Digital First HR promotes the theme of collaboration. Implementing the structures, techniques, and processes that enable the ability to make prompt, successful, and sustained changes when and when they are required, along with the necessary competencies for managing such a sophisticated kind of organization, is what it means to become agile.
