Agility boosts business performance

The Future Organization Report 2019 by the Institute of Information Systems at the University of St. Gallen and the management and technology consultancy Campana & Schott sheds light on how companies can become agile faster with flexible structures and autonomous actors. It shows a clear correlation between agility and business performance, as the following infographic illustrates:

"There are clear success factors for agile transformation: company-wide awareness of the change, empowering behavior on the part of managers and organizational commitment on the part of employees," explains Anna Adler, Director Corporate Development at Campana & Schott.

Success factor: Company-wide awareness

While many companies in German-speaking countries are already working with agile methods such as Scrum and Kanban (doing agile), agility is not yet anchored in the minds of employees (being agile). There is a lack of company-wide awareness of it. According to the study, agile structures and approaches are predominantly introduced in individual departments. A long-term roadmap is missing or only exists in rudimentary form. The high expectations of agility can thus often not be realized.

According to top decision-makers, an open presentation of who is working on what and why increases employee motivation and enables better prioritization of tasks. This increases the speed and efficiency of decision-making and implementation. However, it must be taken into account that some of the respondents see the danger of undesired control in the increased transparency.

Success factor: Empowering behavior of managers

The study found that executives have a special role model function in the agile transformation. In fact, executives in many agile companies are already relinquishing responsibility and creating freedom. They focus on holistic collaboration, communication and decision-making at eye level, regardless of position in the company.

One-third of respondents (33.5 percent) say their manager empowers them to manage their agile activities.Of the participants, nearly two-thirds are motivated to take initiative (65.7 percent), are empowered (64.6 percent) and given a positive outlook for the future (60.9 percent), and are able to take control of their work (60.2 percent).

Success factor: Organizational commitment of employees

It is clear to employees that new skills are needed for agile ways of working. Thus, 81.2 percent of respondents feel equipped for their current tasks. At the same time, however, 75.4 percent see the further development of new skills as essential. Teamwork is also important for agility. One-third of respondents are convinced that they will be more successful as a result (30.5 percent). They particularly emphasize the necessary coordination (48.5 percent) and discussion in the group (30.4 percent). They also like to call on the help of others (32.8 percent).

Source and further information: www.campana-schott.com/for2019