Agility has become the standard over the last few years. But what is agility, and do you really need it?

If everything is running smoothly in your organisation, you don't need to change. As the old saying goes, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” You could leave this statement as it is. The problem is: what do you do when things are no longer running smoothly? The speed and frequency of change has increased. Therefore, it is advisable to increase organizational flexibility.

Agility is a tried and tested means to this end.

But do I really need agility? You need flexibility and most likely you already live certain agile patterns. Do you need agility? Not necessarily - depending on the conditions of your organisation, you can of course apply other methods, but many of the principles of agility are not wrong. So what actually is agility? Agility is by no means a ready-made method. Rather, it is a set of overarching patterns that allow your organisation's stakeholders to more quickly identify and respond to the need for change.

In summary, you could say that a more agile organisation is a more future-proof organisation. However, agility cannot replace strategy.

Your organisation needs to know why it exists now and also where it wants to go in the long run. Agility can improve the process of gaining insight through simple rules of the game and also help the organisation to continuously better align with customer value and value streams. But agility, and agile methods in particular, are not a miracle cure to replace a weak business strategy.

Agility is more than a method. What are the key building blocks of an organisation and what influence does agility have on these building blocks? Employees.

Employees are the most important building block of any organisation. The first employees of an organisation shape the culture and are essential for building the basic structures. Staff members who join later in the life cycle of an organisation are essential for the organisation to keep rejuvenating itself.

If no fundamental new impulses are set, the organisation will no longer adapt and will sink into insignificance. This, of course, must be prevented. Accordingly, it is central for every organisation to attract the best employees at all times and to give them maximum space to develop in the interests of the organisation.

People are at the centre of agile methods. Again, it is important to consider the current state of an organisation when starting an agile transformation, but agile methods should flow into the entire lifecycle of the employee and the organisation. From recruiting to staff development to offboarding. This will help attract the best talent.

Talents that can be optimally developed according to their own interests and also in the interests of the organisation. Win-win situations are continuously created in the employment relationship so that the joint life cycle can be designed for as long as it is mutually beneficial.

The organisation must be designed accordingly so that employees are at the centre and concrete agile practices support the implementation of the shared life cycle. There is an essential interaction between employees and corporate culture.

A healthy culture is needed for the benefits of agility to bear fruit. What are the elements of an agile-compatible culture?

The best agile methods and talents will not be able to survive if they are used in an incompatible culture. There is also the well-known saying "doing agile vs. being agile". A culture develops from various aspects. One central aspect is how incentives are set in an organisation. What behaviour is rewarded and what behaviour is punished?

For example, if individual performance is rewarded in an organisation instead of overall shared goals, it is difficult to work together sustainably in stable teams - because individuals are encouraged to work in their own interest. If, for example, a healthy learning culture is not established in an organisation, the agile pattern of continuous improvement cannot gain traction.

So if agility is only understood as a collection of methods for improving processes, some of the most important advantages of an agile organisation cannot take hold. In an organisation that wants to be flexible and future-proof, there must be an understanding that the incentive and value systems must change or become more modern.

This is because they shape the culture, and culture in turn is decisive for how talent develops in the organisation. Besides incentives, the structure of the organisation is another key factor that has a big impact on company culture.

Rigid corporate structures are one of the biggest obstacles to agility. How then can you avoid becoming too rigid? No structure? Of course not.

Depending on size and existing organisational structure, different adaptations can be effective.

Structure can be one of the most visible limiting factors. While structure is the easiest to change, when isolated, change alone does little. People and culture are more important to consider when meeting business objectives. Nevertheless - the wrong structure can lead to great inefficiencies. So what are possible patterns for successful approaches?

Different sized organisations need structures of varying complexity. An organisation with up to 50 staff members may have a simpler, more "family-like" structure. An organisation with 150+ employees, on the other hand, needs additional coordination.

The need for flexibility also plays a major role. An organisation that seeks to become more efficient in a highly standardised and regulated sector will be sufficiently sustainable even with a more rigid structure. An organisation that operates in innovative and volatile market conditions, on the other hand, needs a more dynamic or more frequently adapting structure.

What then should one look for in the actual design of an organisation's structure? To achieve the maximum possible customer benefit.

Practically every organisation wants to deliver customer value in an “agile” way. That’s all well and good. But how does one actually approach customer value. Many organisations don’t know.

Of course, every organisation has at least some KPIs that provide an indicator of customer value - primarily profit and order entry. But is this enough?

These two KPIs do not make it clear, for example, whether the organisation is providing the right services or building the right products in the medium term and whether the quality of delivery is satisfactory.

How can agility help here?

A more agile approach allows better and faster reactions to the demands and needs of customers.

The organisation aligns itself in such a way that more frequent and meaningful exchanges and cooperation with customers become the norm.

What does this mean in concrete terms?

This disruption can go a long way - from team compositions to team focus to the frequency of structural changes.

The building blocks of staff, culture and structure must be coordinated and aware, so that the need for change can be recognised early and responded to correctly. Thus the process of change can be transformed from a stressful process into an eye-opening adventure.