In the current times, global industries at every level are undergoing a massive alteration trying to keep pace and thereby properly use the processing, technological and automated advances that are shaping tomorrow. The speed at which the alteration is happening is simply immeasurable and companies are nowadays trying to navigate exciting & new territories. 

Hence, to move and stay ahead, businesses must possess Agility. Business Agility can be increased by cultivating innovation while also readily adapting to changes & nurturing the overall value of efficient human capital. To learn more about the ways to improve Business Agility, continue reading our guide. 

What is Business Agility?

Business Agility can be defined as a set of organizational capabilities, ways, and behaviors of working that will help your business obtain the required flexibility, freedom, and resilience to achieve its objective, irrespective of what the future brings. 

Business Agility includes the following set of functions or characteristics:

• Quickly adapting to any market change not only externally but also internally.

• Address all the changing needs & expectations of the customers in an effective & efficient manner.

• Offering productive changes in a manner that are cost-effective, while also ensuring the quality of the business's services & products.

All of the aforementioned characteristics empower an organization to remain creative, adaptive, and resilient even during uncertainties & changing markets. Hence, the business stays focused on delivering for its customers in the best possible manner, while also innovating constantly and thereby maintaining a competitive advantage. 

Additionally, if a business wants to be Agile, then that organization should also hire Agile people and thereby cultivate an Agile culture. Promotion of Agile leadership and practicing Agile governance & behaviors should also be encouraged. Simply speaking, Agile principles should be infused within the organization from its culture to people to resources & structure.  

Ideal ways to Improve Business Agility

1. Create a psychological safety net for the employees

There's no denying that a sense of psychological safety can help in forming the foundation for most Agile businesses out there. It's one of the most crucial metrics to judge the success of an Agile team in an organization. Psychological safety helps the employees to be free and comfortable in the work that they are doing, including:

• Identifying any problems.

• Suggesting solutions to those problems.

• Properly taking risks.

• Properly collaborating with other members of the team.

• Trying to experiment with new processes & ideas.

So, when employees feel truly empowered, they will most likely embrace Agility. Hence, you can expect them to perform at the highest levels not only within teams but also individually. Furthermore, you will also be fostering collaboration in this way. 

2. Prioritising The Customers

If you want to maintain a successful business, then you have to increase your customer base gradually. Apart from providing value to your customers via production, marketing, and distribution, you should also optimize the customer service so that the needs of the customer can be prioritized. 

For instance, you can proceed to request feedback from the customers via surveys, so that you can learn more about their needs & desires. The business should also increase overall customer engagement via social media, in-person interactions, and email campaigns. All of the above-mentioned procedures will directly have a positive impact on overall customer satisfaction.

3. Embrace Change Management

Change Management is known as 'change readiness'. It refers to a company's ability to properly respond to change in various ways that will always sustain high performance, provide new opportunities and thereby diminish risks. It should be realized that a business that embraces Change Management will always keep a close eye on the market trends & shifts, while also enhancing communication & collaboration between teams & individuals. 

Furthermore, Change Management will also encourage effective strategizing and thereby empowering team members to embrace new procedures quickly. 

4. Provide employee autonomy

If employees in an organization cannot work efficiently then it can be because they are either hampered by the approval process or they simply lack the psychological safety net that they require for making autonomous decisions. As a result, the employees are prevented from adapting quickly, adopting better procedures, and developing new skills. Hence, an employee needs to have proper autonomy within an organization to be able to perform properly & confidently. 

5. Look for newer technologies

Technological advancements are some of the major reasons why businesses proceed to innovate & change their methods of operating. Organizations remain competitive by using newer technologies in business operations. For instance, updating to a better accounting or payroll management software can help the organization to be more efficient. As a result, the saved effort, time & money can be put into faster production & distribution of products to the customers. 

Better technology can also help in enhancing customer interactions. For instance, social media platforms these days have become one of the greatest tools for businesses to market their products/services to customers. Social media platforms can also be used to connect to the customer base. 

6. Anticipate change

All Agile teams must know that change is inevitable. Such is the reason why Agile teams should always innovate quickly and thereby proceed to capture the required market opportunities. New opportunities for change can be derived from reviewing available customer & market data, drawing conclusions from the same, and thereby undertaking quick actions in return. 

If an organization cannot adapt itself to the change in market or customer needs, then it will simply cease to exist. However, it should be known that for employees to anticipate change and take steps, they must be empowered first & foremost. 

7. Look for feedback & act on the same

At every level of a company, employees hold a proper wealth of knowledge regarding the various company redundancies, procedures, roadblocks, customers, opportunities, and the like. Such knowledge will come in handy when the time will arrive to act on the same. Using the knowledge of the team members, effective feedback must be gathered. 

Once the feedback has been gathered from the employees, considerations should be made to look into making those changes based on the feedback. But, organizations should be mindful of the number of changes they are making because too much alteration can lead to low team morale and more confusion. 

8. Create strong leadership within the business entity

With the help of skilled leaders, transitions can be eased and thereby positivity that the company is changing can be promoted. A proper leader should be able to introduce innovation and thereby create methods to enhance employability skills as well as the company procedures. Some of the other qualities of a good leader include clarity of ideas and effective communication. 

9. Maintaining focus

Brilliant innovations take place when the employees of a company are empowered to iterate, experiment, and thereby make autonomous decisions. The successful teams out there always embrace Agility through clear priorities and objectives, so that there’s no chaos. So, when everyone on the team has a common vision or a purpose, then it’s much more likely that the Agile decisions will be taken properly. 

Moreover, businesses should emphasize a customer-first mentality within the organization, so that every product churned out by the company meets the customer's desires & needs. 

10. Make the workforce stronger

If an organization wants to be flexible, then it should prioritize hiring Agile employees. Enhancing the overall hiring process will help find the right individuals who can properly contribute to the company mission and thereby improve the company culture. By offering extensive learning & training opportunities, employees will be able to develop their skills properly so that Business Agility can be upgraded. 

11. Embrace data & analytics

An organization should obtain the correct amount of data required for its operations and thereby know how to apply the same, so that market competitiveness can be achieved. Having a lot of available data – whether it's related to the market or customers or competitors – is of no use if a proper way to utilize the same is discovered. 

Thus, it's recommended that a proper business plan is created that will have a consistent direction. And based on that business plan, relevant data should be gathered and utilized.  

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Conclusion

It should be realized that Agility is essential for any business out there, especially the ones that want to thrive in the 21^st century. As a result, such quality helps in empowering teams, individuals & companies to satisfy customers, innovate and therefore quickly adapt to market changes. 

For incorporating or to increase Business Agility in your organization, it's crucial that you first create a solid foundation for your team members, so that they can know that it's safe to experiment. Furthermore, don't hesitate from taking risks and sometimes fail, when you're pursuing innovation. 

Besides, you also need to foster effective Change Management, and collaboration, showcase employee autonomy, seek feedback, anticipate change and finally act on the same. Moreover, creating a unified vision will help your employees move toward the correct path.