In the business world, change has always been the constant driving factor, since the start of free-market capitalism. However, due to the advent of innovative technologies, the overall pace of change has accelerated in the 21^st century. It should be known that the ability of an organization to comply with market changes and thereby quickly adapt to the same will be fundamental to the success of the business in the current modern world. That's why Agility ranks as one of the top factors in driving the aforementioned success. 

The greater will be the Agility of the business, the better will be the outcomes – such as better customer satisfaction, financial results, strategy implementation, project metrics, and thereby realization of benefits. 

The origin of Agility

It should be realized that back in the day, traditional management models could not meet the standards of the professionals who were working in the software development industry. The dissatisfaction slowed down the work process because traditional methods relied on unnecessary & cumbersome steps. 

Agile was introduced as a response to static & traditional methods which were prevalent previously. The primary goal of Agile was to increase the interaction between the employees within an organization as well as with the clients. Hence, the foundation of Agile management was built to adapt to the customer’s speed, needs, and flexibility. Furthermore, the Agile methodology will always be result-oriented. 

What is Organizational Agility?

Organizational Agility can be defined as the ability of an organization to adapt, renew & alter itself quickly, so that it can be successful in an environment that’s rapidly changing, turbulent, and ambiguous. 

Thus, the more flexible & versatile an organization will be, the faster it will be able to adjust to the inevitable industry changes. Hence, the enterprise will be better prepared to obtain market share from its competitors, enhance organizational efficiency and even improve customer loyalty & satisfaction. 

Types of organizational Agility

There are three major types of organizational Agility and they are as follows:

1. Operational Agility

Operational Agility is a type of Agility that defines an organization's agility to adapt fast to new opportunities along with the potential to enhance operational efficiency.

2. Portfolio Agility

Portfolio Agility is defined by an organization’s ability to allocate company resources quickly so that the organization as a whole can be improved.

3. Strategic Agility

Strategic Agility is a type of Agility that refers to an organization's ability to quickly adapt to the market and thereby obtain competitive advantages through innovations. 

Various stages of Organizational Agility

Organizational Agility can be implemented with the help of the following steps:

• Proper evaluation of the current organizational structure & processes. 

• Suggestions should be provided for improvement and ways to streamline the entire process pipeline.

• Product design must be created in collaboration with the client/customer needs.

• Implementation of the product.

• Constant reflection & monitoring.

Why is Organizational Agility important?

Most people out there tend to associate the utilization of Agile management with the software industry because that’s where Agile as a concept was first introduced. Software engineers are always on the lookout for better products that take less time to reach the market. As a result, the manifesto for Agile software development was created for the same, which became the basis for Agile methodology. 

It should be remembered that Agile generally focuses on the faster development of projects while also maintaining quality. Along with the implementation of Lean Six Sigma, the focus is on cutting waste while also taking the decisions and keeping the requirements of the customer in mind. The good news is that organizational Agility incorporates the features of both Agile & Lean Six Sigma. Thus, organizational Agility is all about flexibility. In an ideal scenario, organizational leaders always keep in touch with the customers' needs, while also learning to adapt to changes in the market.

Hence, in the current day & age, Agility is no longer an optional feat to achieve, since market trends & customer demands are altering year on year, especially with the ongoing digital transformation that is accelerating the process. Furthermore, reports suggest that with the emergence of Agile, almost 71 percent of all organizations have reported the use of Agile in one or more of their projects. 

Therefore, the time for change is now not three or five years later. Organizations that fail to adapt to the change and only continue to follow traditional approaches, tend to perish over time.

Benefits of Organizational Agility

1. Ability to adapt to change

The realm of the business world is always changing – most of the time in a complex manner. Hence, what works today might not work tomorrow. Organizations that can anticipate the incoming alterations can speed up their project management protocols and thereby capitalize on new technologies, trends, and the like. As a result, success comes naturally to these organizations. 

The best way to quickly alter & adapt to the changes is to implement organizational Agility so that you can properly prepare your business when the moment comes to make a shift. 

2. Quicker delivery

There's no denying that an Agile methodology applied to a development team will easily be able to transform the organization, thereby prioritizing flexibility within the business. Hence, wasted time can be immensely cut down. 

3. Increased revenue growth

Organizations that adopt the Agile methodology will often achieve better revenue numbers in the long term. This is because if a company can capitalize on new ideas & trends before the competition, then it will be able to release new services & products, quickly & obtain new customers with minimal effort.

Moreover, organizational Agility also depends on clear tasks & roles for all the personnel working in a company. So, when the organizational team knows what they are required to do, they will be able to perform the same efficiently – ultimately lowering the wasted hours and enhancing the revenue of the business. 

4. Better product quality

Since Agile methodology stresses constant revisions, there will always be an opportunity to change and thereby eliminate any error. 

5. Engaged employees

Organizational Agility will lead to more engaged employees. This is because employees these days want to be a part of companies where exciting new projects and innovation are encouraged. It should be noted that Agile businesses generally fall into such a category. 

In the current workplace climate, employee engagement is highly essential because the overall cost turnover is also high. Reports suggest that the average staffer will change jobs more than 12 times over the entire course of his/her career. So, when such employees leave the company, the cost to the company will be 1.5-2 times the average salary of those employees because new employees will demand more. 

So, by prioritizing organizational Agility, the engagement among employees can be increased and therefore staff turnover can be reduced. 

6. Increased client satisfaction

As organization Agility nurtures a collaborative communication channel within the company, there will be constant feedback. Hence, the client will feel like a part of the team, which will help in delivering the ideal possible product. 

7. Innovation

One of the biggest benefits of organization Agility is innovation. Companies following organizational Agility will turn their ability of market disruption into a competitive advantage. Hence, long-term sustainability can be enjoyed. 

Challenges faced by organizations when implementing organizational Agility

The following are some of the major roadblocks faced when implementing organizational Agility:

1. No executive leadership

Without any funding or support from the top levels of an organization, the transformation will not be sustainable. For instance, if one department of an organization adopts organizational Agility but the other departments do not, then the entire effort will fizzle out because the concept will not be supported throughout the whole organization. 

2. Avoiding the view of the enterprise

Organizational Agility must be implemented through a formal, centralized program. Otherwise, isolated implementation will take place, which can lead to additional problems than solving the existent issues. 

3. Avoiding organizational change

It shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that Agile will need organizational change – not just in the product development module but in other related areas as well. For instance, the total number of management layers should be decreased, which will mean that more focus can be exerted on employee training, talent management, performance management processes, and business technology collaboration. 

4. Ignoring transitional time

There’s no doubt that change takes time. Hence, realistic expectations must be put in place from the start. Instead of focusing on an all-at-once approach, alterations must be made in waves that slowly break down traditional barriers. 

It must be understood that organizational Agility will not happen overnight. Thus, patience must be maintained to make the switch from traditional methods to the Agile methodology. 

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Conclusion

As the market conditions are continually evolving, new business opportunities are steadily arising. However, there's also an increased rate of uncertainty. Thus, achieving organizational Agility is extremely crucial because such a stance will reduce the time to market business products/services while also tackling complexity & fostering innovation.