A Study of HR Practices at Agile Organizations by Paula Lee

A STUDY OF HUMAN RESOURCES PRACTICES WITHIN AGILE
ORGANIZATIONS
A Research Project
Presented to the Faculty of
The George L. Graziadio
School of Business and Management
Pepperdine University
________________________________
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science
in
Organization Development
_______________________________
by
Paula Lee
June 2015
2015 Paula Lee
This research project, completed by
PAULA LEE
under the guidance of the Faculty Committee and approved by its members, has been
submitted to and accepted by the faculty of The George L. Graziadio School of Business
and Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
IN ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT
Date: June 2015
Faculty Committee
Committee Chair, Gary Mangiofico, Ph.D.
Committee Member, Miriam Y. Lacey, Ph.D.
David Smith, Ph. D., Dean

The George L. Graziadio School of Business and
Management
ii
Abstract
This study examined the human resources (HR) practices within 10 agile
organizations to identify what HR professionals are doing to positively impact the agility
of the organization. The study revealed that executive-level leadership in HR is
committed, visionary, and focused. They are aligned on a shared sense of purpose and the
customer is top of mind. HR teams are innovative with their interventions and solutions,
and mindful about slowing down to fix the root cause of the organizations challenges.
Study findings suggested that HR professionals at agile organizations demonstrated
strong consulting skills, change management skills, and an intention to create business
value through HR efforts. HR can help by building organization capabilities and by tying
back HR outcomes to the business goals. HR professionals master the change agent role,
link HR practices to business strategy, unleash the power of technology in HR, and build
capability for HR and the organization.
iii
Table of Contents
Abstract........ ...................................................................................................................... iii
List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii
List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii
1. Introduction......................................................................................................................1
Research Purpose .....................................................................................................3
Importance of the Research .....................................................................................3
Study Outline ...........................................................................................................3
2. Literature Review.............................................................................................................5
The Features of Change ...........................................................................................5
Organization Agility ................................................................................................5
Strategizing routine......................................................................................7
Perceiving routine ........................................................................................8
Testing routine .............................................................................................8
Implementing routine...................................................................................8
Agile organizations ......................................................................................9
The agility pyramid....................................................................................10
The Possible Future of Human Resources .............................................................11
Five human resources challenges...............................................................16
Additional research on people management capabilities...........................20
Summary of the Literature .....................................................................................22
3. Methods..........................................................................................................................23
Research Design.....................................................................................................23
iv
Phase 1: Screening Survey and Financial Assessment ..........................................23

Sample........................................................................................................23
Instrumentation ..........................................................................................24
Data collection ...........................................................................................24
Data analysis ..............................................................................................25
Phase 2: In-Depth Interview ..................................................................................26
Sample........................................................................................................26
Interview script ..........................................................................................26
Data collection ...........................................................................................27
Data analysis ..............................................................................................27
Protection of Human Subjects ...............................................................................28
Summary ................................................................................................................29
4. Results............................................................................................................................30
Survey Respondent Demographics ........................................................................30
Practices of Human Resources Professionals in Agile Organizations...................32
Important Capabilities for Human Resource Professionals in Agile
Organizations ...................................................................................................38
Role Human Resources Plays in Increasing Organization Agility ........................42
Summary of Findings.............................................................................................45
5. Discussion ......................................................................................................................47
Conclusions............................................................................................................47
Practices of human resources professionals in agile organizations ...........47
Key capabilities for human resources professionals..................................49
v
Role human resources plays in increasing organization agility.................51

Recommendations..................................................................................................52
Master the change agent role .....................................................................53
Link human resources practices to business strategy ................................53
Build capability for human resources and for the organization.................54
Unleash the power of technology in human resources ..............................55
Limitations of this Study........................................................................................55
Suggestions for Further Research ..........................................................................56
Summary ................................................................................................................57
References..........................................................................................................................58
Appendix A: The Short-Form Agility Survey ...................................................................60
Appendix B: Survey Invitation Information Sheet ............................................................63
Appendix C: Interview Invitation and questions ...............................................................65
vi
List of Tables
Table
Page
1. Agile Routines and Test Items .................................................................................... 25

2. Survey Scoring Key .................................................................................................... 26
3. Interview Questions .................................................................................................... 27
4. Survey Sample Demographics .................................................................................... 31
5. Agility Survey Results ................................................................................................ 31
6. Organizations Meeting/Exceeding the Baseline Thresholds....................................... 32
7. Strategizing Practices .................................................................................................. 33
8. Perceiving Practices .................................................................................................... 35
9. Testing Practices ......................................................................................................... 36
10. Implementing Practices............................................................................................... 37
11. Strategizing Capabilities ............................................................................................. 38
12. Perceiving Capabilities................................................................................................ 40
13. Testing Capabilities..................................................................................................... 40
14. Implementing Capabilities .......................................................................................... 41
15. Strategizing Roles ....................................................................................................... 42
16. Perceiving Roles.......................................................................................................... 43
17. Testing Roles............................................................................................................... 44
18. Implementing Roles .................................................................................................... 45
19. Summarized Findings ................................................................................................. 46
20. Sample Human Resources Business Plan ................................................................... 54
vii
List of Figures
Figure
Page
1. The Four Routines of Agile Organizations ................................................................... 7

2. Agile Model ................................................................................................................ 10
3. The Agility Pyramid.................................................................................................... 11
4. A Lens to View the Needed Transformation in Human Resources ............................ 15
5. The 2012 Human Resources Competency Model....................................................... 19
6. Human Resources Profession Map ............................................................................. 21
viii
1
Chapter 1
Introduction
Its not the strongest species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the ones
most responsive to change.
Charles Darwin
The pace of change is rising exponentially (Cummings & Worley, 2014). Of the
original Fortune 500 list published in 1955, only 70 (14%) exist independently today
(Ulrich, Younger, Brockbank, & Ulrich, 2012). The rest have gone out of business or
have been subsumed through mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures. The current
environment, characterized by rapid change, globalization of markets, rebalancing of the
global economy, exponential advances in technology, changing demographic trends,
emerging customer needs, and disruption of existing business models, suggests that
organizations are increasingly finding themselves facing a new normal.
In this volatile world, more and more companies will strive to become Velcro
organizations, in which people and capacity can be rearranged and recombined
creatively and quickly without major structural change (Prahalad, 2009). This does not
mean that organizations will stop focusing on quality, cost, and efficiency; however, it
does mean that the leading organizations will be paying much more attention to agility,
defined as the capacity to identify and capture opportunities more quickly than do rivals
(Macias-Lizaso & Thiel, 2006). Worley, Williams, and Lawler (2014) characterized
agility as the ability to sense the need for change from both internal and external
sources, carry out those changes routinely, and sustain above-average performance (p.
26). A McKinsey & Company survey found that 9 of 10 executives ranked organizational
2
agility both as critical to business success and as growing in importance over time
(Macias-Lizaso & Thiel, 2006). Prahalad (2009) succinctly summarized that in volatile
times, agility rules.
Accordingly, agility has become the subject of an increasing amount of research
(Ebel, Kubik, & Lsch, 2014; Worley & Lawler, 2010; Worley et al., 2014). What is
notable about this body of literature is that even as the demand for continuous change
heightens, personal and organizational track records with making and sustaining change
remain dismal. Ulrich et al. (2012) reported based on their research, for example, that
only 20-25% of organizational change initiatives are successfully implemented.
These conditions underscore the need to devise ways to achieve agilitynamely
anticipating and creating change while sustaining performance (Worley et al., 2014). One
untapped resource for doing so may be found within organizations human resources
(HR) departments. Boudreau and Ziskin (2011) urged HR professionals to think and act
beyond HRs traditional boundaries and to define their departments deliverables in a
significantly different way. Within the next two decades, researchers predict that it will
be increasingly critical for HR professionals to understand the organizations external
context, to build and observe experiments and pilot initiatives, to rapidly scale their
offerings. These and other findings suggest that the HR function will need to reshape
itself so that it becomes a critical driver for the agile organization (Boudreau & Ziskin,
2011; Charan, 2014; Ulrich et al., 2012).
Specifically, it is important to examine whether and how HR professionals may
help their organizations recognize, accept, and respond to pressures for change, with the
goal of helping organizations change as fast as change itself. To do so, HR professionals
may play key roles in helping leaders envision and communicate a compelling future,
3
focus and deliver on organizational strategy, bring discipline to the change process, and
create a culture for change. Examining the roles that HR professionals play in agile
organizations is the focus of the present study.
Research Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine the role and activities of HR
professionals within agile organizations. Three research questions guided the study:
1. What are the practices of HR professionals in agile organizations?
2. What capabilities are important for HR professionals in agile organizations?
3. What role does HR play in increasing organization agility?
Importance of the Research
This study examines the theory of organization agility and leverages Worley et
al.s (2014) research on building adaptable organizations for superior performance. The
study also contributes to the existing body of literature on HR, particularly regarding the
future of HR (Boudreau, 2010; Boudreau & Ziskin, 2011; Ulrich et al., 2012). It will be
valuable to understand how HR practices are evolving at agile organizations. Those who
may benefit from this thesis include leaders of agile organizations, all HR professionals
and consultants who are looking to understand how agile organizations are leading and
managing change.
Study Outline
This chapter provided an introduction to the present study, including a discussion
of the need to explore HR practices in agile organizations and presentation of the study
purpose and importance. Chapter 2 reviews relevant literature on features of change,
organizational agility, and the future of HR. Chapter 3 describes the methods used in the
study, including the research design, procedures for Phases 1 and 2 of the study, and the
4
measures taken to protect human subjects. Chapter 4 reports the quantitative and
qualitative results. Chapter 5 presents the conclusions of the study, along with
recommendations, study limitations, and implications for further research.
5
Chapter 2
Literature Review
professionals within agile organizations. This chapter provides a review of relevant
literature. The features of change and agile organizations are explored first to provide
context and foundation for the study. This is followed by a review of research on the HR
profession and what may be required for HR professionals to be successful in this new
normal world of change.
The Features of Change
We are now at the start of what may become the most dramatic change in the
international order in several centuries . . . what we face isnt one single shift . . .
so much as an avalanche of ceaseless change. (Ramo, 2010, p. 67)
Increasingly, change will be a constant, not a periodic, challenge. By all accounts,
the 21st century is bringing a frenzy of innovation driven by the continuing digital
revolution and expanding global markets. Our current environment of accelerated
uncertainty and change is not going to blow over and settle down. VUCA, a term coined
by the US Army War College to refer to the dynamic nature of our world today, indicates
that the current business environment is (a) volatile, referring to the nature, speed,
volume, magnitude, and dynamics of change; (b) uncertain, meaning the lack of
predictability; (c) complex, suggesting the difficulty of issues and the chaos that
surrounds organizations; and (d) ambiguous, referring to the haziness of reality and the
mixed meanings of conditions (Horney, Pasmore, & OShea, 2010).
Organization Agility
Organization agility is defined as a dynamic organization design capability that
can sense the need for change from both internal and external sources, carry out those
6
changes routinely, and sustain above-average performance (Worley et al., 2014, p. 11).
McKinsey and Company offer a similar definition that organizational agility is the
capacity to identify and capture opportunities more quickly than rivals do (Ebel et al,
2014).
The complexity, unpredictability, and instability of environmental change have
outpaced traditional organization design approaches (Worley & Lawler, 2010). The new
normal of todays business landscape requires organizations to have an amazing amount
of agility just to survive. Sustaining performance is a key trait of agility. Often,
organizations can rise to meet a short term change in the market but sustaining these
heroic efforts become a strain on the system. Agility is not just the ability to change. It is
a cultivated capability that enables an organization to respond in a timely, effective, and
sustainable way when changing circumstances require it. This is increasingly referred to
as a dynamic capability, the potential to sense opportunities and threats, solve problems,
and change the organizations resource base. Although agile organizations often change,
they do not pursue change for changes sake. They pursue it for the sake of competitive
advantage. The research conducted by Worley and Lawler evidences that there are too
few agile organizations (about one in five or 20%) and, given the rapidly changing global
business environment, this is a challenge that must be addressed.
Diagnosis is the first step to understanding what features of the organization are
and are not supportive of agility. There are instruments available to help with this
diagnosis. Worley and Lawler (2010) have developed a survey and interview assessment
based on the built-to-change agility framework. Four routines distinguish agile
organizations (see Figure 1). These companies have the ability to strategize in dynamic
ways; accurately perceive changes in their external environment; test possible responses;
7
and implement changes in products, technology, operations, structures, systems, and
capabilities as a whole. It is the whole system of routines, not the possession of one or
two of them, that confers agility. Individually, these routines may simply seem like basic
practices of good management. However, the hard work necessary to orchestrate them for
consistent high performance is advanced and uncommon. By executing these routines in
concert over and over again, the outperformers consistently outpace competitors (Worley
et al., 2014).
Note. Based on material from The Agility Factor: Building Adaptable Organizations for
Superior Performance, by C. G. Worley, T. D. Williams, and E. E. Lawler, 2014,
Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Figure 1
The Four Routines of Agile Organizations
Strategizing routine. Agile organizations dont define strategy the way other
firms do. For them, strategy has three explicit parts: a sense of shared purpose, a changefriendly identity that is nonetheless stable enough to ground the organization, and a
robust strategic intent that clarifies how the firm differentiates itself.
8
Perceiving routine. Agile companies take special care to accurately sense what is
going on in the environment. Managers and employees are put into direct contact with
customers, regulators, and other stakeholders through multiple touch points, structures,
and practices, and they are expected to gather intelligence. They communicate their
perceptions of the external world to company decision makers who have the support and
knowledge they need to interpret those messages as important or unimportant,
opportunity or threat. All three elements of perceiving environmental change are
essential. Sensing without communicating is wasteful. Communicating without
interpreting is just noise.
Testing routine. Agile organizations refine their insights from the perceiving
routine with a relatively high number of low-cost experiments. They encourage
innovation and tolerate a good deal of failure. Effective testing and innovation activities
range from gathering further intelligence, to trying out new ideas on a small scale, to
implementing full-scale product development programs. In most cases, there are explicit
risk management processeswith valid success criteria so the plug can be pulled if the
test failsand continuous learning efforts so that the insights gained from the tests
spread to all relevant parts of the company. Agile organizations invest significantly in
learning and continuous improvement, never resting on their laurels or believing they
have cracked the code once and for all.
Implementing routine. Agile companies have mastered the internal program
management capabilities they need to convert successful tests and promising innovations
into widespread practices. Their organizations are flexible enough to adopt them with
unambiguous commitmentand with the speed, certainty, and precision they need.
These companies have histories of successful transformations, restructurings, and merger
9
integrations, and they also excel at the execution of new product rollouts, policy changes,
and compliance mandates.
Agile organizations. The Agile Model (see Figure 2) was developed in 2002
from multidisciplinary surveys (e.g., psychology, leadership development, operations,
manufacturing) and applied research on organizational change demands in our
increasingly turbulent and uncertain world (Horney, Eckenrod, McKinney, & Prescott,
2014). It represents one of a new breed of change frameworks that focuses on creating
individuals, teams, and organizations that are change ready. The Agile Model is focused
on the alignment between people, process and technology, operationalized through five
critical drivers:
1. Anticipate change: Interpret the potential impact of business turbulence and
trends along with the implications to the organization.
2. Generate confidence: Create a culture of confidence and engagement of all
associates into effective and collaborative teams.
3. Initiate action: Provide the fuel and the systems to make things happen
proactively and responsively at all levels of the organization.
4. Liberate thinking: Create the climate and conditions for fresh solutions by
empowering, encouraging and teaching others to be innovative.
5. Evaluate results: Keeping the focus and managing the knowledge to learn and
improve from actions.
HR professionals can use agility to help transform their organizations and HR
processes. Further to their Agility Model, the authors have created a Human Resources
Agility Process Audit using the five drivers of anticipating change, generating
confidence, initiating action, liberating thinking, and evaluating results and applying
them to talent management, recruiting process, performance management and
compensation process (Agility Consulting and Training, 2014; Horney et al., 2010).
10
Note. Based on material from The Agile Model, by Agility Consulting and Training,
2014. Retrieved from http://agilityconsulting.com/the-agile-model/
Figure 2
Agile Model
The agility pyramid. As shown in Figure 3, agility is built on the foundational

elements of good management practices that translate strategy into action and results. It is
also built on the ability to intentionally build capabilities that differentiate the
organization and drive above-average performance in todays marketplace. When those
are in place, an organization can embed the routines of agility into the design. Trying to
exercise agility without these foundational elements in place will not work (Worley et al.,
2014).
11
Note. From The Agility Factor: Building Adaptable Organizations for Superior
Performance (p. 28), by C. G. Worley, T. D. Williams, and E. E. Lawler, 2014, Hoboken,
NJ: Wiley. Copyright 2014 by Wiley. Reprinted with permission.
Figure 3
The Agility Pyramid
The Possible Future of Human Resources

Organizations are now facing a situation that cries out for new solutions to the
thorny challenges of integrating business and people needs. The HR management
practices of the past no longer fit (Mohrman & Lawler, 2005). HR appears to be spending
so much of its resources on the day-to-day operational issues that it is missing the big
opportunities. This fact represents both a major threat and a major opportunity for the HR
function. The HR function can deliver immense value to corporations and to society by
helping them to navigate the uncharted waters of the new era. Data suggests that the
primary barriers holding HR back are traditional ones of lacking time, budget, and
expertise (Boudreau, 2010) . In traditional bureaucratic organizations, HR professionals
12
have, for decades, created and administered the systemscareer development, training,
selection, and rewardsthat define the key parameters of the stage on which employees
have enacted lifelong employment roles and careers (Mohrman & Lawler, 2005).
The HR function should help the organization develop change management
capabilities to weather the ongoing changes that will continue to be part of the
environment. It should help with the ongoing learning processes required to assess the
impact of change and to enable the organization to make corrections and enhancements to
the changes (Mohrman & Lawler, 2005). It should help the organization develop a new
psychological contract, new career tracks, and ways to give employees a stake both in the
changes that are occurring and in the performance of the organization.
We found that while HR leaders generally feel their ideal role is one of broad
leadership, their assessment of the current role often is far less than that . . .
lasting change will require fundamentally rethinking how the HR profession and
the HR function operate. (Boudreau & Ziskin, 2011, p. 256)
Some of the major characteristics which the HR function must have in order to
perform effectively includes:
To be staffed by individuals who understand the business as well as change

strategy.
To be a valued member of management teams by contributing to business

strategy and operations decision making.
To effectively use outsourcers as a way to reduce the cost of the HR function

and to draw on expertise that is not easily built into the organization.
To have high levels of competency in designing HR systems and in managing

their implementation.
To effectively utilize information technology to support the development of

organizational capabilities and competencies and of individuals careers.
To develop computer-based HR management systems which free the HR

organization from the day-to-day management and administration of the
organizations human capital.
13
To retain control over setting the strategic direction for the organizations HR
systems, while using outsourcers when appropriate.
Boudreau and Ziskin (2011) identified six major trends or shifts facing HR
professionals (see Figure 4):
1. From hero leadership to collective leadership. In fast-changing environments,
every leader has a shelf life, and relying too heavily on a single hero leader
can make the organization vulnerable. Organizations of the future are going to
rely much more heavily on the collective leadership, commitment, and
wisdom of people at all organizational levels who can collaborate across
boundaries. These organizations will view everyone as leaders, and people
will have accountability and authority to act on behalf of customers and
employees. OToole, Galbraith and Lawler noted that shared leadership is
especially suitable when the challenges a corporation faces are so complex
that they require a set of skills too broad to be possessed by any one
individual. The W.L. Gore Companys approach is one example of an
organization that avoids hierarchies and encourages high involvement and
team leadership.
2. Intellectual property to agile co-creativity. Creativity is becoming less
ownership-based and more community-based. This means that creativity and
innovation occur both inside and outside of the organization. When employees
have a desire to contribute to something bigger than themselves and have a
hand in inventing and reinventing their environment, the potential to harness
the collective creativity becomes clear. Social media-based co-creativity is the
newest form of involving and engaging employees in large-scale organization
change and creating ownership of outcomes. The collaborative commons on
the internet provides us with one of the most familiar examples of creativity
online, Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit or add to.
3. Employment value proposition to personal value proposition. Future HR
leaders must embrace mass-customization based on what drives value for
individual employees as people at work and on a personal level. Learning and
Development teams are leveraging technology for massive open online
courses in which individuals can self-serve by selecting courses that meet
their own development needs.
4. Sameness to segmentation. We are moving from treating employees the same
(in the name of preserving supposed fairness and minimizing controversy) to
treating employees differently where it makes business sense to do so.
Boudreau and Ziskin use the analogy of gardening to make this point:
Flower varieties in a garden do not all require the same treatment to
thrivesome need a lot of water, some only a little; some require sunlight,
some shade; some require rich soil, some no soil at all. It is the gardeners
job to understand what makes each flower thrive. (p. 260)
14
While many leaders understand the need for differentiation in principle, they
resist it because they simply dont feel well-equipped to explain them. The
concept of fairness is sometimes confused with treating everyone the same.
HR must develop principles that equip leaders to explain these differences to
employees. Consider Microsofts recent move away from a performance
distribution curve and forced rankings to a reward system where the highestperforming individuals in the highest-impact roles are essentially commanding
their own individual deals. Most companies already treat high-potential
employees differently from others.
5. Fatigue to sustainability. Employees are just plain exhaustedphysically,
emotionally, and psychologically. This exhaustion is a result of many factors,
including the economic downturn over the past few years, cutbacks, layoffs,
doing more with less, and 24/7 e-mail, to name but a few of the reasons.
Concerns around sustainability require skillful integration from the HR
function to the organization and to the dynamic environment. In this
technologically created 24/7 work environment, HR is uniquely equipped to
offer principles that define an optimal balance between work demands and
slack in the system that allows innovation and flexibility. HR can optimize
the notion of wellness against the notion of work in a way that is more precise.
One way to optimize wellness at work is mindfulness. Mindful meditation
taking 2 minutes to breathe and focushas immense effects on stress-related
biometrics and diseases and has been reported to make leaders feel more
focused, less reactive, and open to new ideas. HR should take the lead in
better understanding how these potential benefits affect organizations, and
how they fit into an optimum balance.
6. Persuasion to education. HR has been defined in terms of its ability to
persuade often doubtful constituents to adopt programs or invest time, money,
and energy in the initiatives that HR leaders have identified as valuable. The
prevalence of todays mental model that HR is a cost center can lead to
squandering less tangible long-term value in an effort to reduce short-term
expenses. Taking time to educate each other on the shared outcome will be
important to that all the levers are aligned to achieve the strategy and goals of
the organization.
15
Note. HR = human resources; Based on material from The Future of HR and Effective
Organizations, by J. W. Boudreau and I. Ziskin, 2011, Organizational Dynamics, 40(4),
255266. doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2011.07.003
Figure 4
A Lens to View the Needed Transformation in Human Resources
The centermost circle, Future HR, is meant to capture issues that are primarily
focused at the level of the HR function itself, such as important questions about the
design of HR functions, HRs professional roles and competencies, how HR uses
infrastructure like information technology and process delivery systems, as well as the
specific programs and practices that HR enacts. These must be embedded within a
broader perspective to fully understand the challenges and opportunities facing HRs
future.
The middle circle, Effective Organizations, captures the reality that HR must exist
and optimize its role within a surrounding organizational context. HR will influence and
be influenced by organizational elements such as structure and design, culture, and
leadership, as well as such organization-level issues as sustainability, diversity and social
16
responsibility. The evolution of HRs role will significantly define the evolution of the
professional elements in the centermost circle.
The outer circle, Dynamic Environment, reflects that environment as a defining
factor of effective organizations and thus a significant determinant of HRs future. These
are the trends and influences that will span organizations and affect entire industries,
regions, and economies. The role of the HR profession in directly responding to these
issues remains to be defined; yet, the HR professions capability to play a significant role
where appropriate will be key.
Five human resources challenges. Five interrelated challenges must be met in
order for the HR function to make this contribution. Meeting each of them requires
blending business and HR concerns (Mohrman & Lawler, 2005).
1. Organization restructuring should have as an ultimate outcome the most
effective application of HR to accomplish the mission of the organization.
2. As careers become enabled by the creation of a portfolio of experiences,
people will be competing for work assignments rather than for promotions. A
new information infrastructure will be required to make possible the tracking
and deploying of staff available to the company and the efficient and effective
movement of people between assignments.
3. The new organization requires different and often more advanced skills in
group process and organizational understanding. Training and other
approaches to development, while more important than ever, are only a piece
of this puzzle: The strategic make-buy-partner decisions will be important
in securing HR talent as in making product and service decisions.
4. Finding ways to embed knowledge in organization processes and documents,
to distribute information and know-how in readily accessible forms, and to
disseminate knowledge and accelerate learning are key challenges facing
organizations.
5. Organizations appear to be entering an era of highly differentiated
psychological contracts. Contracts with different groups of employees
(fulltime workers, contract workers, and temporary and part-time workers)
will have to acknowledge the particular needs and motivation of that group as
well as the performance expectations of the organization (Worley & Lawler,
2010).
17
Cornell Advanced HR Studies surveyed 172 chief HR officers in 2011 and the
data suggested that talent was the most critical challenge, followed by cost control,
succession planning, culture, and employee engagement (as cited in Ulrich et al., 2012).
Researchers also found that building HR competencies is the largest obstacle to achieving
the chief executive officer agenda for HR. The practices most likely to increase chief HR
officer effectiveness include learning from an external network, having a business focus,
engaging in self-development activities, and constructing effective HR processes. They
identified seven roles for chief HR officers: strategic advisor; counselor, confidant, and
coach; board liaison; talent architect; HR function leader; workforce sensor; and firm
representative.
For nearly 30 years, the RBL Institute has been working to advance HR and
leadership development practices through participative education, joint research, and
networking among senior HR executives. The Human Resource Competency Study is
directed by Dave Kryscynski and Mike Ulrich, with Dave Ulrich and Wayne Brockbank
acting as project principals. Their research found that by upgrading HR competency in
six domains, HR professionals can respond to the new business themes and create
sustainable value. The six HR competence domains come from assessment by HR
professionals and their line associates (over 20,000 global respondents) to 139 specific
competency related survey items. The six domains of competencies are (see Figure 5):
1. Strategic positioner. High performing HR professionals think and act from the
outside in. They are deeply knowledgeable of and able to translate external
business trends into internal decisions and actions. They understand the
general business conditions (e.g., social, technological, economic, political,
environmental, and demographic trends) that affect their industry and
geography. They target and serve key customers of their organization by
identifying customer segments, knowing customer expectations, and aligning
organization actions to meet customer needs. They also co-create their
18
organizations strategic responses to business conditions and customer
expectations by helping frame and make strategic and organization choices.
2. Credible activist. Effective HR professionals are credible activists because
they build their personal trust through business acumen. Credibility comes
when HR professionals do what they promise, build personal relationships
based on trust, and can be relied on. Being a trust advisor helps HR
professionals have positive personal relationships. It means to communicate
clear and consistent messages with integrity. As an activist, HR professionals
have a point of view, not only about HR activities, but about business
demands. As activists, HR professionals learn how to influence others in a
positive way through clear, consistent, and high impact communications. To
be credible activists, HR professionals need to be self-aware and committed to
building their profession.
3. Capability builder. An effective HR professional melds individual abilities
into an effective and strong organization by helping to define and build its
organization capabilities. Organization is not structure or process, it is a
distinct set of capabilities. Capability represents what the organization is good
at and known for. HR professionals should be able to audit and invest in the
creation of organizational capabilities. These capabilities outlast the behavior
or performance of any individual manager or system. Capabilities have been
referred to as a companys culture, process, or identity. HR professionals
should facilitate capability audits to determine the identity of the
organizations. Such capabilities might include customer service, speed,
quality, efficiency, innovation, and collaboration. One such emerging
capability of successful organizations is to create an organization where
employees find meaning and purpose at work. HR professionals can help line
managers create meaning so that the capability of the organization reflects the
deeper values of the employees.
4. Change champion. As change champions, HR professionals make sure that
isolated and independent organization actions are integrated and sustained
through disciplined change processes. HR professionals make an
organizations internal capacity for change match or lead the external pace of
change. As change champions, HR professionals help make change happen at
institutional (changing patterns), initiative (making things happen), and
individual (enabling personal change) levels. HR professionals can help to
initiate change, build a case for why change matters, overcome resistance to
change, engage key stakeholders in the process of change, and articulate the
decisions to start change. They sustain change by institutionalizing change
through organizational resources, organization structure, communication, and
continuous learning. As change champions, HR professionals partner to create
organizations that are agile, flexible, responsive, and able to make
transformation happen in ways that create sustainable value.
5. Human resource innovator and integrator. Effective HR professionals know
the historical HR research so they can innovative and integrate HR practices
19
into unified solutions to solve future business problems. They must know
latest insights on key HR practice areas related to human capital (talent
sourcing, talent development), performance accountability (appraisal,
rewards), organization design (teamwork, organization development), and
communication. They must also be able to turn these unique HR practice areas
into integrated solutions that maintain their focus over the long run.
6. Technology proponent. Technology has changed the way in which HR
professionals think and do their administrative and strategic work. At a basic
level, HR professionals need to use technology to more efficiently deliver HR
administrative systems like benefits, payroll processing, healthcare costs, and
other administrative services. In addition, HR professionals need to use
technology to help people stay connected with each other. This means that
technology plays an increasingly important role in improving
communications, doing administrative work more efficiently, and connecting
inside employees to outside customers. An emerging technology trend is using
technology as a relationship building tool through social media. Leveraging
social media enables the business to position itself for future growth. HR
professionals who understand technology will create improved organizational
identity outside the company and improve social relationships inside the
company.
Note. From HR From the Outside In (p. 52), by D. Ulrich, J. Younger, W. Brockbank, and M. Ulrich, 2012,
New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Copyright 2012 by McGraw Hill. Reprinted with permission.
Figure 5
The 2012 Human Resources Competency Model
20
Because these six domains of HR competence respond to the external trends
identified, they have an impact on both the perception of the effectiveness of the HR
professional and the business performance where the HR professional works (Ulrich et
al., 2012).
Additional research on people management capabilities. The Boston
Consulting Group and the World Federation of People Management Associations
recently conducted major research to probe the relationship between people management
capabilities and financial performance. They surveyed 4,288 HR and non-HR managers
on their current HR capabilities and challenges, the strategies and approaches they use to
address these challenges, and the difficulties they foresee in attracting, managing, and
developing people. Their findings suggested that high-performing companies recognize
that leadership is about more than just steering the business. In addition, its about
nurturing, energizing, and challenging the people who help make it runand those who
keep it agile. In all the activities studied, high-performing companies reward behavior,
not just results, to a greater degree than low-performing companies. They do not get
mired in process. They avoid bureaucratic or protracted processes that can actually allow
problems to worsen. High-performing companies emphasize open discussion, which has
the added benefit of motivating employees (Strack, Caye, von der Linden, Quirs, &
Haen, 2012).
Deloitte summarizes its recommendations for HR into commercial awareness,
business acumen, customer focus, aligned business to HR, getting the HR basics right,
HR metrics, change delivery and consulting capabilities (Deloitte Development, 2015).
Aon Hewitt, another consulting firm, surveyed 85 individuals from different firms to find
out how their firms managed their HR priorities and competencies. Their researchers
21
suggest that HR professionals need capabilities in organization design, service delivery,
technology, governance and metrics, strategy, and program design (Aon Hewitt
Consulting, 2014).
The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (2015) has created a HR
Profession map that offers a comprehensive view of how HR professionals can provide
insights and solutions to their businesses (see Figure 6). It highlights eight HR practice
areas, including organization design, organization development, resourcing and talent
planning, learning and development, performance and rewards, employee engagement,
employee relations, and service delivery and information.
Note. Based on material from CIPD Profession Map, by The Chartered Institute for
Personnel and Development, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.cipd.co.uk/cipd-hrprofession/profession-map/
Figure 6
Human Resources Profession Map
22
Summary of the Literature
The present study is important because it defines what it means to be an effective
HR professional in an agile organization. As the number of global HR professionals
approaches 1 million, defining what it means to be effective is important. HR
effectiveness matters more than ever because leaders are increasingly recognizing the
importance of individual abilities (talent), organization capabilities (culture), and
leadership as key to the success of their organizations. In a world of change, there has
never been a greater need to identify what HR professionals must be, know, do, and
deliver to contribute more fully to their organizations. Having concluded an examination
of the relevant literature on agile organizations and trends in HR practices, this research
aims to examine the practices of HR professionals at agile organizations and share the
learnings so the function can not only survive, but also thrive because it will make a
major contribution to organizational effectiveness.
23
Chapter 3
Methods
This chapter describes the research design and the sampling and data collection
and analysis procedures for each phase. Procedures for protecting human subjects also
are described.
Research Design
The present study utilized a sequential mixed-methods design, meaning that both
qualitative and quantitative data were gathered and that the first phase of research was
conducted in a manner to inform the collection and analysis of a successive phase of
research (Creswell, 2013). Phase 1 of the study involved a quantitative survey that served
as a screening tool to determine which participants would be included in Phase 2 (a
qualitative interview). Phase 2 focused on gathering the data to help answer the studys
research questions. The following sections describe both phases of research in detail.
Phase 1: Screening Survey and Financial Assessment
Sample. Phase 1 participants included 150 senior HR professionals employed at
organizations that are popularly believed to be agile, such as Microsoft, Starbucks, Intel,
Nike, Amazon, Expedia, CVS, Boeing, T-Mobile, Cambia, W.L. Gore, Avanade, Google,
Cisco, Toyota, LinkedIn, Nintendo, Valve, Netflix, and Deloitte, among others. A
convenience sampling approach was used to identify 150 professionals from these
24
organizations, as the present researcher has 17 years of experience in HR and a vast
professional network. Out of the 150 professionals invited, 58 completed surveys (38.7%
response rate).
Instrumentation. Worley et al.s (2014) 19-item short-form agility instrument
was used to gather data (see Appendix A). As shown in Table 1, the instrument assesses
the organization based on four agility routines: Strategizing (four items), Perceiving (five
items), Testing (five items), and Implementing (five items). For example, participants
were asked whether their organization traditionally spends a lot of time thinking about
the future (Strategizing Routine), encourages innovation (Perceiving Routine), has a
culture that embraces change as normal (Testing Routine), and encourages managers to
develop the leadership skills of their direct reports (Implementing Routine). Participants
were instructed to respond to the 19 items using a four-point scale ranging from strongly
disagree to strongly agree.
Data collection. The survey was administered online using Qualtrics software.
The survey sample received an email invitation to participate that described the purpose
of the study and provided a link to the survey (see Appendix B). The questionnaire was
open for 3 weeks. A reminder email was sent 1 week after the initial invitation and again
2 days before the close of the survey. Financial performance data also were retrieved for
select companies, based upon the survey results (see next section).
25
Table 1
Agile Routines and Test Items
Routine
Strategizing (S): Stable identity and
flexible intent that seeks to build a
series of short-term strategic
advantages
Items
Traditionally, this organization has a unifying purpose/mission, other

than profitability and growth.
Traditionally, this organization develops strategies with flexibility in

mind.
Traditionally, this organization has a culture that embraces change as

normal.
Traditionally, this organization has core values that reflect a changeready organization.
Perceiving (P): Sensing, interpreting,
Traditionally, this organization spends a lot of time thinking about the

and preparing responses to signals
future.
from the competitive environment
Traditionally, this organization puts as many employees as possible in

contact with the external environment, especially with customers.
Traditionally, this organization allows information to flow freely from

the outside to units and groups where it is most valuable.
Traditionally, this organization shares financial and business strategy

information with all employees.
Traditionally, this organization has formal mechanisms to connect senior

management with people at all levels of the organization.
Testing (T): Designing, resourcing,
Traditionally, this organization encourages innovation.

and executing effective tests of
Traditionally, this organization has enough budget slack so that people

potential responses to environmental
can develop new products or better ways of working together.
threats and opportunities
Traditionally, this organization is capable of shifting its structure quickly

to address new opportunities.
Traditionally, this organization has flexible budgets that respond to

marketplace changes.
Traditionally, this organization regularly reviews learnings from change

efforts.
Implementing (I): Effectively and
Traditionally, this organization considers the ability to change a strength

efficiently institutionalizing the
of the organization.
organizational response in operations
Traditionally, this organization rewards seniority more than

of the firm
performance.
Traditionally, this organization pays for the skills and knowledge that
contribute to performance.
Traditionally, this organization has a well-developed change capability.
Traditionally, this organization encourages managers to develop the

leadership skills of their direct reports.
Note. From Assessing Organization Agility: Creating Diagnostic Profiles to Guide Transformation (p. 26), by C. G.
Worley, T. D. Williams, and E. E. Lawler, 2014, Hoboken, NJ, Jossey-Bass. Copyright 2014 by Jossey-Bass. Reprinted
with permission.
Data analysis. Mean scores for the four agility scales were calculated for each
company represented, based on the scoring key presented in Table 2. In cases where a
single company had multiple respondents, mean scale scores were calculated based on
the responses of all participants from that company. The company score had to exceed
the lower limit of the benchmark for each of the four scales for the company
respondent(s) to be eligible to receive an invitation to Phase 2.
26
Table 2
Survey Scoring Key
Scale
Items Used in Score
Benchmark*
Strategizing Routine
1,5,9,13
2.75 - 2.90
Perceiving Routine
2,6,10,14,18
2.50 - 2.70
Testing Routine
3,7,11,15,17
2.50 - 2.70
Implementing Routine
4,8,12,16,19
2.70 - 2.85
*Company score had to exceed the lower limit of the benchmark for the respondent(s) to
be invited to receive in Phase 2 of the research
Financial performance data were gathered from Hoovers for companies that were
rated as passing the benchmark. Comparative size and industry of the company also were
considered. The researcher considered whether each companys 2012 and 2013
performance placed it in the top quartile of its industry based on revenue. Respondents of
companies that passed this financial performance benchmark qualified to participate in
Phase 2 of the research.
Phase 2: In-Depth Interview
Sample. Twelve participants were eligible for Phase 2, based on their
organizations assessed agility and financial performance. These individuals received an
email invitation to participate in a face-to-face or telephone interview to understand the
practices of HR professionals at agile organizations (see Appendix C). Ten professionals
(representing 10 different organizations) volunteered and completed an interview.
Interview script. Table 3 presents the interview questions used in Phase 2 of the
present study. The researcher posed 11 questions to the participants. The questions were
organized into four categories: company information, HR practices (in answer to
Research Question 1), critical HR capabilities (in answer to Research Question 2), and
HRs role in agility (in answer to Research Question 3).
27
Table 3
Interview Questions
Area of inquiry
1. Company information
2. What are the practices of human

resources professionals in agile
organizations?
3. What capabilities are important for

human resources professionals in agile
organizations?
4. What role does human resources

play in increasing organization agility?
Interview questions
1. Does your organization have a clear
strategy mission/goals?
2. How would you describe the leadership at
your company?
3. How would you describe the culture?
4. What outcomes does human resources want
to achieve?
5. What human resources practices build
change management muscle and agility at
your company?
6. How does the business value the
partnership with human resources? Can you
give any examples?
7. What capabilities do you feel are important
for human resources professionals to
succeed at your company?
8. What is unique about the human resources
capacity that you are building for the
future?
9. What role do you see human resources
playing in organization agility at your
company?
10. How important is the human resources
function to continued success and why?
11. Are there any other insights that you feel
are important in building organization
agility through human resources?
Data collection. Participants received the interview questions before their

interview to allow them time to reflect and prepare. Each interview was conducted by
phone or in-person, lasted approximately 30-45 minutes, and was audio recorded with the
participants permission.
Data analysis. A professional transcription service produced transcripts of the
interviews, resulting in 163 pages of qualitative data across the 10 interviews. The
28
qualitative interview transcripts were reviewed to identify similarities, differences, and
themes across the participants. The researcher coded the data for based on the identified
themes. Themes were revised and data were re-coded as needed. The number of
participants reporting each theme was calculated when the analysis was complete. A
second rater reviewed the results of the data analysis to confirm the validity of the
analysis.
Protection of Human Subjects
Pepperdine Universitys Institutional Review Board approved and provided
oversight for the research study. Participation in the study was voluntary. Participants
also had the right to decline to answer any question asked of them or to withdraw from
the study at any time without risk or penalty.
Consent information and criteria for participation were presented to participants
on the first page of the survey during Phase 1 of the research. To proceed to the
questions, the participant had to indicate their acknowledgement of the conditions of the
study and their agreement to participate. Participants were not able to access the survey
unless they clicked the consent box. Participant also had the option to submit a signed
hard copy of the consent form of to receive documentation about study participation from
the researcher.
All study data were housed in a password-protected computer. Only the
researcher had access to any hardcopy files. All information will be kept for 3 years after
the completion of the study, at which time it will be purged. The study results were
provided to participants upon request.
29
Summary
This chapter reported the methods used in this study to understand what HR
professionals are doing within agile organizations and to distill the learning from them.
The research design and procedures for Phases 1 and 2 of the study were described. The
next chapter reports the study findings.
30
Chapter 4
Results
The present study generated a significant volume of rich data. This chapter
presents an overview of the findings with select sample comments to provide the reader
with a high-level understanding of the data reported and the themes generated. Survey
respondent demographics are presented first. The practices of HR professionals in agile
organizations are discussed next, in answer to Research Question 1. Findings related to
Research Question 2 are presented next and outline capabilities that are important for HR
professionals in agile organizations. Finally, the role HR plays in increasing organization
agility is provided, in answer to Research Question 3. The chapter closes with a
summary.
Survey Respondent Demographics
The primary intention of the survey was to screen participants to identity those
respondents who were senior HR professionals from companies that demonstrated
sufficient agility and to invite them to complete an interview. Table 4 presents the
demographics for the professionals who were invited to the survey, who responded to the
survey, and who qualified for Phase 2. Agility survey results for non-qualifying and
qualifying respondents are presented in Table 5. Mean routine scores for qualifying
participants ranged from 2.8 (testing routine) to 3.2 (implementing routine).
31
Table 4
Survey Sample Demographics
Characteristic
Participants human resources experience
Less than 15 years
More than 15 years
Employers number of staff
Less than 999
1,000-9,999
10,000-49,999
50,000+
Invited Respondents Qualifying

Participants
N = 150 N = 58
N = 12
27
123
9
13
1
9
1
45
27
77
1
17
9
31
0
9
2
1
Table 5
Agility Survey Results
Scale
Strategizing Routine
Range
Mean
SD
Perceiving Routine
Range
Mean
SD
Testing Routine
Range
Mean
SD
Implementing Routine
Range
Mean
SD
Benchmark
Non-Qualifying
Respondents
N = 46
Qualifying
Respondents
N = 12
2.75 2.90
1.25 3.0
2.0
0.88
2.75 - 4.0
3.0
1.1
2.5 - 2.7
1.2 3.0
2.2
1.27
2.5 4.0
2.8
1.1
2.5 - 2.7
1.8 3.2
2.2
.99
2.5 3.8
2.8
.92
2.7 - 2.85
1.6 2.8
2.0
.85
2.7 3.8
3.2
.78
Twelve organizations met or exceeded the threshold for the four agility routines.
For these organizations, financial data (revenue) for 2012 and 2013 were gathered to
understand their financial performance. These 12 organizations also satisfied the financial
performance threshold, as their revenue for 2013 was in the top quartile compared to
32
peers of similar sizes and industries. The final interview sample consisted of 10
participants, as two dropped out of the study at this stage. A brief profile of the 10
organizations is presented in Table 6.
Table 6
Organizations Meeting or Exceeding the Baseline Thresholds
Company
Size
Industry
Revenue
Sr. HR
(2013) Professional
Agility Scores
S
P
T
I
>2.75 >2.5 >2.5 >2.7
2.75 2.8 2.6 2.6
2.75 2.6 2.8 2.6
50,000+
10,00049,999
1,0009,999
1,0009,999
1,0009,999
1,0009,999
1,0009,999
1,0009,999
1,0009,999
1,0009,999
Retail
Telecommunications
$126B
$12.2B
15yrs+
15yrs-
Biotech
$270M
15yrs+
3.5
3.4
3.2
Consulting
$501M
15yrs+
3.4
3.8
Consulting
$508M
15yrs+
3.75
3.2
3.2
Pharmaceuticals
$307M
15yrs+
3.25
Healthcare solutions
$314M
15yrs+
3.75
3.6
3.5
2.8
Technology
$602M
15yrs+
3.6
Technology
$512M
15yrs+
3.2
Technology
$465M
15yrs+
3.25
2.8
Practices of Human Resources Professionals in Agile Organizations

Interviewees were asked to describe their organizations strategy, leadership, and
culture, and then asked them specifically about their HR practices. Interestingly,
responses mirrored the four agility routines; therefore, this framework is used to organize
and discuss the findings.
Four strategizing practices were indicated in the data (see Table 7). Strong
strategizing practices can be defined as a stable identity and flexible intent that seeks to
33
build a series of short-term strategic advantages. All 10 participants reported that a chief
HR officer is on the executive leadership team. More importantly, this executive was
described as being highly committed, having clear values and beliefs, is future-focused,
and clearly communicates with the organization. With phrases such as were futurists
and we take a long-term view, this was further supported by the following comments:
We are optimizing on building a company that is going to be here more than 100
years from now.
The value passed on from our [chief executive officer] is that each leader needs to
create a special experience for their employees. Youre running a people business
and we cant forget that our people are the most important thing.
Another value we have is that you dont work alonethere is more power in
collective thinking than in individual thinking.
Leadership is the act of moving us forward and we believe it can come from
anybody at any time.
We have an absolute value around direct communication, not talking about
people, rather talking to them.
Table 7
Strategizing Practices
Strategizing Practice
Chief human resources officer was a member of the executive leadership team. This
executive was highly committed, future-focused, and demonstrated sustainable
tenets
Organizational strategy was clear and informed the human resources strategy,
mission, vision, and goals
Company values were explicit and human resources was stewarding the culture
based on these
Organizational structure maximized relationships; power is viewed as a referent
power source
N = 10
n
10
8
7
6
Eight participants reported that their organization has a clear strategy that informs
their HR strategy, mission, vision, and goals. Participants explained:
34
HR topics are absolutely aligned and integrated with the business because that is
where our objectives come from.
The emphasis is on the clarity of what must be achieved [by the people] for the
business to succeed.
Ive always prided myself on understanding the business and aligning all the HR
levers we have to support the business.
Seven participants shared that their company values are explicit and HR is
stewarding the culture based on these values. Participants commented:
Our leaders are so fundamentally engaged in ensuring that our culture endures for
at least another 50 years.
The entrepreneurial value is critical to us. . . . Our employees get to run the
business the way they want. . . . There are certain guard rails, but outside of
simple constraints, they run the business.
The final theme, mentioned by six participants, was that the structure of the
organization maximized relationships and networks rather than hierarchy. Moreover,
power was viewed as referent and non-hierarchical, meaning that power was about the
individuals influence and referent power. This was evidenced with the following
comments:
Power is not institutional. It comes from the individuals ability to influence, to be
credible and have followership. People choose who they want to follow, who they
listen to.
Knowledge capital and social capital combine to create influence.
Our lattice structure has everybody connected and valued. We are team-based and
project-based. None of us have titles.
We pride ourselves because we lack structure and there is a lot of autonomy in the
business.
Study findings indicated that participants observed three perceiving practices in
their organizations (see Table 8). Strong perceiving practices can be defined as sensing,
interpreting, and preparing responses to signals from the competitive environment.
35
Table 8
Perceiving Practices
Perceiving Practice
Human resources members have a strong understanding of their industry and their
contextual environment
Human resources members are in direct contact with customers
Information sharing is broad, like a network broadcast to the entire organization
N = 10
n
10
8
7
Participants reported that members of the HR team were knowledgeable about the
core business, the industry, and their general environment. They had the capacity to be
outside focused rather than inside focused. They experienced direct contact with
customers and other stakeholders. Their communications were like a network broadcast:
Information was shared through networks and relationships in a very broad manner using
technology like company news boards and community blogs. Participants elaborated:
Were skating to where the puck is goinghelping the business to be smarter
about how to achieve their outcomes.
I keep my right foot in the outside world and my left foot inside the company.
Straddling helps me understand the environment and provides me with the
necessary context I need to do my best work.
The difficulty is that people who have important information frequently do not
have the means to share the information to those who need the informationthis
is why connection and structure are important. We leverage our networks to share
information broadly with the help of technology.
Eight of the 10 participants stated that members of the HR team are in direct
contact with customers, either by attending trade shows or by focus groups or by riding
along with sales staff. Seven participants reported that information sharing is broad, like a
network broadcast to the entire organizationnot based on a hierarchy, but occurring
through the use of blogs, discussions, and posts on their internal sites.
36
Participants described three testing routines their organizations practiced (see
Table 9). Testing routines include designing, resourcing, and executing effective tests of
potential responses to environmental threats and opportunities. All 10 participants shared
that HR generates and tries out ideas and encourages creativity. Nine reported that the
HR team is mindful about slowing down leaders and encouraging them to distill the
learning. This led to a conversation about applying systems thinking to get to root causes
of challenges rather than quick fixes. Nine participants also reported that the HR team has
a continuous improvement mindset, taking time to distill the learning around what could
be improved. Participants explained:
People have the right to fail, just fail fast, learn and move on. Oh, and dont fail
twice at the same thing.
We do not have a ton of formal learning, rather we have profound experiential
learning.
We dont take everyone with us out of the gate. We try it, tweak it, adjust it and
may or may not end up implementing it [on pilot testing].
[Regarding the importance of testing], what got us from zero to a half billion
dollars are not the same muscles that we need to go from a half billion dollars to a
billion dollars. We know this, and we know we need to develop other capabilities.
What helps to sustain impact is taking a systems approach. Know when you have
to sprint and where to slow down and take the necessary time. You dont have to
sprint as frequently as people think and solving the root delivers greater impact.
At times, it can feel better to act fast than act thoughtfully. Im trying to address
this by asking our leaders to inquire, to check assumptions and slow down.
Table 9
Testing Practices
Testing Practice
n
Human resources team tries out new ideas before putting them into production
10
Human resources team is mindful about slowing down leaders and encouraging them 9
to distill the learning
Human resources team has a continuous improvement mindset
9
N = 10
37
Participants also pointed out that their organizations utilize implementing
practices, defined as effectively and efficiently institutionalizing the organizational
response in operations of the company (see Table 10). Nine participants reported that HR
processes in their organizations are routinized and widely known and accepted. For
example, interview participants shared there was an accepted and widely used process for
implementing initiatives throughout the organization. A common process was typical.
One interviewee discussed the General Electric change acceleration process. The
participant explained that the organization was using this as a model for leading change,
defining direction, mobilizing commitment, making decisions, resourcing, and learning
and monitoring. Another participant discussed the P&G model, which involved looking
at the desired outcomes, aligning leadership, defining the culture needed, and integrating
the systems to reinforce this culture.
Table 10
Implementing Practices
Implementing Practice
Human resources processes are routinized, widely known and accepted
Human resources team demonstrates execution excellence
Human resources team is disciplined; follows through on commitments
N = 10
n
9
7
6
Seven participants expressed that their organizations demonstrate execution

excellence. Six participants reported that their HR team was disciplined and follows
through on commitments. The theme on rigor and discipline in their processes was
present in the need for functional excellence. This practice was evidenced by the
following quotes:
We have a lot of discipline. We dont have hierarchy, titles or job descriptions.
We have methods and mechanisms to clarify and ensure everybodys on the same
page.
38
If you ask a manager, Do you want a process? Theyll go Oh, no, I dont want
that. If you ask, How would you like to be able to get something done faster,
repeatable with less errors? Theyll say, Yeah, thats what I want.
Its about taking repetitive work that is taking effort into mindless execution,
which then frees up bandwidth that then gets to go into that innovation space with
higher impact.
We manage processes and projects, but we do not manage people.
Helping leaders to understand path dependency, to notice that the investments we
are making, the decisions and options that we have today, are a function of the
investments and things we did in the past.
Important Capabilities for Human Resource Professionals in Agile Organizations
My next intention with the interviewees was to uncover the capabilities for HR
professionals by asking participants to share in discussion what they believed were
important capabilities within HR for their organization. Again, I used the four agility
routines to report my findings. Table 11 shows the three strategizing capabilities
indicated: business acumen (n = 10), process consulting skills (n = 9), and group dynamic
expertise (n = 9).
Table 11
Strategizing Capabilities
Strategizing Capability
n
Business acumen
10
Process consulting skills
9
Group dynamics expertise 9
N = 10
Regarding business acumen, participants reported that a strong knowledge of the
core business, its industry, and its contextual environment are needed. Participants
explained that HR initiatives are tied to the business achieving its strategic priorities. One
participant explained, The HR practitioner needs to fully understand the core business,
39
the feedback and best practices shared, and to eliminate low value-add activities. We
have adopted Unilevers CleanOut program as a best practice.
Strong process consulting skills, defined as contracting with clients, diagnosing
the challenges, presenting findings and recommendations, co-creating solutions and
interventions, and implementing and evaluating the solutions also are necessary. One
participant stated, You need to have excellent coaching and contracting skills, strong
diagnosis skills and a wide skill set for interventions.
Finally, participants stressed that HR professionals in agile organizations need a
strong understanding of group dynamics and the importance of shared values for effective
teamwork. One participant explained, We are expected to manage the tensions between
individual needs and group needs.
Three perceiving capabilities were identified as critical (see Table 12). All 10
participants stressed the importance of observing and making links to the external
environment (context). All 10 participants also emphasized the need to be strong
communicators and relationship builders, as the HR team has a strong network of
informal relationships and connection within the organization. The theme of a connected
culture, one that focused on relationships and networks and how to work together to get
the work completed also became apparent in the data. This was supported by phrases
such as we have a real community here and the sense that employees were engaged and
involved. Seven participants stated that critical thinking, including interpreting and
making sense of the information they are receiving and intuiting next steps, was
important. This is because HR provides the business not only with data, but also with
insights from the data that is value adding. Thus, they help interpret external trends and
conditions that are likely to impact business success.
40
Table 12
Perceiving Capabilities
Perceiving Capability
n
Understanding of external environment
10
Strong communicator and relationship builder
10
Critical thinker: able to interpret data and present insights 7
N = 10
Three themes emerged related to testing capabilities (see Table 13). All
participants expressed the importance of being a curious learner in terms of practicing
experiential learning and double-loop learning. All participants also stated it was
important to be a systems thinker, demonstrated by slowing down, solving the root cause,
and recognizing the larger whole that was presented. Seven participants shared that
creative thinking was necessary. This type of thinking was demonstrated by innovating
and learning within their organizations. Participants stated that a culture of innovation
and creativity and exploring new product ideas or new ways of doing the work was
valued. It also is important to leverage the latest technology and social media, according
to participants.
Table 13
Testing Capabilities
Testing Capability n
Curious learner
10
Systems thinker
10
Creative thinker
7
N = 10
Three implementing capabilities were mentioned by all 10 participants (see Table

14). All interviewees expressed the importance of understanding and leading change,
including having knowledge of change management models and being able to apply them
41
to bring rigor and discipline around change behaviors. This was evidenced by the
following quotes:
Facilitating change is huge. Were in a constant state of change. People are less
afraid of change when they participate in its design and execution. The more
people are involved, the less resistance we encountered.
Its not enough to get change started, you have to be mindful about how you are
going to sustain it, bake it into the day to day routines.
Change takes practice. The more you do it, the better you get.
Table 14
Implementing Capabilities
Implementing Capability
Change management skills
Understand how to build organization capabilities
Execute on the current work and be accountable
N = 10
n
10
10
10
Building organizational capacity also is important and is evidenced by everyone

being key to helping the organization evolve. This was described as a skill set to assess
what capabilities were needed (assessment was the language used by some) and an ability
to assemble the development program and activities that would build the capabilities for
the organization to deliver on the outcomes. A number of these participants elaborated
that building leadership capacity through development programs was specifically needed.
Participants also asserted the importance of executing on the current work and
being accountable by flawlessly delivering transaction and administrative services and
calling out low-value activities that inhibit HR productivity. Participants elaborated:
We ask ourselves, What are we doing that is diminishing our time and efforts
that we could be spending on other higher value activities?
Every HR department has more demand for its services than resources to fulfill
them. The trick is to prioritize and be intentional about what your outcomes are
and why.
42
We tell our managers to keep their hands on the steering wheel of their own
teams.
Role Human Resources Plays in Increasing Organization Agility
The role that HR plays in increasing organization agility also was investigated.
Responses were framed using the four routines of agility and three strategizing roles
emerged (see Table 15). All 10 participants stated that HR professionals need to take the
business challenges and use training forums to make progress on these challenges. Nine
shared that it was important to focus HR efforts to align on business outcomes. One
participant described this as focus[ing] on the big rocks: Do not dilute your efforts by
taking on too much. Work should be prioritized on high-impact outcomes, the most
important issues to the business. Six participants stressed the importance of mindful
leadership practices, meaning that HR professionals need to role model the behaviors
they want to see.
Table 15
Strategizing Roles
Strategizing Role
n
Focus HR efforts to align on business outcomes 10
Use the business challenges for learning
9
Develop mindful leadership practices
6
N = 10
Participants identified three perceiving roles that HR professionals play (see Table
16). All 10 stated it was important to expose everyone to the customer for the purpose of
increasing their contextual understanding. Participants explained that this puts the
employee into the marketplace and increases their awareness of competitor products and
the choices that consumers are making. Developing systems thinking also appeared as a
theme (n = 7). This was described as helping leaders and managers to slow down and fix
43
root causes not band-aiding the symptoms. Activities include coaching leaders and
managers through a series of questions and reminding them that the presenting problems
are often not the real problem. Another participant described this role as connecting the
individual, to the organization, to the industry, and to the global business environment,
which leads to the conversation about the customer. Six participants stated it was
important to share information through storytelling, as this helps to build the heart of the
organization. Through storytelling, employees grow to understand the value of
relationships and networks and the importance of storytelling to share information. In
particular, it is important to communicate with visual images and verbal messages and
with stories to emotionally capture the heart and with metrics to capture the head.
Table 16
Perceiving Roles
Perceiving role
n
Expose everyone to the customer to increase contextual understanding 10
Develop systems thinking in the organization
7
Share information through storytelling
6
N = 10
Three testing roles were identified (see Table 17). All 10 discussed instilling the
importance of learning and reflection, particularly as it concerned creating a learning
culture. This type of culture was characterized as experimenting frequently, reflecting
always, and improvising continuously. Nine participants discussed collaboration through
teamwork, especially because project teams and program management typically requires
sharing information across functions. Participants shared, were a team-based
company, we dont work alone, and its about winning together. Eight participants
stressed the need to develop a possibility mindset or entrepreneurial mindset to unleash
44
creativity. This involves focusing on the opportunities and whats possible, as well as
looking to find solutions, inquiring, and slowing down to think consciously.
Table 17
Testing Roles
Testing Role
n
Instill the importance of learning and reflection
10
Develop collaboration through team work
9
Develop possibility mindset to unleash creativity 8
N = 10
Three implementing roles were indicated in the data (see Table 18). All 10
participants discussed building change readiness and operationalizing the change by
baking it into the rhythm of the business and how the work gets done, such that implicit
assumptions become explicit actions. According to participants, it was necessary to build
change competence and learn how to become a change champion, by not just initiating
change but by sustaining it. Seven participants shared it was necessary to focus their
efforts on designing the workplace and creating rules to support those who want to do
their best work. At the same time, care must be taken to not become overly rule bound.
One participant explained, I have seen HR as a contributing factor in making a company
not agile by having too much policy and red tape that handcuffs managers and stifles
ideas and innovation. Finally, participants described the importance of building a
globalization mindset and cultural awareness. Participants explained that the boundaries
around companies are shifting, resulting in global networks of complex relationships. As
markets continue to open in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC countries) and
elsewhere, the HR function can help prepare for this by building the capabilities of
leaders and employees to operate in a global environment. One participant shared:
45
As we work on creating capabilitiesany capability, innovation, or collaboration,
it is important to share the meaning about why you are doing this. Are we
addressing a skills gap, is this a company initiative, etc.?
Table 18
Implementing Roles
Implementing Role
n
Build change readiness
10
Focus on and create rules for those who want to do their best work 7
Build a global mindset
6
N = 10
Summary of Findings
Table 19 presents a summary of the findings that emerged from this study. At the
strategizing routine level, HR professionals exhibit awareness and foster employee, team,
and departmental alignment with the overall business. At the perceiving routine level, HR
professionals seek to understand and connect themselves and other organization members
with the customers. At the testing routine level, HR professionals apply creativity,
systems thinking, and curiosity to engage the organization in creativity and continuous
learning. At the implementing routine level, HR professionals help establish methods and
procedures for organization members to attain excellence. This chapter presented the
quantitative and qualitative findings of the study. The following chapter discusses these
findings, identifies derived conclusions, describes implications for future research,
reviews the studys limitations, and explores the impact for HR professionals and leaders
of change.
46
Table 19
Summarized Findings
Strategizing
Routine
Perceiving
Routine
Testing
Routine
Implementing
Routine
Practices
Chief HR officer part of
executive leadership team
Clear organizational strategy
informs HR strategy,
mission, vision, and goals
HR stewards culture based
on clear company values
Organizational structure
maximizes relationships
HR members have a strong
understanding of their
industry and their contextual
environment
HR members are in direct
contact with customers
Information sharing is broad,
like a network broadcast to
the entire organization
HR team tries out new ideas
before putting them into
production
HR team is mindful about
slowing down leaders and
encouraging them to distill
the learning
HR team has a continuous
improvement mindset
HR processes are routinized,
widely known, and accepted
HR team demonstrates
execution excellence
HR team is disciplined and
follows through on
commitments
HR = human resources
Key Capabilities
Business acumen
Process consulting
skills
Group dynamics
expertise
Roles
Focus HR efforts to
align on business
outcomes
Use the business
challenges for
learning
Develop mindful
leadership practices
Understanding of
external environment
Strong communicator
and relationship
builder
Critical thinker: able
to interpret data and
present insights
Expose everyone to
the customer to
increase contextual
understanding
Develop systems
thinking in the
organization
Share information
through storytelling
Instill the importance
of learning and
reflection
Develop collaboration
through team work
Develop possibility
mindset to unleash
creativity
Curious learner
Systems thinker
Creative thinker
Change management
skills
Understand how to
build organization
capabilities
Execute on the current
work and be
accountable
Build change
readiness
Focus on and create
rules for those who
want to do their best
work
Build a global
mindset
47
Chapter 5
Discussion
This chapter interprets the findings that were presented in chapter 4 and compares
the findings to the literature. Conclusions, recommendations, and limitations of the study
also are provided, followed by suggestions for further research.
Conclusions
This section interprets the key findings and offers conclusions that have emerged
from the research. A discussion of conclusions on each research question follows,
reviewing the implications, and tying this back to the research literature.
Practices of human resources professionals in agile organizations. The study
findings revealed that executive-level leadership in HR is committed, visionary, and
focused. Leaders are aligned on a shared sense of purpose and the customer is top of
mind. The HR team is innovative with its interventions and solutions, and is mindful
about slowing down to fix the root cause of the organizations challenges. Testing and
learning permeate throughout the organization. Common procedures and processes are
routinized, which frees up thinking time for other challenges.
The implications of these findings demonstrate the need for a strong HR leader
who is an equal partner on the executive leadership team. In this sample, this position
was titled a chief HR officer. This type of leadership set a strong foundation for the HR
48
team, which benefited from a clear vision, mission, and set of goals to align its work. The
importance of unleashing the potential of human capital was already understood at the
most senior levels. Therefore, the HR team and leadership team were in alignment
together understanding the value of culture and relationships and the context of their
overall system. Another finding was the importance of learning, of trying out new ideas,
of failing fast, and moving on. There was an innovative and entrepreneurial essence that
permeated the organization. Absent was the notion of fear, as courage had replaced it and
exploration was role modeled. Finally, what also became clear, was how the HR team
had routinized common practices and achieved excellence in these.
Conclusions can be drawn for what other organizations could do to reproduce this
success. These include ensuring there is a strong HR leader who is a contributing member
of the executive leadership team, ensuring alignment of leaders on strategy and sharing
this broadly throughout the system, exposing everyone to the customer so they
understand how to design with customers in mind, encouraging innovation and learning
through testing and failing fast, and executing flawlessly on routine tasks.
These findings support previous research that calls for HR professionals to be HR
innovators and integrators (Ulrich et al., 2012). To leverage their knowledge of the latest
insights on key HR practices related to human capital and turn these insights into
integrated solutions to maximize the benefits for the organization. An innovation that this
study discovered was how the sample HR teams were supporting mindful leadership
practices. One participant shared that, with the success of Googles workshop Search
Inside Yourself, they recognized the need to offer their employees an opportunity for
personal growth so they could build awareness of their own patterns. These findings
complement the Deloitte report, which stated the importance of shared purpose,
49
collaboration, deep self-awareness, and being a curious learner (Deloitte Development,
2015).
This study also supports Worley and Lawlers (2010) research, which highlighted
the importance of maximizing the surface area of all employees to the customer. The
present study adds to the research by highlighting that this trend is putting HR on the
frontlines with customers and that there is an opportunity for HR to design customer
experiences into their programs. The present study also supports the research findings of
Ulrich et al. (2012), which shared the insight that there is a competence domain needed
by HR professionals of strategic positioner. As strategic positioners, HR professionals
will need to think and act from the outside in.
Key capabilities for human resources professionals. The study revealed that
these HR professionals had strong business acumen and were practiced at tying their
work back to the organizations performance. They were skilled in team dynamics and
consulted with leaders and managers on team performance. They were connected to the
outside environment, were technically savvy, and shared relevant information. The
essence of who they are is captured in being curious, creative, and in thinking with the
open system in mind. Change management skills were foundational. They were adept at
initiating change by involving everyone on why the change was needed before moving
forward. The majority of the sample were working on change programs that involved
building organizational capability.
Three conclusions can be drawn: HR professionals who have change
management capabilities, who can create business value through human resource efforts,
and who have strong consulting skills can help organizations to be agile.
50
Change management capabilities. The study revealed that HR professionals
within agile organizations are being mobilized to help build their organizations change
management muscle. These leaders and HR professionals are going beyond just helping
the organization be change ready. Instead, they are moving toward a future state where
change is embraced and where individuals are excited and challenged in times of great
transformation and chaos. To do this, they are building change capability and developing
leadership philosophies that support change. In order to build this change capacity, this
study concludes that there needs to be a common change methodology and process that is
widely known throughout the company. There needs to be an opportunity to engage in
and learn from as many change experiences as possible. This change mindset needs to
prevail throughout the company through the means of educating and training managers
and employees and making it a goal on personal development plans. The implications for
HR educators is to develop course content that teaches change management practices and
offer experiential opportunities to practice change management techniques.
Create business value through human resource efforts. The study revealed the
need for HR professionals to demonstrate their value to the business with an increased
focus on understanding the core business and aligning HR efforts to business outcomes.
HR professionals who use data and metrics with the business leaders have greater impact.
This positions HR further up the value chain. To do this, HR professionals would benefit
from developing their understanding of technology by taking business analytics classes
and learning how to develop a dashboard of metrics that the business leaders would
value. They would need to build some discipline and rigor around the evaluation of
interventions. HR educators would need to develop some HR business analytics content
and showcase some templates and examples from industry.
51
Strong consulting skills. The nature of how work is getting done is changing.
Collaborative teams are forming for projects with specific goals and then being
disbanded. These structures are supporting agile co-creativity and connection through a
dispersed network. This corroborates the notion that effective HR professionals can be
credible activists and build their personal trust through business acumen (Ulrich et al.,
2012). This conclusion supports the research that calls for HR professionals to develop
competence as a change champion. As change champions, HR professionals are helping
to make change happen at the institutional level (changing patterns), the initiative level
(making things happen), and the individual level (enabling personal change). It also
supports Boudreau and Ziskins (2011) findings, which posited that HR professionals in
the future will need to understand change strategy as well as business strategy to be
effective. The value added from this research is that the companies who are building this
capability are starting to use this as a competitive advantage. One participant shared that
HR professionals at her organization are leading in their health care solutions because
they could adapt quickly to the change in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ahead of their
competitors.
Role human resources plays in increasing organization agility. The study
revealed that HR practices can absolutely help increase organization agility in the same
way that poor HR practices can bog down an organization with red tape, rules, and
legalities. The role it played in the sample included being focused on the business
outcomes, using the business challenges for learning purposes, stewarding the values and
the culture, developing organization wide systems thinking, and building change
readiness and organization capabilities.
52
This leads to the conclusion that other organizations could reproduce this success
by tying back to business outcomes, building change management muscle, and building
organization capability. We have identified the importance of change management and
business outcomes with the prior research questions. The additional piece here is building
organization capability.
This study revealed that organizations are looking to HR professionals to build
out capabilities that move the company forward. HR professionals will need to be able to
identify what capabilities are needed through a needs assessment and create the necessary
learning platforms to build these capabilities. These capabilities should outlast the
behavior or performance of any individual manager or system. One participant shared
that they are working on a coaching module for their managers. Another shared that
they were working on a storytelling workshop for their leaders. Knowing how to
conduct a capability assessment or audit will help identify what needs are required by the
organization to move them forward. If this is now a required need, then HR educators
will have to build this component into their courseware and offer opportunities to
students to learn and experience this domain (which, after all, is their core competence).
This finding supports Boudreau and Ziskins (2011) research, which identified the shift
from hero leadership to collective leadership. Relying too heavily on a single hero leader
can make the organization vulnerable; therefore, it is best to build the capabilities of the
collective leadership.
Recommendations
Based on the findings and conclusions of this study, four recommendations are
offered for consideration to HR professionals and leaders as next steps. These include
mastering the change agent role, linking HR practices to business strategy, building
53
capability for HR professionals and the organization, and unleashing the power of
technology in HR.
Master the change agent role. This study has shown that leaders and HR
professionals alike need to work together to develop change management muscle to
position themselves for success in the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world.
This can be done by first reflecting on ones own behaviors in change situations. Next, it
would be helpful to invest in change management training and in learning the necessary
tools and mindsets required for change. A third step may include setting up an internal
community of practice for leading change and recruiting those involved in leading change
to share their knowledge and best practices. Finally, it would be helpful to adopt a
common change methodology and process that is widely known throughout the company
so that change becomes routinized.
Link human resources practices to business strategy. This study supports the
existing research concerning the importance of linking HR practices to business strategy.
As a result, it is advised that HR leaders develop an HR business plan based on the
company strategy, mission, and goals. This plan should define the business context,
articulate the HR vision, specify the outcomes, guide investment choices, create some
rules and governance, describe action plans, and focus on critical HR competencies. A
sample HR business plan is depicted in Table 20.
54
Table 20
Sample Human Resources Business Plan
Steps
1. Define
business
context
2.
Articulate HR
vision
3.
Specify
deliverables or
outcomes
4.
Make human
resource
investments
5.
Create HR
governance
and structure
6.
Prepare action
plans
7.
Ensure HR
competencies
Activities
- Define the business
environment.
- Record and define
expectations of key
stakeholders.
- Master the business strategy.
- Who we are (e.g., stewards,
coaches, change champions).
- What we do (e.g., build
organizational capability).
- Why we do it (e.g., to be
competitive in the industry).
- Define the deliverables,
outcomes, or guarantees from
doing good HR work. These
should be measureable and
specific.
- Create a typology or menu of
HR practices that can help
reach outcomes.
- Generate alternative HR
practices.
- Prioritize critical HR
practices.
- Make investment choices on
critical practices (cost-benefit
analysis).
- Identify who can do the work
(HR, line managers, strategic
vendors, etc.).
- Create a responsibility grid
for who must do the work.
- Prepare a specific action plan
(who, what, when, where) for
accomplishing HR priorities.
- Identify critical HR
competencies needed to meet
HR plan.
- Assess current state of
competencies.
- Prepare improvement plans.
Outcomes
Recognize the challenges facing the business,
the stakeholder expectations, and appropriate
business strategies.
Articulate a vision of the HR function that can

be shared inside the function (to excite HR
professionals) and outside the function (to
engage clients).
Define 3-5 deliverables of what the HR

function can guarantee for the organization.
Start with the capabilities required for the
organization to compete. They must be specific
and measurable.
Prioritize HR practices that must be
implemented to accomplish the deliverables.
Define accountabilities and responsibilities for

getting HR work done.
Prepare an action plan with detailed tasks,

responsibilities, resources required, time
frames, and so on.
Ensure that HR professionals are able to
accomplish the business plan.
Note. HR = human resources; From HR From the Outside In (p. 238), by D. Ulrich, J.
Younger, W. Brockbank, and M. Ulrich, 2012, New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Copyright
2012 by McGraw Hill. Reprinted with permission.
Build capability for human resources and for the organization. This study has
shown the value of building the capability of HR professionals in several areas, including
55
group dynamics, business acumen, customer centricity, design thinking, data
interpretation, consulting skills, and skills around developing the capability for the
organization itself. Skill development can be achieved through a mixture of hiring and
training. For example, HR consultants may be brought in for specific projects in response
to defined challenges. Next steps for the organization are to identify the capabilities
needed to move forward. A needs assessment or capability audit could be conducted by
outside consultants in collaboration with internal HR professionals. Solutions can then be
co-created by the hybrid team.
Unleash the power of technology in human resources. HR professionals could
invest in their knowledge of technology and leverage this to unleash further potential.
Upgrading their awareness and knowledge technologies may offer great advantages. Such
technologies include collaboration tools (e.g., Yammer, GoogleDocs), predictive business
modeling tools (e.g., Tableau), updated online and personal learning management
systems, open online courses (e.g., Khan Academy, edX, Udacity, Coursera), and social
platforms (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Glassdoor). These technologies offer a way
for organizations to connect with customers, drive HR value up the chain using data and
metrics, and demonstrate HR innovation with online learning opportunities.
Limitations of this Study
Three key limitations may have influenced this study: a focused population,
researcher bias, and organization size. First, this research only studied people who were
in the broad network of the researcher. Limiting the participants to those who were
known by the researcher affected the population sample. Moreover, the sample was
small: it is estimated that there are 1 million HR professionals, 600,000 (60%) of which
are tenured with more than 15 years of experience at their organizations. Given that only
56
20% of companies meet the agility threshold, the worldwide population for the present
study is estimated at 120,000. However, the current sample was limited to HR
professionals in North America from only the healthcare, technology, consulting, and
biomedical industries. To mitigate against this, a larger sample size should be adopted,
with broader reach globally and, if possible, with more resources.
Researcher bias is a second limitation of the present study. As an HR
professional, it is possible that the researchers beliefs and assumptions influenced the
data interpretation. Although the researcher was not a study participant and refrained
from completing the survey and interview questions, bias remains a concern. To mitigate
against the impact of researcher bias, a second rater was used to confirm the analysis of
the data.
Third, most of the organizations in the present study employed 1,000-10,000
individuals. It is possible that practices at larger companies may differ. It was the
researchers intent to include larger organizations; however, the thresholds for agility
resulted in most of the larger organizations being excluded from the study. To mitigate
against this, more extensive recruitment efforts for should be conducted in future studies.
Suggestions for Further Research
Two suggestions for future research are recommended based on this study. First, a
comparative study of HR professionals from non-agile organizations and HR
professionals from agile organizations would be helpful. Findings also may reveal
industry differences.
Second, a comparative study of other corporate functions (e.g., finance, legal,
information technology) should be conducted. If the HR function can contribute to an
organizations agility, it is likely that agility supportive practices also may be at work in
57
other functions within agile organizations. This study could map the practices of the other
professions and learnings that could be applied back to the HR function.
Summary
To achieve success in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world, HR
professionals need to be making continuous shifts in people, processes, technology and
structure. The next generation of forward-thinking HR professionals needs to have an
expanded portfolio of both technical and human skills so that these professionals can
become strategic business partners within their organizations. Organizations are
downsizing, reshaping themselves, outsourcing, joint venturing, merging, divesting, and
partnering to improve their competencies and capabilities. The HR professional can help
to drive fundamental change in the work lives of people.
58
References
Agility Consulting and Training. (2014). The agile model. Retrieved from
http://agilityconsulting.com/the-agile-model/
Aon Hewitt Consulting. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.aon.com/human-capitalconsulting/default.jsp
Boudreau, J. W. (2010). Retooling HR. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School
Publishing.
Boudreau, J. W., & Ziskin, I. (2011). The future of HR and effective organizations.
Organizational Dynamics, 40(4), 255266. doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2011.07.003
Charan, R. (2014, July-August). Its time to split HR. Harvard Business Review.
Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2014/07/its-time-to-split-hr/ar/1
The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development. (2015). CIPD profession map.
Retrieved from http://www.cipd.co.uk/cipd-hr-profession/profession-map/
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five
approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2014). Organization development and change (10th
ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage.
Deloitte Development. (2015). Global human capital trends 2015: Leading in the new
world of work. Retrieved from http://d2mtr37y39tpbu.cloudfront.net/wpcontent/uploads/2015/02/DUP_GlobalHumanCapitalTrends2015.pdf
Ebel, T., Kubik, K., & Lsch, M. (2014, January). Light-footed operations: The virtues of
agility in volatile times. McKinsey Quarterly. Retrieved from
http://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/dotcom/client_service/operations/p
dfs/lightfooted_operations.ashx
Horney, N., Eckenrod, M., McKinney, G., & Prescott, R. (2014). From change projects to
change agility. HR People & Strategy, 37(1), 4045.
Horney, N., Pasmore, B., & OShea, T. (2010). Leadership agility: A business imperative
for a VUCA world. People & Strategy, 33(4), 3239. Retrieved from
http://www.ibicity.fr/blog/public/Leadership_Agility_-_HRPS_Reprint_Permission__revised_.pdf
Macias-Lizaso, G., & Thiel, K. (2006, June). Building a nimble organization: A
McKinsey survey. McKinsey Quarterly. Retrieved from
http://www.leadway.org/PDF/Building%20A%20Nimble%20Organization.pdf
Mohrman, S. A., & Lawler, I. (2005). Transforming the human resource function through
shared services. Human Resources Management, 36(1), 157162.
59
Prahalad, C. K. (2009). In volatile times, agility rules. Retrieved from
http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2009-09-09/in-volatile-times-agility-rules
Ramo, J. C. (2009). The age of the unthinkable: Why the new world disorder constantly
surprises us and what to do about it. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.
Strack, R., Caye, J-M., von der Linden, C., Quirs, H., & Haen, P. (2012, August 2).
Realizing the value of people management: From capability to profitability.
bcg.perspectives. Retrieved from https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/
articles/people_management_human_resources_leadership_from_capability_to_p
rofitability/
Ulrich, D., Younger, J., Brockbank, W., & Ulrich, M. (2012). HR from the outside in.
New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
Worley, C. G., & Lawler, E. E. (2010). Agility and organization design. Organizational
Dynamics, 39(2), 194204. doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2010.01.006
Worley, C. G., Williams, T. D., & Lawler, E. E. (2014). The agility factor: Building
adaptable organizations for superior performance. Hoboken: Wiley.
60
Appendix A: The Short-Form Agility Survey
61
62
63
Appendix B: Survey Invitation Information Sheet

Dear [name]:
My name is Paula Lee, and I am a student in Organization Development at Pepperdine
University, Graziadio School of Business and Management, who is currently in the
process of recruiting individuals for my study entitled, A Study of HR Practices in Agile
Organizations. The professor supervising my work is Dr. Gary Mangiofico. The study
is designed to investigate HR Practices at Agile Organizations, so I am inviting
individuals who work within the HR function at Agile Organizations to participate in my
study. Please understand that your participation in my study is strictly voluntary. The
following is a description of what your study participation entails, the terms for
participating in the study, and a discussion of your rights as a study participant. Please
read this information carefully before deciding whether or not you wish to participate.
If you should decide to participate in the study, you will be asked to participate in a short
survey to assess the agility of the organization that you are employed with. It should take
approximately 10 minutes to complete the survey. If your organization meets the
benchmark for the study on organization agility, I will ask you to participate in an
interview. The interview should take no longer than 45 minutes.
Although minimal, there are potential risks that you should consider before deciding to
participate in this study. These risks include concerns from your organization about
disclosing the HR Practices that your organization has adopted. To minimize this risk, I
would encourage you to have a conversation with your organization about your
participation in the study.
If you have questions, please reach out to me directly at [contact information]
or alternatively to my research advisor, Dr. Gary Mangiofico, at [contact information].
The potential benefits to you for participating in the study include learning about HR
Practices at agile organizations. You will have the opportunity to receive a copy of the
completed research study.
If you should decide to participate and find you are not interested in completing the
survey in its entirely, you have the right to discontinue at any point without being
questioned about your decision. You also do not have to answer any of the questions on
the survey that you prefer not to answer--just leave such items blank.
After 2 weeks, a reminder note will be sent to you to complete the survey. If the findings
of the study are presented to professional audiences or published, no information that
identifies you personally will be released. The data will be kept in a secure manner for
at least three years at which time the data will be destroyed.
If you have any questions regarding the information that I have provided above, please do
not hesitate to contact me at the phone number provided below. If you have further
64
questions or do not feel I have adequately addressed your concerns, please contact Dr.
Gary Mangiofico at [contact information]. If you have questions about your rights as a
research participant, contact Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis, Chairperson of the Graduate &
Professional School Institutional Review Board at Pepperdine University, via email at
[contact information].
By completing the survey and returning it to me, you are acknowledging that you have
read and understand what your study participation entails, and are consenting to
participate in the study.
Thank you for taking the time to read this information, and I hope you decide to complete
the survey. Please remember to send me back the survey whether you decide to
participate in the study or not. You are welcome to a brief summary of the study
findings in about 6 months.
Sincerely,
Paula Lee
Student, Masters of Science in Organization Development
[contact information]
65
Appendix C: Interview Invitation and questions
First email
Dear participant,
First, I wanted to express my sincere thanks for filling out the agility survey on <company
name>. I have analyzed the survey data that I have collected and your company meets the
threshold for this study. As such, would you have 30 -45 mins for a follow-up interview, either
in-person on by phone. If this is possible, please you could reply with 2 or 3 times that might
work best for you and the best number to reach you at, I'll confirm and share the questions with
you prior to our conversation.
Many thanks,
Best,
Paula.
Second email
Dear participant,
Im looking forward to our conversation on <insert date, time>.
In advance, Id like to provide some context for our dialogue. As a reminder, I am researching
the practices of HR professionals at agile organizations.
The questions that I would like to explore with you tomorrow include:
A.
1.
2.
3.
4.
An exploration of your HR Practices:

Does <company x> have a clear HR mission and goals? Could you share these?
What outcomes does HR want to achieve? Is there an associated timeframe?
What HR best practices do you have at <company x> ?
How does the business value the partnership with HR? Can you give any examples?
B. HR Capabilities:
5. What capabilities do you feel are important for HR professionals to succeed at <company x>?
6. What is unique about the HR capacity that you are building for the future?
C. Role of HR in Organization Agility:
7. What role do you see HR playing in organization agility at <company x>?
8. How important is the HR function to <company Xs> continued success and why?
9. Are there any other insights that you feel are important in building organization agility
through HR?
As a reminder, you have the right to discontinue at any point without being questioned about
your decision. You also do not have to answer any of the questions that you prefer not to
answer. With your permission, I would like to record our conversation so that I can have the
interview data transcribed.
With sincere gratitude,
Paula.

A Study of HR Practices at Agile Organizations by Paula Lee

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Study of HR Practices at Agile Organizations by Paula Lee

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

A STUDY OF HUMAN RESOURCES PRACTICES WITHIN AGILE

2015 Paula Lee

This research project, completed by

Date: June 2015

Committee Chair, Gary Mangiofico, Ph.D.

Committee Member, Miriam Y. Lacey, Ph.D.

David Smith, Ph. D., Dean

Phase 1: Screening Survey and Financial Assessment ..........................................23

Role human resources plays in increasing organization agility.................51

1. Agile Routines and Test Items .................................................................................... 25

1. The Four Routines of Agile Organizations ................................................................... 7

The agility pyramid. As shown in Figure 3, agility is built on the foundational

The Possible Future of Human Resources

To be staffed by individuals who understand the business as well as change

To be a valued member of management teams by contributing to business

To effectively use outsourcers as a way to reduce the cost of the HR function

To have high levels of competency in designing HR systems and in managing

To effectively utilize information technology to support the development of

To develop computer-based HR management systems which free the HR

Traditionally, this organization has a unifying purpose/mission, other

Traditionally, this organization develops strategies with flexibility in

Traditionally, this organization has a culture that embraces change as

Traditionally, this organization spends a lot of time thinking about the

Traditionally, this organization puts as many employees as possible in

Traditionally, this organization allows information to flow freely from

Traditionally, this organization shares financial and business strategy

Traditionally, this organization has formal mechanisms to connect senior

Traditionally, this organization encourages innovation.

Traditionally, this organization has enough budget slack so that people

Traditionally, this organization is capable of shifting its structure quickly

Traditionally, this organization has flexible budgets that respond to

Traditionally, this organization regularly reviews learnings from change

Traditionally, this organization considers the ability to change a strength

Traditionally, this organization rewards seniority more than

Traditionally, this organization has a well-developed change capability.

Traditionally, this organization encourages managers to develop the

2. What are the practices of human

3. What capabilities are important for

4. What role does human resources

Data collection. Participants received the interview questions before their

Invited Respondents Qualifying

Practices of Human Resources Professionals in Agile Organizations

Seven participants expressed that their organizations demonstrate execution

Three implementing capabilities were mentioned by all 10 participants (see Table

Building organizational capacity also is important and is evidenced by everyone

Articulate a vision of the HR function that can

Define 3-5 deliverables of what the HR

Define accountabilities and responsibilities for

Prepare an action plan with detailed tasks,

Appendix B: Survey Invitation Information Sheet

An exploration of your HR Practices:

You might also like