Building an Agile Workforce For 2020

An agile workforce is essential for nurturing strategic partnerships across your organization. In this changing business world, to make sure that your company is prepared to tackle every challenge, you have to ensure that your employees are agile.

How can you define an agile workforce?

A correct word for an agile workforce could be “continuous upskilling.” In the contemporary world, defining the term “agile workforce” is quite easy. It’s the organization’s ability to alter and adapt change, to become successful. An organization that can adapt to the evolving market conditions, customer demands, and employee needs is deemed agile.

A small start-up comes to our mind while defining the term where you can choose your role, adapt to the change, and get things done when you need it. But as soon as the company grows, the agility is lost. However, to keep a strong grip on the market today, even a large firm needs to show agility.  

Why building an agile workforce is important?

We use this term daily with our clients and employees. Talking about workforce agility is one thing, but implementing it is another. Implementation is the phase where it becomes a challenge for the companies.

To succeed, win and retain your edge in the highly competitive business environment is a daunting task. Every day a brand-new company is launched with extraordinary and innovative services. Each of them is ready to give a face-off to your business. In order to keep up with a fast-paced market, you need an agile workforce that is able to adapt swiftly to changing trends to ensure your business retains its competitive edge and position in the market.

If you go by the recession report, so you would know that the business environment is more compressed. You must have noticed economic interruptions in the last decade that has taken the market by storm. There are a lot of uncertainties when you follow a single trend. Being agile can be a game-changer for your business if you adapt to change.

How to create an agile workforce?

You need to work on two things in order to create an agile workforce. The first thing is working on your organizational structure; structure matters. It is simply how work gets done. The second thing is the behavior or attitude of your employees.

The most important factor is a far-sighted, futuristic vision, rather than holding on to anarchic notions of the past. Now here, the employee’s mindset is really important. It will help us determine the pace of change in your company, where they currently stand, and where do they see themselves in the future.

A C-level executive is usually unaware of the mindsets of their employee. This makes it difficult for them to develop agility in their workforce. That’s where the HR department should step in. HR could play a significant role in correcting and nurturing the mindset of the leaders by understanding employee’s thought process.

Understanding employees’ mindset

Employees’ mindset works in a spectrum from negative to positive. You need to look out for the employees who deviate from a fixed mindset. They can change their mindset according to the conditions affecting them during the change process. It is important to understand what influences them during this period. This is called a growth mindset:

• Such employees would prioritize improving their talents and abilities, challenging their intelligence. They would never waste time in seeking validation and avoiding failure. They are ready to face every challenge.
• Next are employees with an open mindset. These minds welcome new ideas and are ready to implement them if they are reliable. Their minds are never out of ideas. They don’t appreciate close-mindedness. They are more focused on being in the right place.
• Finally comes the third category that includes employees with a promotional mindset. Their actions are directly associated with rewards. They tend to avoid problems and focus on not losing. These mindsets process change differently. They are ready to take the risk to seek rewards.

The Secret Behind Sustainable Growth – Nurturing an Agile Workforce

Advancement in technology and the advent of the internet has revolutionized the world. Rapid advancements in communications, products, and services have changed markets for good. In today’s era, the pioneers in every domain benefit the most. Corporate cultures have shifted to ‘survival of the fittest’ due to active competition in every industry. That is why, in the contemporary business environment, it is imperative for businesses to adopt an agile mindsight and build an agile workforce to transcend into a new decade of success and growth.

After all,

“Mindsets are the catalyst that propels the organization forward.”

-Lundi-Mallet