Ascend introducing agile mindset

An HR department with about 200 employees wanted to transform its organization to deliver a better employee experience. The goal was to develop HR processes faster, be more flexible when peaks occurred in the organization, and minimize the internal negative perception of the HR functions. To do this, Ascend introduced an agile mindset and established a cross-functional collaboration to realize the full potential of different competencies and knowledge in the organization.

For an HR department, the primary delivery is to support the business in day-to-day questions and quickly respond to business needs while developing new HR services and improving existing processes. Therefore, the question was how to create an agile operating model that supports daily business needs and continuous development.

Together with the client, Ascend created the change in two key perspectives:

• From a traditional and hierarchical HR department to an organization built on cross-functional delivery teams supported by agile methodology and tools. The autonomous teams supported by their managers were trusted to handle almost all HR questions directly, such as talent acquisitions and compensation questions, and provide strategic guidance to managers, thus creating a smooth employee experience.
• The department transformed from a top-down steered organization to steering guided by Objective and Key Results (OKRs), where all teams contributed to creating the department’s strategic direction. The 3-year rhythm for planning and prioritization enabled the organization to adapt and respond faster to external impact and internal business needs.

One key success factor was creating sustainable leadership by training the leaders to get the prerequisites to support teams with a high degree of autonomy and self-leadership.

The final result was an agile HR department with a high satisfaction rate and a high degree of self-motivation and leadership. An organization that can adapt fast to changing needs and rely on the people in the organization is an organization that is well prepared for the future.