Today many organisations are transforming from a traditional structure to an agile structure to be able to work more efficiently, meet the fast changes that are continuously happening and make sure not be outperformed by competitors. Agile was from the beginning a set of values and principles designed for software development but it has scaled and today it includes the whole organisation. To avoid imbalance within the organization ,it is crucial that the whole organisation applies an agile mindset. However, the transformation may imply a lot of obstacles and challenges on the way. For some departments within an organisation, it is a lot easier to keep up with the changes and be a part of the transformation process while other departments lag behind or are forgotten, which is common for the HR department. HR ́s traditional responsibilities are performance appraisal, learning and development, compensation and recruiting and they are commonly viewed as an administrative function rather than a strategic function. However, it is important for HR to be a part of the agile transformation to be able to support the business. Applying agile can be a challenging task for HR since the requirements are many and the goal is clear which makes it hard to have an agile approach. On the other hand, HR can apply “agile lite” to their responsibilities and in that way fit the new organisation structure. In an agile transformation process it is highlighted that HR could function as a change agent, since they have a direct impact on the effectiveness of an organisation’s change and development. However, HR usually takes on a reactive role and are not the ones leading the transformation. This thesis examines two aspects for HR in an agile transformation process. First of all, the roles of HR in an agile transformation is investigated followed by identification of the challenges arising for HR during a transformation. How these challenges impact each other and the role of HR is also covered in the thesis. The study is based on qualitative research methods combined with a literature review. For the data collection, a total of seven semi-structured interviews with people from selected organisations were made. Further, a focus group session was conducted to discuss the findings and get a deeper understanding of the topic. To be able to analyze the aspects, theories concerning traditional HR, agile, agile applied to HR and the change process are covered in the thesis. Further, the chapter Cases of HR in agile transformations is categorized under HR’s role in an agile transformation and challenges with HR in an agile transformation. Regarding HR ́s role in an agile transformation there are different opinions. Concluded from this research, HR could act as a change agent. Further, what affects what role HR ends up with is mainly based on their reputation and if they understand and work close to the organisation, which is two identified challenges. Other main challenges identified for HR in an agile transformation are: Understand and work agile, HR’s traditional responsibilities, Experiment, Competence, Attitude and awareness of change, Understand the “why” and communicate continuously, Time and capacity, Behavioral knowledge and External factors.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:liu-167351 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Creators | Ekman, Felicia, Blonde, Sofia |
| Publisher | Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för ekonomisk och industriell utveckling, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för ekonomisk och industriell utveckling |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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