HR experts Terence Moolman, global chief strategy and people officer at Syspro, Guy Lundy, director at Spenser Stuart SA, and Rea Motshegare, HR director, Scatec SSA discussed embracing agility to drive success at the 2024 HR Indaba.
Abullah Verachia, moderator of the session at the HR Indaba 2024 on achieving workforce agility, opened by stating that the way HR professionals embrace agility is at the heart of achieving the company’s broader strategy.
Terence Moolman, global chief strategy and people officer at Syspro, Guy Lundy, director at Spenser Stuart SA, and Rea Motshegare, HR director, Scatec SSA all agreed that organisations are made of people, and went on to share how they HR embrace agility in their respective environments.
A focused view to agility
Terence said that in order to be agile, you have to be able to move, meaning you also have to let go, and gave Kodak as a key example of a company that held on too long, leading to its demise. He explained that Syspro’s approach to agility was to narrow in on the way people work, how leaders lead and how the organisation needs to enable those people when they have changed. He explained, “This means enabling people to work differently, move away from scripted job descriptions and roles, and be able to make decisions in the moment.”
He emphasised that with leadership, this means leaving behind an era where control was key and embracing a time when letting go has become important, and allowing teams to be empowered. He said that this meant allowing others to make decisions and create an environment of trust and safety. Guy added that a common mistake is that people who try to change will get burnt out or thrown out – and that culture isn’t enabling.
He pointed out that growing a culture of agility is a process that starts at board level and needs to trickle down. “If the culture is safety oriented or risk averse, it will take even more deliberate effort. Leaders need to be communicating, living agility and recognising those who operate differently and act in an agile manner. ‘Say, do, reward’ is the formula.”
Rea said that change is difficult but achieving it is about looking for practical ways of learning and unlearning. She shared how she moved from medical manufacturing to the renewable space, which challenged her to make a massive shift in her own thinking and ways of doing things. She said that it was key to reject the notion that the way it had always been done wasn’t necessarily the best, was often not fit for purpose going forward
Balancing letting go of the old and grabbing the new
When it comes to managing nostalgia for the ‘good old days’, Guy said there is value in recognising the good things achieved in the past. “You want to tap into the accomplishments of those who came before, so that you can take the best of what they did and build new thinking on to that foundation.” He also said you have to hire people from other industries, to bring in diverse perspectives and experience. Rea said if HR professionals really want to advocate for agility, they can’t don’t do what they did yesterday, adding, “Do the things that scare you.”
She spoke about the psychology of change and said it was important to watch our language and take disempowering speech out of our vocabulary, recognising that saying things like, “That’s how it’s always been done, or “Don’t scratch when it’s not itchy,” are utterances that shy away from innovation. She added that, “The small things you do every day make big changes.”
Responding to an audience question about actual tactics for achieving agility, Terence said that change has to be deliberate, giving an analogy of ploughing a field with the seeds of the crops you want, and not leaving it to chance. He added that, “Getting the right culture isn’t just doing the easy, fun stuff, it also takes hard work. If you are ready to do that you can succeed.”
Rea added that success is about taking personal agency to find solutions: “It’s about figuring out what the problem is, not just thinking up solutions for the sake of trying things out.” She cautioned against individuals moving alone, and said that acting alongside others is where a lasting impact is made.
Approaching agility as a new HR professional
Responding to a recent graduate, Guy said that while change is being driven, it can irritate other people, so the wise thing to do is act out what you would like to see. He said, “ Act in an agile manner that drives positive results, so you can be praised for doing it better rather than leaving a mess. By showing positive results, you can influence others to act differently. As a change agent, understand how hard to push and know success won’t happen overnight.”
Rea said agility requires embodying effective leadership, and importantly, learning to listen more and speak less to really be effective.
