Theimplementation of Agile project management methodologies would be extremely beneficialfor your department at Virginia Tobaccos. “Agility is about flexibility andthe ability of an organization to rapidly adapt and steer itself in a newdirection” (Schlatmann 2017). Agile project management methodologies have recentlygained widespread popularity among some of the top companies around the worldand have led to many successful transitions. Agile offers many benefits thatwould allow not only the HR department, but all departments at Virginia Tobaccos,to stay ahead of the competition in an ever-changing environment. Agile project managementhas the ability to help a team focus on the most important aspects of theirwork and push them towards delivering meaningful results.
Asuccessful implementation of an Agile methodology comes from ING. When askedabout what prompted ING to introduce this new way of thinking, Bart Schlatmann said, “Customer behavior was rapidly changingin response to new digital distribution channels, and customer expectationswere being shaped by digital leaders in other industries. We needed to stopthinking traditionally about product marketing and start understandingcustomer journeys in this new omnichannel environment” (Schlatmann 2017). INGwas able to recognize that the traditional method in their company was anaspect that needed change and they worked over time to adopt an Agile strategy.Traditional project management is very linear and is averse to change.
Agile takesa difference approach by emphasizing teamwork, customer collaboration, andallowing the ability to respond to change quickly. This approach would helpyour HR team come closer together to complete the necessary software changes needed. Oneof the more popular methodologies within Agile is known as Kanban. Kanbanfocuses on the lean concept of flow that helps with continuous and predicablevalue delivery. Also, with its limits to WIP and customer centric approach, Kanbanwould be a viable option to help your department in designing new compensationsystems and selection systems. In an interview with an HR director from StarLink,he discussed how Kanban was able to improve their work flow scheduling andtheir ability to look at multiple levels of the customer and consumer base (Georgieff).This real-world example shows that within Kanban you have the tools to take anoverhead view of all the tasks and issues that need to be completed.
The mainidea of Kanban is to use a series of “boards” to help identify potentialbottlenecks and simplify the number of tasks needed. You would have the powerto view all of your work at one time on the same screen. Kanban is just one ofthe effective methodologies that an Agile approach could Transformingyour HR department to Agile is not an overnight change or a quick fix. It willrequire time and energy but, with the proper coaching and motivation within thedepartment, Agile can become a difference maker within Virginia Tobaccos andhelp push your department to the next level. Thank youfor your time, DanielJohnson
