I could not believe to my eyes when I read an article recently published in the blog sympa.net : somebody put together and published the very first Agile HR Manifesto! Hurrah!

I would have loved to participate in its redaction but I was not aware that someone out there was also talking and discussing about this very same subject. Unfortunately! But better later than never… I sent them a message, let’s hope they will come back with good intentions! Will keep you posted…

In the meantime, find below the core principles and philosophy shared in the Manifesto.

The Agile Manifesto for HR contains 12 principles that we should bear in mind when we work in an agile way in HR:

• Our highest priority is to satisfy customers by early, continuous provision of high-value HR deliverables (customers = managers, employees and external customers)
• Welcome changing requirements, including late in the development process or project
• Deliver (HR programmes, tools, services) frequently, the more often the better
• In HR projects, HR should work with operational managers, other departments and employees (cross-departmental teams) on a daily basis throughout the project
• Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and the support they need and trust them to do their job
• Face-to-face communication is the best and most efficient way to exchange information. Both to and within the HR team
• Working HR programmes, tools and services are the primary measure of development
• Agile methods focus on endurance and develop at a constant, steady rate
• Continuous attention to high quality and good design increases the ability to adapt.
• Simplicity – the art of maximising the amount of work that is not done – is important
• The best architecture in HR deliverables arises out of the self-organising team
• At regular intervals, the team reflects on how it can be more effective and adapts its behaviour accordingly

I kind of share pretty much the same vision- very spot on- BUT for the principles nr 8 and 9 where I would change it with:

• Agile methods focus on continuous improvement through small steps and constant experiments- fail fast, fail often!
• Continuous attention to the constant changes in the business and local environment/ ees engagement increases the ability for HR to adapt and to really add value

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Wishful thinking: How cool would it be to see Hackathons running in HR departments? What innovations would come out of them that will have a positive impact for the people and the organizations??