In response to COVID-19, organizations across the globe adjusted their operations and core business functions due to mandated remote work policies. To maintain stability, when adapting to rapidly changing environments, organizations must act with agility. Organizational Agility is the speed at which an organization receives, interprets and acts on new information, and should be proportionate to the average rate of environmental volatility that drives either risk or opportunity. During these uncertain times, organizations in industries facing the most volatility, such as restaurants, must be agile with their response.  

Prior to COVID-19, organizational agility focused on data and making smarter decisions to leverage technology to strengthen business performance. Now, amid COVID-19, organizational agility focuses on individuals. Organizational agility may start with business intelligence and process reengineering, but it ends with people, in many cases, requiring a significant cultural shift and a dedicated effort to remove organizational friction. It is a balance between stability and flexibility. Having strong agility requires leaders who apply problem-solving skills to any situation, especially during significant pressure and time constraints. When facing unpredictable times, it's vital to apply different decision-making models that rely on narrative techniques and multiple perspectives, rather than hard-and-fast facts. Employees need to be taught methods for making sense of disruptive changes, interpreting new information and gaining additional insights when information is incomplete.

Below are four strategies to achieve agility in the workplace.  

Enterprise Data Governance: Ensure enterprise data is available, accurate and up-to-date to make informed decisions and cataloged to extract business intelligence.

Integrated Performance Management: Work on decreasing the cycle between gaining insight and taking actions related to critical success factors and key performance indicators.

Dynamic Forecasting: Shift the view of management to have a heavier focus on the future.

Efficient Performance Reporting: Adjust alignment and stay focused on the key performance indicators that matters most to your organization.

Amid accelerating change and complexity, organizations need response strategies to maintain and enhance their core business functions. Acting with organizational agility is one way your organization can respond to the changes during and post-COVID-19. As you continue your journey through these uncertain times, read BDO’s Resilience Playbook for response strategies to tackle challenges ahead.

Explore BDO's Resilience Playbook