Agility in HR, ICP-AHR (Virtual)

Enabling Resourceful Humans

Do you feel that HR has been in the back seat long enough? 

Or did you come to find that employees deserve something.. more substantial, more authentic - something that taps into creativity and personal strengths?

Let's take a step back, observe our daily HR practices, and hold them against the light of the Agile principles. This will foster debate and trigger discussions about the role of HR in servicing an organisation for the better, and how HR processes can be tailored to these needs.

Today the most progressive companies have changed the HR role to a more coaching role serving all the people, not just management. Although this changed view of the formal HR role is still not fully mainstream today, many organisations are experimenting with alternative structures, ways of working (like Scrum), and people practices that allow a truly Agile culture to thrive.

You will leave this experience having gained both knowledge and practical skills that enable you to create lasting change, people engagement, and a truly empowered workplace where 'humans' can be resourceful.

Course leader 

This course is a collaborative effort between Agile People and EPiC.

Your course will be led and facilitated by Michaëla Broeckx.

Session pre and post work 

There will be some work to be done before and after every session, so we advise you to free up some 1.5h extra time per session for reading and exercises. To receive the certification ICAgile requires that you send in an assignment at the end of the learning track, or closely after. More information on the assignment will follow during the first session. 

Online Delivery

This course is available online.  Prior to our first session, you will receive access to the Agile People Learning Management System where you will access all of the course content, workbooks, and supporting materials.

We are working with Zoom for interactive discussions and team exercises, Mural as the digital canvas, and our community platform for communication between the sessions. In addition, you will get access to a Learning Management System (on agilepeople.com) that contains an overview and detailed information about videos, articles, documents, and case stories for all sessions, including links to all of the tools used in training. You will also get access to Pia-Maria's three books in digital format.

ICAgile Certified Professional 

This training is certified by International Consortium for Agile (ICAgile), a certification and accreditation body.

Upon completion of the course as well as submission and approval of your course assignment, you will receive a (knowledge) certification in ICP-Agility in HR.

Learn more about ICAgile ( https://www.icagile.com/)

Agile Building Blocks

B1: Introduction to Agile People and important principles/tools

Building an Agile People mindset involves living and working with a set of principles, values, methods, and tools that allow us and others to release our resourcefulness, our natural competences and innovative power – and it also means we might need to unlearn behaviors and structural elements that are at odds with them. 

B2: Psychological safety as a foundation for a learning organization

The importance of an approach that is permeated by security and confidence to increase profitability and innovation – to increase creativity through a culture where it is ok to fail and try again. We play "The Psychological Safety Game" to facilitate dialogue about difficult topics

B3: Emerging strategies, structures, and goals

Emerging strategies instead of long-term planning, new ways of working with strategy, budgets, goals, performance processes, and rewards. Using value stream mapping to optimise flows in a system instead of working with resource optimisation and sub-optimisation of departments. Mindset Slider exercise. WoWs to be used: Beyond Budgeting, OKRs, Impact Mapping, VSM, etc.

B4: Building conditions for agile culture

Creating conditions for a fantastic culture where people can perform at their optimal level with a sense of being supported and secure. The gap between structures and culture/values. Structure – Culture Misfit Role Play. The importance of country culture for an Agile transformation. 

B5: The learning Organisation as Strategy and the future role of HR and managers

Boundary Spanning and the Buddy System to increase cross-border collaboration and increase the opportunity to create a fantastic organization together. Tips and examples for the change journey and how HR and managers need to change their role to support it.

Agile HR Advanced

H1: How HR's role is changing when we need to increase Business Agility

Design the talent/people elements needed to help support an Agile transition in an organisation and explain how different contexts can influence the approach to be taken. Job titles, competency profiles, titles, career, succession - how do we do it in an agile organisation? User stories for HR and a T-shaped HR-person. Employee Journey mapping - pain points. Examples and cases.

H2: How HR can use tools and practices from Agile.

Using Scrum, Kanban, Value Stream Mapping, and OKRs for HR is not so different from using it for Software development. What are examples, and how can you design talent/people processes using the agile ways of working? User stories for HR - what do they look like? Examples and cases of Agile HR in reality.

H3: Goals, Performance Management, Compensation and Benefits

Appraise current performance management practices and identify ways of bringing Agile thinking to enhance performance, accountability, and growth. 95/5 Exercise. Describe and contrast traditional incentive structures with Agile-friendly structures, discuss the pros and cons of each approach, and explain how you could apply them to your own environment.

H4: Talent Acquisition and onboarding

Design a sourcing strategy that can be used to find and acquire the "right" people to support the strategic growth of the organisation taking values, culture, diversity, and collaboration into the hiring decision. Design an onboarding experience that enables new employees to become a part of the organisation rapidly and smoothly.

H5: Learning, Development and Employee Engagement

Suggest ways to enable and support a learning mindset in a team, supporting the shift from a focus on deficiencies to a focus on the development of new skills and capabilities. Recommend different motivational tools to be applied in a context and describe how the traditional employee engagement survey is changing.

Is this a certification course?

This is a certification course. Attendees will receive the ICP-AHR certification from IC Agile upon successful completion of this course. 

Is there an exam?

To obtain the ICP-AHR certification attendees are required to demonstrate knowledge, skills and mindset of an Agile HR Professional while attending the course. Attendees are assessed through a combination of exercises, in-class activities and overall application of learning outcomes during the course.

In addition this course also includes an assignment which attendees will complete post the course which will be included in the assessment before the issuing of certifications.

Do you offer this course in-house?

Yes, this course can be delivered in-house for your teams – please contact us for more information.

Who should attend this training course? 

The target audience for this training includes people working within HR organisations in companies transforming to more Agile ways of working. Their current responsibilities may include aspects such as people development, recruitment, performance management, compensation, and employee engagement/motivation.

Is this course facilitator-led?

Yes, this is a facilitator-led virtual workshop. You will be able to ask questions, engage with peers and put into practice your learnings during breakouts and group sessions. 

• These books written by Pia-Maria Thoren are included in digital format.

• Student Workbook
• Free trial to AgileVideos.com
• 1hr free coaching time with an EPiC Coach
• Access to EPiC Training Alumni Facebook Community (free goodies, and future discounts)

Who should attend this training course? 

The target audience for this training includes people working within HR organisations in companies transforming to more Agile ways of working. Their current responsibilities may include aspects such as people development, recruitment, performance management, compensation, and employee engagement/motivation.

Organisational development consultants, hiring managers and Agile transformation leads exploring the people, and structural aspects of transformations will also find this curriculum compelling.