Agile versus Home office

It’s not news to anyone that the pandemic has caused many people to withdraw to their home offices, in one form or another. But what happens to teams using Agile methodologies, since agility puts a strong emphasis on personal presence and personal communication. Won’t they be at a disadvantage and lose productivity?

The answer is no! In our experience, Agile teams have found the transition much easier than their traditional counterparts, with no reduction in productivity and in many cases even an increase.

What could be the reason for this?

1. Agile methodologies were originally created to deal with unknown, fast-changing situations, and were prepared and optimised for them. The current situation is just like that.

2. Agile teams are self-organising, proactively solving problems and making the right decisions on their own. Therefore, they are not adversely affected by the fact that their bosses are much less personally available.

3. Similarly, management trusts them more, as mutual trust is key to agility. There is no need to micromanage, to constantly monitor your team.

4. A motivated team, with a clear understanding of the common goals, moves at the right pace and in the right direction without external control.

5. Through the constant self-monitoring and adaptation inherent in agility, teams find the right ways of working much faster and easier, even in what at first seem extreme circumstances, and even improve and refine them continuously.

6. People who are used to constant communication are starved for collaboration, they have been able to switch quickly to digital communication channels, most of them were already using them, the focus has just shifted.

The reasons could go on, but it also shows that although agility was not born with the possibility of working from home in mind, it is itself capable of adapting quickly, in an Agile manner if you like, to new circumstances. For Agility, working remotely may not be optimal, but for remote working, Agility seems to be the optimal solution.

Think about it: has your team’s productivity increased or decreased since the changeover? Have you been able to maintain that productivity over the long term? How has it affected you personally? Did your motivation increase or decrease? Did you manage to change your working methods or did you just work the same way you did in the office, but from home? How did you manage to find a balance between work and private life? If you want to know more about remote and hybrid working, their opportunities and pitfalls, don’t hesitate to contact us!

Written by: Gábor Erényi, Sprint Consulting