The agility mindset: How people-first HR becomes a competitive advantage

Agility isn’t a project. It’s a mindset.

For years, agility was something we planned for—a Q3 initiative, a transformation project, a goal with an endpoint. But that’s no longer the world we live in. Change has become the constant, and agility has become the way we operate.

As HR leaders, we no longer manage just one type of disruption. We’re managing layers of it: economic shifts, restructures, leadership changes, new technologies, mergers, and acquisitions. And often, several of these are happening at once.

I’ve learned that if we treat change as the exception, we’ll always be scrambling. But if we expect it and design for it, we can help our people not just cope but thrive.

“In everything we do now, we have to design for it to change.”

That mindset shift allows agility to become a strategic advantage. When people are empowered to respond and organizations are structured to flex, we create space for clarity, resilience, and better outcomes.

Leading change the people-first way

One of the hardest things about change is how personal it is. Even when it’s business-led, people feel the impact deeply—especially during restructures, reductions, or leadership transitions.

I’ve experienced those changes at mid-sized, fast-moving companies. I’ve helped shape strategy at the leadership level and supported teams through uncertainty. And one thing I’ve seen repeatedly is that people remember how change felt more than they remember what changed.

That’s why values matter most when they’re tested. During the pandemic and other macroeconomic shocks, HR leaders were often the glue holding organizations together. Not because we had all the answers, but because we kept showing up with clarity, care, and honesty.

People-first change leadership doesn’t mean solving everything alone. It means co-creating solutions with your leaders. At HiBob, we make sure every big decision is supported by our leadership team, not just HR. We share context, ask for input, and challenge each other to make the best possible decisions for our people and our business.

And we’re honest when we don’t have all the answers. Agility isn’t about perfection; it’s about intention. That also means being intentional about how we communicate. One framework I often use when rolling out organisational change is the three W’s of Change Communication:

• What we know: The facts and decisions already made
• What we’re working on: Areas still being resolved, with timelines if possible
• What we’re watching: The signals and feedback we’re monitoring to guide next steps

This structure helps people feel informed without overpromising or creating false certainty. It also gives managers a foundation to work from, especially when they’re the ones delivering the message. Where possible, we also provide managers with a 48-hour prep kit that includes:

• A 30-minute rehearsal session to walk through the changes
• An FAQ document with “if they ask this, say this” guidance
• A clear escalation path for questions or concerns that they can’t resolve themselves

It’s a simple but powerful way to support consistency, empathy, and clarity: three things that go a long way when people are navigating uncertainty.

Agility is about capability, not control

There’s no Gantt chart for transformation. It’s iterative, messy, and often nonlinear. But we still hear the same questions: “What’s the comms plan?” “When will the change be complete?” “How can we avoid friction?” The truth is, some friction is healthy. What we need is the capability to respond, not a plan to avoid it.

One moment that made this clear for me was during COVID, when we shifted to remote work practically overnight. If you’d asked me before if we could do that in a week, I would’ve said no. But we did. Not because we had the perfect tech or playbook, but because we had a shared commitment to figure it out, together.

That’s what agility looks like. It’s not about executing faster. It’s about responding better.

And it’s rarely just one change. We often deal with tech change layered on top of structural change, layered on top of a leadership shift. That’s why we can’t just coach people to “cope better.” We have to design the organization around them in a way that supports clarity and confidence.

That also means creating space to reflect and act with intention. One practice that can help is a  Leadership Alignment Ritual—a 30-minute weekly session that helps us stay responsive without spinning in circles. We ask:

• What friction signals are we seeing? (from data, managers, or your people)
• What’s one assumption we should test this week?
• What decision can we make today to remove a bottleneck?
• Who needs more context or support?

This simple check-in keeps us aligned and focused on removing barriers instead of adding complexity. It also encourages us to lead with curiosity, especially when friction surfaces.

When that happens, I like to follow the A.P.C. model:

• Acknowledge: “I hear this is causing stress, confusion, or concern.”
• Probe: “Help me understand what specifically feels unclear or difficult.”
• Collaborate: “What would need to change for this to feel more manageable?”

Sometimes, the most powerful thing we can do as HR leaders is not to resolve things instantly but to create the space for better answers to emerge.

Building systems that enable agility

Agility isn’t just about mindset. It’s about infrastructure. We can’t ask people to adapt without giving them the tools and rhythms that make it possible.

At HiBob, our HR platform, Bob, plays a critical role in enabling that agility. Because Bob is highly configurable, we can quickly adapt things like org structures, reporting lines, and team setups without relying on time-consuming system overhauls. That flexibility is essential during times of change—whether it’s a restructure, a new business unit, or a leadership transition. You don’t want your HR systems to be the reason you pause or become a bottleneck.

We use a simple gut-check to keep ourselves accountable:

Can the system keep up with the speed of change? Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Can you generate an org chart reflecting yesterday’s changes? (Target: under 2 hours)
• Can you see real-time employee sentiment data? (Target: current week)
• Can you share workforce planning data with Finance without manual exports? (Target: under 30 minutes)
• Can you launch a pulse survey to a specific team? (Target: under 15 minutes)

If your answer to any of these is “not really” or “not without a workaround,” that’s a signal your infrastructure is slowing you down. And agility won’t come from asking people to move faster if the systems around them can’t move with them.

We rely heavily on Bob’s pulse and engagement surveys—not just as performance tools, but as live signals of how people are experiencing the organization. They give us real-time feedback loops that are especially valuable during periods of uncertainty or transition. We don’t have to guess how people are feeling. We can ask, measure, and act.

Bob also acts as our source of truth for workforce planning. It connects seamlessly with Finance, which means we can align on headcount forecasting, hiring plans, and budget constraints without switching between multiple systems or spreadsheets. That unified visibility gives us clarity to plan and confidence to move.

And when it comes to change-enabling tools like AI, we approach adoption through experimentation from the ground up. Instead of rolling out a top-down directive, we’re inviting teams to experiment, explore use cases, and build capability organically. Because we’re not locked into rigid processes, we can flex and iterate as needed.

Agility starts with the basics. If your systems are stuck, your people will be too. But when you give teams the right tools and processes, like Q&As and check-ins, you build muscle memory to flex without fear.

Enabling agile responses during change doesn’t always require large programs or company-wide rollouts. Sometimes it’s as simple as pulling together a small, focused team that can move quickly during periods of transition:

• 1 HR partner
• 1 operations person
• 1 frontline manager

This team meets for a quick 15-minute daily stand-up to surface any friction points, escalate issues early, and keep momentum. A dedicated Slack channel allows for real-time updates and coordination, and we always ensure clear decision-making authority so action isn’t delayed by endless approvals.

It’s not formal, it’s not complicated, but it’s incredibly effective. When teams know where to go, who’s empowered to act, and how fast decisions can be made, they stay focused—and that’s what keeps change moving forward.

Transparency protects your culture

There’s no agility without trust. And there’s no trust without transparency.

That doesn’t mean oversharing every detail. It means being honest about what’s happening, what’s known, and what’s still in motion. It also means listening, not just informing.

One of the things I appreciate most at HiBob is the way our CEO, Ronni, communicates. Whether we’re talking about product shifts, financial performance, or organizational change, he leads with openness. That sets the tone for the rest of us.

Transparency is also cultural. We embed it in our values, but more importantly, we embed it in our behaviors—how we run meetings, gather feedback, and follow through.

Communicating openly, even when things are still in motion, is one of the most critical leadership skills in today’s environment. In moments of uncertainty, trust isn’t built with one big announcement. It’s built through small, regular updates that show progress, acknowledge complexity, and keep people in the loop.

One simple structure I often use is a three-part check-in:

• This week we… [one concrete action or decision]
• Next week we’re focused on… [one clear priority]
• We’re still working through… [one honest uncertainty with timeline]

It’s a fast way to keep communication flowing and confidence intact. When leaders speak in clear, consistent rhythms, not just polished presentations, people feel safer and better equipped to move forward.

Supporting resilience in your people

There’s a myth that resilience means powering through. In reality, it means knowing your limits, being clear on priorities, and having support when you need it.

Change is emotionally taxing, creating uncertainty and challenging identity. And when changes are layered, as they so often are now, they become even harder to process.

That’s why we prioritize wellbeing. Not just in programs, but in mindset. We encourage teams to set boundaries, check in with each other, and normalize asking for help.

And we pay close attention to managers. They carry a heavy load during times of change. They’re delivering the message, holding space for emotions, and trying to stay aligned with leadership, all at once. They need enablement, clarity, and care just as much as anyone else.

Building resilience means making those support structures visible and accessible, before they’re urgently needed.

You don’t have to fix it all at once

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that agility doesn’t require solving everything right now. It requires starting somewhere and building the capability to keep going, with a change mindset at the heart of everything you do.

If you’re wondering how to put agility into practice, don’t overthink it. Start small.

• Pick a key strategic priority where you’re stuck
• Choose and launch one two-week experiment
• Gather feedback and iterate
• Share results with your leadership team and plan your next experiment

Remember: agility isn’t about perfection, it’s about building the capability to respond. Start small, learn fast, and keep going.

What will you experiment with first? I’d love to hear how you get on…