Organizations are far less willing than their employees to adopt agile working methods and are missing out on the benefits such as earlier delivery of projects and return on investment, according to a new global survey published by AXELOS (www.axelos.com).
The survey of more than 2,400 professionals found that more than three-quarters (81%) of respondents – across all job roles and industry sectors surveyed – now see value in working in an agile way. In fact, the appetite to use agile methods among individual professionals is on average 37% greater than their employer’s.
The lack of appetite among organizations for agile working exists despite the finding that people in senior management roles were among the most enthusiastic for it, with 83% acknowledging its value. AXELOS’ research also showed how more professionals with a PRINCE2 certification than those without see the value of agile working.
“The use of agile approaches and techniques has come of age,” explained Nikos Paxos, AXELOS head of program and project management. “Regardless of whether you’re in a small start-up, building revolutionary apps or working for one of the big banks, the digital revolution has meant that businesses nowadays have to be able to adapt at an incredible rate. For these reasons agile is no longer viewed as niche and people appreciate the flexibility and the potential to deliver results sooner that working in an agile way brings.”
He adds: “However, as our research illustrates, organizations seem to lack confidence in adopting agile methods and this has created a disconnect between the belief that professionals have in the value of agile compared with its use in their workplace. We believe that senior leaders, despite valuing agile working, are reluctant to relinquish full control and are concerned with the potential negative impacts of implementing ‘fragile agile’ which can lead to anarchic ways of working.”
