For many organisations, change is the only constant. Moreover, changes are taking place more rapidly. This reality requires new ways of working and new qualities on the part of your employees. The main question is always whether today’s employees are future-proof. The difficulty is that changes are often hard to define in precise terms and are also hard to predict. That the nature of work is changing is clear enough. It is much more difficult, however, to know in advance what exactly will change and what this change will mean. Although someone may be suitable for position A today, the nature of that position may change drastically in the future. It may even cease to exist. It is therefore important to know how rapidly someone can adapt to a new situation. In other words, it is important to know whether your employees are capable of rapidly developing new, effective behaviour in a new situation. The ability to do so is referred to as Learning Agility, and it can be measured.

HFMtalentindex developed the Learning Agility Scan to measure this ability. It goes without saying that, in keeping with the high standards that we always maintain, the tool is based on sound models and valid data. The Learning Agility Scan makes it much easier for you to identify the employees who can maintain the strength and dynamism of your organisation in the future.

The five dimensions of agile employees

Learning Agility is the ability to rapidly develop new, effective behaviour on the basis of new experiences. It is a kind of learning ability and therefore provides an indication of someone’s potential. People who achieve high Learning Agility scores learn more and also more quickly from new situations than those whose scores are low. They extract more from a given experience and are always looking for new challenges. In addition, they seek feedback for the purpose of learning, recognise patterns in unfamiliar situations and effectively engage others to understand experiences and make them meaningful. These qualities mean that tomorrow, in the unknown future, they will be more able than others to successfully handle new work. They will help others to learn together. Above all, they will be and remain effective if the world changes. Recognising and nourishing these qualities are therefore vital to the resilience of your organisation.

Learning Agility consists of five dimensions: Change Agility, Mental Agility, People Agility, Results Agility and Self-Awareness. They have one key thing in common: those who achieve high scores in these dimensions learn more quickly from experiences gained and more rapidly apply what has been learned in a new situation.

Change Agility

People who achieve a high score for Change Agility are constantly curious, and this curiosity is stirred precisely by new and unfamiliar things. They like to experiment and try things out, and have a passion for new experiences. As a result, they experience more. They can learn more from their experiences because they are intrinsically motivated to investigate matters and enjoy dealing with issues that they are not yet familiar with.

Mental Agility

People who achieve a high score for Mental Agility like it when issues are complex or unclear because such issues provide an opportunity from them to use new ideas to create a new clarity. They like to analyse and can often achieve an understanding of the issues at hand by thinking outside the box and adopting a different approach. They are open-minded and like to be challenged by new ideas. They therefore recognise patterns in new experiences more quickly than others. They more easily understand the situation and what they can learn from their experiences.

People Agility

People who achieve a high score for People Agility are constructive towards others and are open to people who have different backgrounds and opinions. They always seek to properly understand what others mean and take the opinions of others seriously. It is therefore easier for them to establish contact with others and they learn more from the input of others. Moreover, they can more easily adjust to people from different cultures, for example, and other people share more with them.

Results Agility

People who achieve a high score for Results Agility have a strong need to be successful and always look for the best way of achieving a result. They are often ambitious and confident and remain calm under pressure. Because they are more able to set goals in new and unfamiliar situations, they maintain greater focus and learn more quickly what is and is not relevant in the context of converting new issues into a success.

Self-Awareness

People who achieve a high score for Self-Awareness are aware of their own strengths and weaknesses. They are often critical of their own performance and conduct. They therefore focus more on how they can do things better and their general willingness to learn is greater. Self-Awareness occupies a special place in the context of Learning Agility because a high score in this dimension indicates greater potential in the other ones, while a low score indicates lower potential. Someone who is aware of the possibilities of improving a personal quality or becoming better at doing something will learn more effectively than someone who is easily satisfied with his or her own performance.

Learning Agility provides a grip on the future

Learning Agility measures whether someone has the potential to rapidly familiarise himself or herself with new issues in a general sense. Although such issues may not yet be relevant, they could become relevant in the future. People who have a high level of Learning Agility can rapidly take up and familiarise themselves with issues in all kinds of new situations. The Learning Agility Scan makes it much easier for you to identify the employees who can maintain the strength and dynamism of your organisation in the future.