Designing HR For Agile Organizations
By Cesario Ramos & Stephan Scholten
From the executive summary of the paper
What happens when people set their own goals, own their own growth, and even
determine their own pay? Visma Roxit asked that question when we decided to make the most of our Agile setup.
We removed layers, embraced transparency, and shifted from power over to
power with. We then realised that to take the next step, we needed to change our
HR approach too. Traditional HR assumes managers set targets, judge
performance, and decide rewards. But in a self-managing organization, that logic
breaks.
Our ambition was simple and bold
a workplace where people are engaged and
are enabled to perform at their best. A place where salary, promotion, and career
paths are no longer sources of stress, politics, or negotiation. Where people
understand their value, trust the fairness of rewards, and spend their energy on
learning and contribution.
We designed an Agile HR system around a few guiding principles:
- Trust over control (Theory Y instead of Theory X).
- Learning over judging (growth beats appraisal).
- Ownership over mandates (colleagues lead themselves).
- Transparency over secrecy (clarity creates calm).
In practice, our HR setup comes together in six parts:
- Salary as a result of reflection, not negotiation where management checks
process and fairness not deciding the outcome. - Joint benchmarking through peer committees and one intense “Benchmark Day,
” where salary ranges are updated using market data and shared logic. - Wide Salary Bands with fewer job descriptions reducing complexity and endless promotion-talk.
- Social recognition instead of performance appraisal.
- Broad Job Descriptions focused on values and outcomes.
- Personal development owned by the colleague, supported by strong coaching, tools, and access to learning.
What did it change?
More engagement. More learning. Less politics. And
measurable improvements in development.
This paper shares what we wish we had known at the start!
Download The Full Paper Paper
Download: Designing HR for Agile Organizations.