6. HR as a Change Agent for Agility: A Case Study at an International Non-Profit Organization

Drawing from a qualitative single case study at an international non-profit organization, this chapter investigates the opportunity for HR as a change agent to support the development of an organization’s agile capability for transformational change. The results suggest that managing knowledge is pivotal to managing change and that the HR function must perform a meaningful analysis of human capital data to yield knowledge about the effectiveness of its services and the feasibility of the organization’s strategy if it is to be seen as a true change-maker. The development of a true partnership with line functions in the organization and a greater emphasis on strategic planning, organization design, and talent development in HR-related tasks are equally important. Finally, the HR function must develop greater expertise in a variety of HR approaches and embrace the role of harmonizing enterprise-wide communication and (internally) sharing knowledge for capacity building while upholding the organizational culture.