Becoming Agile
In recent years, TOPdesk has become a global agile organisation. Not only do we practice agile ways of working, but we also truly embody the agile mindset. Interested to find out more about your potential future employer? Then discover what our agile journey looks like so far and where you could (potentially) fit in too.
The first steps on the road to agile
This journey hasn’t always been the easiest path to follow. Changing ways of working and people’s mindset is never an easy challenge to take on. But, by organising ourselves around specific customer groups it has become easier to be, and stay, relevant for them. Additionally, we are able to provide more growth prospects for our employees. It is now the norm at TOPdesk to have hybrid roles, such as, a selling consultant or a member of the support team who also goes on-site to customers. We see people at TOPdesk starting in a certain role and over the time of their career progressing to other disciplines within our company, sometimes even internationally. Our agile journey is not finished. As is true for any agile organisation. We are always uncovering better ways and adjusting our course and learning every day.
Agile teams: Ownership, learning, and feedback
An important cornerstone of our agile organisation is the ownership teams have on both their goals and their preferred way of working. Teams at TOPdesk are dedicated to a customer group or focus area and consist of a diverse group of people from different disciplines. Ideally, a team holds all disciplines they need to be successful and reach their goals. Which in turn supports the successful execution of our company goals.
Being an autonomous, self-organising team requires people to accept the continuous learning cycle, and teams have a safe and healthy feedback culture. People in dedicated support roles also help our agile teams to be highly functional. Most teams monitor how they feel they are doing, both on the value they deliver and how they collaborate. They are constantly looking for better ways, and as such, are agile about their agile ways too. This means that different teams work at different paces and in different manners. Within the broad boundaries set by the company, they are free to define their direction and their path to get there.
We trust our people to execute their freedom responsibly, but also to acknowledge that absolute freedom with no boundaries or direction at all, is crippling
Annemarie
No boss? Yes, really!
Autonomous, self-organising teams. That means that there is no boss. That’s right, no boss. Don’t worry, this does not mean there is no management or leadership at TOPdesk. We trust our people to execute their freedom responsibly, but also to acknowledge that absolute freedom with no boundaries or direction at all, is crippling. Also, it makes no business sense to have all our teams running in every possible direction. Nevertheless, we are invested to stay away from a hierarchal structure where you have to ask permission for everything since this would take away from the autonomy of teams and their people.
On a global level, we have a board of strategists responsible to set global goals and provide direction. On a country-level, they are supported by branch managers and a management team. Both are responsible to help TOPdeskers be their best possible self. They are focused on impediment removal and making sure that all teams align with the bigger company goals. One could even say, instead of you working for your manager, at TOPdesk, your manager works for you.
Becoming a TOPdesker
When you join TOPdesk, your first and foremost responsibility is, of course, to become the best you can be in your new role and to get to know us and our people. You’ll learn the knowledge and skills that you need for your role. But also, get to know our agile ways of working and company culture. We want you to be immersed in the TOPdesk experience from the start, so based on your role and interests, you will join an agile team within your first few months. Since all teams are self-organising and largely autonomous, you’ll quickly be able to influence what your team is working on and where you can add value to TOPdesk and our customers.
