Agile Working in Local Governments

"The range of tasks for our municipalities is constantly increasing and becoming more complex. We too need to learn how to manage it," says Philipp Saar, Mayor of the City of Haslach in the Kinzigtal region in southern Germany. Digitalization, climate protection measures, or the shortage of housing and daycare facilities are examples of complex challenges faced by this and many other municipalities. At the same time, their resources and options for action are limited.

A city's tasks are typically assigned to a specific department responsible for processing them. However, complex challenges like digitalization cannot be assigned to one department; they require cross-departmental collaboration. This collaboration needs a clear structure while also being flexible enough to respond to changes. Unfortunately, existing organizational structures and established practices in municipal administrations are not prepared for this.

Haslach's Mayor Philipp Saar therefore turned to Accso. He aimed to achieve better solutions for the city through structured collaboration between departments.

From our consulting experience with public administration organizations, we know that these goals are achievable – and what is needed to accomplish them.

A theme-based, cross-departmental, or cross-divisional collaboration requires a high degree of self-organization and a willingness from all participants to set aside their own department’s interests and habits for the greater good. The introduction of agile principles facilitates this process. To structure and organise collaboration efficiently, we used elements of project management.

This approach can be unfamiliar and challenging for many, including the staff of the City of Haslach. However, we were able to ease this transition by providing constant support and a clear, easily understandable three-step change process.

The first step was to build knowledge and skills in project management, agile work methods, and modern leadership approaches. The city’s leaders were introduced to various options and encouraged to reflect on them.

Our training followed the “supermarket principle”: the “shelves” were filled with relevant methods that could be taught and tested. Ultimately, it was up to the group to decide which methods to take back and implement in their daily work. Our role as organizational consultants was to ensure that these choices were effective.

Participants practiced cross-departmental collaboration and decision-making – in a relaxed atmosphere and within a safe environment.

In the final part of the training, the city’s leaders were tasked with collaboratively selecting two real projects to pilot the new working methods. At this point, it became clear to the participants that they were not being given new rules or roles but were co-creating the new work organization together. This was an important and motivating realization on the path to greater self-organization.

The two pilot projects were set up according to the chosen methods: roles and responsibilities were agreed upon, collaboration models were established, and project planning was done. In both cases, we used a simple Kanban board and ticket system to keep the projects transparent for all involved.

We continuously supported both project teams through coaching, answering questions, addressing difficulties, and facilitating experience exchange between teams. The teams mostly themselves determined the need for support and thus remained responsible for the project's success. 

Through the additional offering of individual and group coaching available at any time, we could address individual challenges constructively and solve them constructively in line with the project’s goals. Together, we created a productive and secure environment where new working methods could be tested and practiced, generating value through the completion of real projects – with clear success!

After completing both projects, we gathered to reflect on the experiences gained during the pilot phase. The consensus was clear: the new way of working required adjustment, but the results were undoubtedly worth it.

The next step was to implement additional projects accordingly and gradually introduce agile collaboration. In the final workshop, we identified the appropriate projects and made the necessary decisions. The City of Haslach was then ready to take the next steps independently.

The success of our joint work is not only reflected in the positive conclusions of those involved. It can also be expressed in concrete results: 

• One of the two pilot projects was completed twice as fast as initially expected.
• The processing of the other project was accelerated by more than 10 times thanks to the new way of working, compared to the established way of working.
• Both projects achieved their goal and were fully implemented.

All project participants are rightly proud of these results – including us!