Enablers of workforce agility in engineering educational institutions

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore and encapsulate the enablers that can facilitate agility in faculty members of engineering institutions. The paper also aims to conduct a prelim qualitative validation of the enablers and analyze the interplay between them using the total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) approach.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted the TISM approach to comprehend the interactions and transitivity between the enablers. Cross-impact multiplication matrix (MICMAC) analysis was applied to rank the enablers and classify them on the basis of the driving and dependence power into dependent, autonomous, independent and linkage enablers.

Findings

Extensive literature review and expert opinion helped identify 16 enablers that can promote workforce agility. The results indicate “management support” as the most crucial enabler. Rewards and recognition and employee empowerment were among the other enablers that have a high driving force. New capabilities, learning and innovation and the expanding role of faculty members were found to have high dependence power, which makes the enablers dependent on other enablers for activation.

Practical implications

The results of this study would assist the management of engineering colleges and universities to design, adopt and implement policies and practices that would facilitate agility in faculty members. Faculty members shoulder the responsibility of molding the future generation, and hence, it is important that they are competent enough to impart quality education. The policymakers should focus on policies and practices that leverage human resource potential and support an innovative climate that nurtures entrepreneurial activities in engineering institutions.

Originality/value

So far research on workforce agility has predominantly focused on the manufacturing sector. Despite the workforce (refers to faculty members here) being crucial in contributing to the progress of universities and colleges, very little work is done on how faculty members can be made agile. Application of the TISM method in identifying the variables that can facilitate faculty members' agility in engineering institutions in India is a new and original contribution to the literature on workforce agility.

Citation

Menon, S. and Suresh, M. (2021), "Enablers of workforce agility in engineering educational institutions", Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 504-539. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-12-2019-0304