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Agile is not just about processes or tools. It requires a mindset shift, and places importance on leadership understanding, the leader affirmed. Umairah Nasir reports.
"Rewards is no longer a siloed function."
With this opening message, Stanley Tok (pictured above), General Manager for HR and Agile Transformation at M1, set the tone for his keynote at Total Rewards Asia Summit Singapore 2025. He offered a crash introduction on Agile, explaining why it is needed, how it works and how it is transforming the way organisations operate.
By adopting Agile principles such as iterative delivery, autonomy and real-time user feedback, Agile is shifting the way teams work, how performance is assessed and how career growth is structured. This reflects a commitment to becoming more responsive, collaborative and future ready.
Understanding Agile: A shift in mindset and structure
Stanley began with a fundamental question: what is ‘Agile’?
Unlike the traditional waterfall model, which involves long planning and feedback cycles, Agile is built on short, iterative sprints, continuous user feedback and flexibility to change.
"The system you designed two years ago could be totally irrelevant by the time you deliver."
"Customers want changes now", he added.
Agile ways of working emphasise values such as ownership, autonomy, psychological safety, experimentation, cross-functional collaboration and user validation. One popular framework M1 adopted is Scrum, which involves three key roles, four ceremonies and three artefacts, including tools such as the product backlog and user stories which are narratives told from the user’s perspective.
A typical Agile cycle at M1 includes two-week sprints, with daily stand-ups, backlog refinements, demonstrations and retrospectives. These practices, Stanley shared, allow teams to continuously prioritise what matters most and adjust based on feedback.
M1’s transformation, Project BEAM, took a phased four-year approach of design & pilot, execution, and scaling. Despite facing some initial struggles in the pilot stage, the organisation pushed forward, delivering a range of digital initiatives through a dedicated BEAM Centre of Excellence, Agile coaches, scrum masters, and strong leadership support.
The impact on HR and rewards: A new performance culture
Stanley highlighted three major areas of HR transformation: performance management, rewards structure and career progression.
On performance management, leaders could consider supplementing mid-year and year-end appraisals with quarterly OKRs (objectives and key results), alongside more frequent feedback that includes input from peers through pulse surveys. Leaders could also focus on contribution and behaviours such as problem-solving, ownership, and collaboration.
In terms of rewards, leaders may look at reducing emphasis on job ranks and promotion announcements. M1, for instance, uses job sizes in the background for benchmarking salaries and is exploring skills-based premiums. Stanley acknowledged that while premiums can be a way to recognise specialised skills, they are admittedly not easy to implement.
For career development, a shift toward capability-based progression may be useful, wherein employees are able to grow through rotations across teams –taking on more complex products or becoming chapter leads. A consideration on this front would also involve career maps and job canvases to clearly outline role expectations, tool proficiency and required certifications.
One clear takeaway from Stanley's session was: Agile is not just about processes or tools – it requires a mindset shift. Leadership understanding is very important, he emphasised, noting that leaders must be prepared for changes including some loss of control.
Ultimately, the journey demands collaboration, psychological safety, and a willingness to adapt.
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