Table 1.

Characteristics of learning agility and supporting evidence from the survey.^a

Facet of learning agility	Supporting evidence in the data
Willingness to adapt to job requirements	Of 57 respondents, 52 (91%) agreed that their organizations set up policies and procedures for WFHb. Of 61 respondents, 27 (44%) agreed that their organizations had increased the speed of decision making. Of 61 respondents, 56 (91%) agreed that the leadership maintained constant communication within the organization. Of 61 respondents, 57 (93%) agreed that the leadership stayed transparent within the organization. Of 61 respondents, 52 (85%) agreed that the leadership empathized with employees and customers about their and their families’ well-being.
Ability to learn new things continuously	Of 62 respondents, 57 (92%) agreed that the leadership developed new solutions and added resources to adapt to current situations. Of 52 respondents, 45 (87%) agreed that they increased individual digital competencies since working remotely. Of 55 respondents, 46/47 (84%/85%) agreed that their organization provided reskilling/upskilling for the virtual training world. Of 56 respondents, 46 (82%) agreed that their organizations designed new products and services to meet clients’ current needs. Of 52 respondents, 30 (58%) agreed that they had more time to learn new things related to their jobs since working remotely. Of 61 respondents, 30 (49%) agreed that their organizations had modified the supporting system.
Ability to overcome difficulties	Of 61 respondents, 36 (59%) agreed that their organizations had modified the company vision to embrace adaptability/agility. Of 62 respondents, 47 (76%) agreed that their organizations had modified company processes and procedures in response to COVID-19. Of 57 respondents, 52 (91%) agreed that their organization created flexible schedule for employees to WFH. Of 56 respondents, 41 (73%) agreed that their organization had become more agile. Of 62 respondents, 36 (58%) agreed that their organizations had removed barriers. Of 62 respondents, 53 (85%) agreed that the leadership set up a clear strategy to respond to the changes.
Ability to handle jobs with increasing complexity	Of 56 respondents, 46 (82%) agreed that their organizations designed new products and services to meet clients’ current needs. Of 57 respondents, 45 (79%) agreed that their customer facing employees and field teams had more time to participate in training sessions. Of 51 respondents, 38 (75%) agreed that they were more efficient since working remotely. Of 52 respondents, 34 (65%) agreed that they had assumed new job responsibilities since working remotely. Of 57 respondents, 23 (40%) agreed that their customer facing employees and field teams had exhibited higher levels of productivity.

^aAll the items listed in the table are items whose “agrees” options were selected by more respondents than “disagrees” options, even though some “agrees” responses were lower than 50%. See Multimedia Appendix 2 for survey questions.

^bWFH: working from home.