Agile has seen widespread adoption across software development and IT teams in various industries. By employing an iterative development approach and decentralized decision-making, effective Agile teams are more autonomous, self-reliant, productive, and engaged than their traditional counterparts.
Agile prioritizes people over procedures, creating a framework for improved speed, flexibility, and collaboration. The bias moves from top-down control and bureaucracy to collaboration and cooperation, which means the success of an Agile transformation pivots on Agile team culture.
Keep reading to discover why Agile team culture is critical to a successful Agile transformation and tips about how to achieve it.
The Challenge of Implementing Agile Team Culture
Digital.ai’s 2022 survey revealed between 32% and 36% of software development, engineering, and research and development teams have adopted agile methodologies. While more than half of respondents using agile teams reported they were happy, the 40% that were dissatisfied cited “a clash with company culture” as the leading cause.
For an agile transformation to be effective, change has to be adopted at the leadership level and cascade to all team members. This direction of influence is seen as important because changes in corporate values, practices, and behaviors may be required to support the agile culture.
Once senior leadership has embraced agility, activating the supportive corporate culture, scrum masters can bring it to the teams.
RELATED: How Agile Management Can Disrupt the Project Management Status Quo
Keys to Building a Successful Agile Team Culture
Creating an Agile team culture that leads to increased productivity, creativity, and success means supporting the people in your department through the transformation. Here are eight tips for facilitating an Agile transformation.
1. Help Every Team Member Understand the Benefits
It is easier to change when it’s an exciting opportunity. Giving the team a compelling reason to change helps them overcome the fear of the unknown and the entropy of doing their jobs in a certain way for a long time. Communicate the factors driving the Agile transformation.
2. Make Leadership’s Support Obvious
Leadership should consistently and publicly share their support for the change. An endorsement from the company’s executives helps inspire increased commitment to the change.
3. Call on Expert Support
If no one on your staff has experience working on agile teams, invite some expert support to get everyone started. If you have employees experienced with successful agile teams, find ways to leverage their experience to facilitate the transformation.
4. Motivate and Reward the Team
Find ways to give the team quick wins to feel some momentum with the new strategy. As you consistently communicate the advantages and benefits of the change, remember to account for the team’s perspective. Why will it be good for them?
If your current reward programs support competition and a win-lose mindset, they must be adopted to reward teamwork, sharing, customer-focused behavior, and communication. Pitting one team member against another or praising a single individual is destructive to agile team culture. Instead, the whole team is rewarded or reprimanded.
RELATED: Developing a Recognition and Reward Program for Your Team
5. Organize Office Space and Management to Support the Team Structure
If your department has been operating under a traditional Waterfall framework, adapting to a Scrum Agile team will likely require organizational changes. Structure for success, adapting the working space and reporting structure to support cross-functional teams.
You may have to redefine accountability. If the team is accustomed to leaning heavily on one or two people, that mindset will need to shift so productivity can continue seamlessly, even when the superstars are out of the office.
6. Expect a Learning Curve
People change over time. Old habits are engrained, and installing new ones takes time and repetition. Give your team the breathing room to learn and adapt.
7. Know that Job Descriptions, Training, and Programs May Need to Change
For agile team culture to thrive, the structures that support them may need to fit the new framework. Some team members’ job descriptions will expand as cross-functional teams develop. As individuals develop new skills and contribute beyond the scope of their earlier roles, retaining them may require revisiting compensation. Training programs may need to adapt to an agile mindset and support the new processes.
Vibrant Agile Team Culture is an Ongoing Journey
It is possible to undergo an effective agile transformation in a relatively short period, which could result in drastic improvements in both the quality and speed of your team’s output. Even so, the initial transformation is the beginning of an ongoing journey. You can continue to adopt changes in your culture and environment, leveraging the creativity and resourcefulness of your employees to improve business outcomes.
If you need help filling open project management positions see how Insight Global can help connect you with top industry talent. Our recruiting team understands the needs of an agile team. If your company is making an agile transformation and you want to add staff already skilled and experienced in the agile framework, Insight Global can help.
Or, check out our managed services division, Evergreen to learn more about how we provide project management as a service.