DEFINITION OF DONE: HOW TO USE SCRUM ON HR

  Today, instead of talking about a concept or idea, I'll just put together an exercise on how we can do things differently. But of course before that I will put a picture of some inspiring painting. 

  I recently discovered the art of Egbert Van der Poel, I am a huge fan of the crudity of Francisco de Goya's painting and I accidentally stepped into the good Ol' Egbert, who lived a hundred years before Goya, wich surprised me. His work somehow reminds me of the Spanish's famous painter although there were more than a hundred years of difference between them.

  Particularly there is a painting in which after a restoration they have discovered a new part of it, I encourage you to read the whole story, I found it fascinating.

Barn Interior - Egbert Van der Poel / Collection of Calvin Colling, Grand Rapids, Michigan

  Now let's get to work. For this exercise I will lay out an hypothetical case of a Software Company (Dough Inc.) in which is necessary to create an appraisal management framework from zero. I will use SCRUM to distinguish needed phases that would be needed in the creation of an appraisal and talent&development management plan.

  Note that all the valuation has been based on ad-hoc estimations based solely on my own experience and it is intended to be solely illustrative for the main purpose of the exercise. I am aware the lacks of internal consistency and technicality issues in some of the facts of the whole exercise, but I would suggest this to be taken only as what it is: an example which would need to be reviewed in order someone is interested on its escalation (i’d be happy to help if this is the case, don’t hesitate contacting me).

  

Dough Inc.

Mission: Help to manage the money of our customers so they can live better.

Vission: Create a personal finance control environment so easy it looks like a game.

  Personal financing software company Dough, which has leaded the desktop personal financing software by its simplicity for the last 4 years has recently seem his business is suddenly threatened by the competency, who have migrated their products to the Mobile Market long before they have even considered doing it. Despite the mobile market, the company still has its leadership position strong in the desktop market as well as a well founded brand awareness. However it took too long to them to analyse and jump into the mobile platform and this is reducing their competitiveness exponentially.

They have also realised they have not taken advantage of their current cloud system (which was originally designed to sync app data between work and home computers) although it is totally finished and works seamlessly, unlike the services in their competitors. After a quick estimation they thing their team is enough capable of delivering an interesting mobile product in no longer than 4 months.

However, the Director’s Board has decided the time to create a structured appraisal and talent&development management framework has arrived. They want to start with the appraisals to decide the members of the team that will lead the new mobile division. Business Intelligence has estimated the new mobile division will be in charge of the 40% of the income in less than a year and 70% of the income in less than 3 years period, and D’sB has decided to grant only to top-performers and most engaged employees to join these new division. Only the ones whose attitude is more aligned to the company culture and values will have the chance to be part of the mobile team and its expected fast growing opportunities.

The company never has had a talent and development management framework because they did not consider it was something they needed (they only had a product which was working perfectly well and they were not considering any steps ahead of maintaining their leadership position). Nevertheless, now they have seen the perfect time to set it up.

The team will use the same methodology they use to develop their software to develop their development plan: SCRUM. In SCRUM there are three main roles: Product Owner, Scrum Master and Development Team.

In this case, the Development Team will be made up of 6 HR Specialists, the Scrum Master will be one of the Project Managers of Software Development (which has a wide experience on Scrum implementation and carrying out Scrum Master’s role), and the Product Owner role who will be held by the newly hired HR Development Expert.

There will be only 2 people left in the HR team which will be in charge of describing the necessary key positions in of the new mobile division, prior to the first RELEASE when will come the time start designing and organising the upcoming training for the managers and the rest of the team.

The SCRUM TEAM takes to commitment to have its first release for the end of the second week, delivering a tool with the required minimum consistency (according to the previously agreed Definition of Done) to start the work of implementation.

Because there is no previous history and velocity measures, all the SCRUM Team agrees they can accomplish 32 Story Points in each Sprint.

In the first Sprint Init meeting the SCRUM Team design together the Product Backlog.

User Story	Story Pts	Topic	I want to…	so I can…	Notes	Priority	Status
1	13	Initial Tools	… make an inventory of the workforce based on the person and position.	… balance the person/position ratio to its real need and identify the potential.	It will let us make a detailed analyse of needs that will be the foundations to the training plan.	High (Sprint1)
2	5	Initial Tools	… define the positions.	… control and identify possible unbalances between responsibilities and tasks.	It will let us know if there is duplicity and overloading in any positions.	High (Sprint1)
3	13	Initial Tools	… make a valuation and classification of the positions.	… measure the efficiency of the compensation plan.	It will be important to know what is the compensation line in the company so we can figure out how to transfer this into a totally new division.
4	5	Initial Tools	… make a valuation of the rewards in the competency and the market.	… evaluate the internal equity and the competitiveness.	It is important to set up mechanisms to prevent human capital flight particularly in a moment of such strategic significance.
5	13	KPI’s	… describe the KPI’s for every position and activity.	… analyze the results.	Only if we can measure our productivity we will be able to take steps to improve it	High (Sprint1)
6	40	Appraisal Design	… create a tool of annual reviewing that bears in mind not only individual or group performance of an employee but his cultural engagement with company values too.	… have a measurement tool for our team that can be used to determine different variables of growth and development.	Analize independently the different constructs in which are built and consider the performance as an addition of every one of these to get an statistically valid value.	High
7	20	Objective re-designing	… redefine the objectives of the positions with SMART criteria.	… deliver the leadership team a more optimised and measurable working environment.	We need to outline some principles, we need to set a wider framework with leadership’s contributions.
8	13	Follow-up Tools	… create tools to work with the improvement opportunities in a continuous basis.	… identify rapidly the weaknesses and be able to react soon.	Design tools fast and easy to work with.

  In the first Sprint Init meeting the SCRUM Team design together the Product Backlog.

  Once the SCRUM Team has built the Product Backlog, we take as startin point the items with highest priority to prepare the first Sprint on Sprint Planning meeting.

  Here is defined the project with 4 Sprints of 1 week each and with an agreed Release in the third week and a commitment of shipping the complete product at the end of the 4th week.

  This has been a quick example of how to implement SCRUM in HR. As I mentioned before there are some consistency gaps but I think its a valid example on how we can use the most advanced and innovative ways of production also into the HR field. The challenge is not on the process, the challenge is on getting creative in order to have the work done in the most agile way posible.

Written listening to "Grinderman - Grinderman 2" album (Rate:8,5/10)

ELENCHUS: HOW TO PROMOTE DIALOGUE AND FEEDBACK

  I often study how different companies show themselves to public, how they promote themselves to position as top employer brands. Nowadays almost every important company is interested on being a desirable place to work, and this is a step forward. We are committed to create confortable environments with our workplaces, we want our employees to be happy, engaged and proud of working where they are working. As I said, this is something good and brings important value and return to the companies, but sometimes this could end up being only a beautifully tailored cover of underlying communication problems inside teams that lead to unsolved discrepancies, threats and fears. I know, that escalated quickly.

  Hence, a good way of taking a holistic and complete care of the workplace (defined as a place where people work together) is working on your internal cross level and peer communication. This grows horizontality and increases trust. If you really promote a place where anyone from the janitor to the CEO can ask or be asked, you are creating a safe environment where ideas matter. But today I'm not talking on the benefits of feedback, which are widely described everywhere. Today I am stepping on the form of giving and receiving feedback.

  First let me introduce you to the genesis: Socrates. Socrates was a man who embraced dialogue as a form of improvement between his pupils and himself, even when it was hard taking.

"One who is injured ought not to return the injury, for on no account can it be right to do an injustice; and it is not right to return an injury, or to do evil to any man, however much we have suffered from him."

  Let me use this way of thinking to state Socrates defined what is the right attitude when receiving feedback: Calmly contained.

The Death of Socrates - Jaques-Louis David / Metropolitan Museum of Art NY

First rule: feedback is a two way road. If you can be a giver you have to be prepared to be a receiver too.

How to receive feedback and what to demand from feedback giver

  Make sure you understand what is all about, ask for directions if necessary, it has to be clear and relevant and you are on your right to ask for further clarification. Don't be sassy, the person who is giving feedback is making an effort for you to improve, you have to appreciate that in the first place.

  Do not respond immediately, do not confront, don't be deffensive. Take your time to take this feedback and if you want to respond later or explain yourself, do it, but what's important here is taking your time to elaborate what has been said to you.

  Respond with empathy. Try to understand where does this come from and who is saying what to you.

  Learn from your worst detractors. Even when you think what has been said to you is a nonsense, irrelevant or something out of point, make the exercise of taking it for evaluation and reflection. Feedback can have multiple purposes, sometimes even mean ones, but there is always a little part of truth in every kind of them, and, as Socrates said, you are the only responsible of learning something from whatever comes to you.

  Thank, even when thanking is hard, tough, breathtaking, mixed with anger... but do it. Express gratitude for the effort of standing by you giving you feedback.

The formation of constructive feedback

  Before giving feedback think why you are giving it, take it into a positive thinking or state of mind. You want to give feedback because you want somebody to improve so you both can have a benefit from this. If you are not thinking in terms of building something together, forget about it, you better save your feedback or even better: think again, because you are not doing it right.

  Align. Talk about what you have in common and why is this important to both of you.

  Feedback has to be immediate, but it has to be well formed. Before giving it think on the suggestion you are giving first.

  Focus, limit your feedback, keep it specific.

  Acclaim the good first, there is always a good side, something well done, extol so you can introduce the suggestion later and ease the way the other person takes it.

  Talk about you, your honest feelings, in which position left you what you are pointing.

Follow Up

  When you give a feedback you commit to this person to build a better something together. If you see improvement you need to return this too. A feedback is not complete without a return, it is a multiple round practice.

  When you introduce feedback in your workplace as common language and do it the right way, you will realize it is the most powerful tool to personal development. From my point of view feedback is the number one practice to work on every team, invest in teaching how to use it effectively and promote its use constantly.

  A good way of doing this is sharing best practices on feedback, save a moment in which teammates share how somebody's feedback has done good to them. Save a moment to thank. Treat feedback as what it is: a gift.



Written listening to "David Byrne and Brian Eno - Everything that Happens will Happen Today" album (Rate:8,5/10)

HR PEOPLE, THE EMPTY HEADED PLAGUE

  Here is an article, from some time ago, everyone interested in the HR field must read. Come on. Go ahead, I'll wait.

  Let me choose for you some inspiring soundtrack to ease your read.

  You're done, right? How does it feel to be hated with such conviction? I love this article. Everytime I find someone that works in HR field and should be rewarded with Best Classic Corporate Parasite Of The Year award I deliver this wonderful piece of genuine hate straight to his inbox.

  Check out the following comic strip that proves the same point but with Scott Adam's genius.

  When I started interesting myself on HR field this was the reality to face, lots of accommodated personnel of corporations all around, with no ambition and not a single interest in making themselves useful inside a company in a career wide range of time.

  We have to thank to these HR fathers that built this poor reputation, for letting us new flesh such a virgin playground to start making a real impact and change things for once and for all.

  So once we have stopped whining. How do we start making ourselves, HR Specialists, useful in today's corporations? Well, first of all being experts on getting the most from people.

  I recently read a great report on what CEO's expect from HR heads today. This are some of the ideas I found interesting reading the text and could be used as a guide to start developing ourselves to serve this needs.

1. Get to know how to get more productivity from fewer workforce. Learn group dynamics, how to manage diversity, embrace it and how to get the most from it. Corporations today need to improve their productivity, be creative promoting staff's own creativity to be better and faster.

2. Leaders need to understand how their teams can help organisations to succeed. HR heads can help them with strategies to inspire their teams, coach the leaders on their abilities to lead and inspire better.

3. The Head of HR need to have interpersonal saavy: High emotional intelligence, a superb perceptiveness about people and good communication skills. This is what CEO's expect from the head of HR and this is what the head of HR needs to deliver.

4. Help building a trustworthy and fearless feedback channel throughout the entire organisation, indistinct to the hierarchy. Constructive feedback move things forward. Always. No matter where it comes from.

5. Facilitate, serve as a bridge of clarification for the senior management team and the entire corporation. 

6. Talent Care. "Not only may the head of HR be responsible for recruitment into the team; he or she may also act as troubleshooter or henchman, removing underperforming or recalcitrant individuals, thereby preventing team dysfunction". Touché.

7. Take initiative. Days of the empty headed HR corporate parasites must be left completely over.

Written listening to "Framework - Skeleton" album (Rate:9/10)