Employee Recognition in an Agile Team
Fred sent me this question:
I've read that recognition (in whatever
form is most valued to the individual) is an important motivator. In the
context of Agile team dynamics, I'm guessing that individual recognition could
be counterproductive to everyone working well together, but recognition would
be a better motivator if it were directed toward the entire team rather than
just to a few individuals on the team that stood out.
What do you think?
The Agile methods are designed to make the work environment
itself a motivator for the team members.
But well-placed recognition can be a powerful addition – if
it is done in an Agile way!
It seems that there are negative side effects in almost
every employee recognition system.
When we focus on individual recognition, some very important
behaviors are de-incentivized. To
receive recognition, I must excel above my teammates. Even when ÒteamworkÓ is one of the criteria being used, I
will look for ways to be more of a Òteam playerÓ than the others on the
team. The bottom line is
competition, and despite our best efforts, that competition can turn ugly.
Many organizations attempt to short circuit competition by
focusing recognition on the team.
That way, it is reasoned, the team members will have to cooperate and
collaborate if they are to achieve the success that will garner
recognition. My experience has
been that recognition systems that *only* reward teams and never individuals
tend to backfire over time. Sooner
or later people become unhappy that the underachievers get just as much
limelight as the overachievers.
Of course some organizations attempt to avoid these ills by
not recognizing anyone. You are
paid for your work, and if you do well, youÕll get a raise and maybe a
promotion (sometime in the murky future).
While this is OK for some people, psychology has taught us that it
leaves many wondering if their efforts are really valued.
In crafting any recognition system, we must always start
with a clear picture of the behaviors that we value and wish to promote. With that clearly in mind, we can begin
to look for ways to promote those behaviors without causing other less desirable
ones.
What we value on Agile projects can
be boiled down to this:
á
Satisfy the customerÕs changing needs thru
á
Continuous communication and collaboration in a
á
Self-managing cross-discipline team.
The Agile team
is responsible for achieving success; so recognizing the team makes a lot of
sense. But the team is comprised
of individuals who need to know that they are appreciated. My recommendation is to strike a
balance by recognizing both the team and the individuals – when they
merit recognition. This requires
an objective, multi-point approach.
Agile team members should do 360-degree reviews
of each other, not annually, but regularly – at least at the end of each project (more often on projects over 3
months). The results of these
reviews should be aggregated over the long term to build a consistent picture
of each personÕs contribution to their project teams. (This aggregation will also dampen the temptation of people
to engage in tit-for-tat. ÒYou give me a good review and IÕll give you a good
one.Ó Or ÒYou gave me a bad review last time, so IÕll make you look bad this
time.Ó)
This long-term view can provide important insight for the
annual performance appraisal. In
addition, it can be the basis for individual recognition. (This personÕs teammates have repeatedly
singled him or her out as a significant contributor to the success of their
teams.)
This form of individual recognition should be rare. It should be reserved for truly
extraordinary contributions on multiple teams over an extended period of
time. I would not recognize an
individual in this way if anyoneÕs eyes would roll at the announcement. It should be met with sustained and
enthusiastic support from the people this person has worked with.
At the end of every
Agile project, the projectÕs customer should publicize
the project results (good or bad), identify the team that produced them, and include
whatever superlatives he or she thinks appropriate. After all, if "Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer ...", what other recognition matters?
My only warning here is to be sure that the customer does
not feel pressured to say nice things.
If things went badly, that should be acknowledged (although without
disparaging the team). Of course,
if the Agile team is functioning as intended, a bad
result should be rare.
This will keep the focus on the main thing we value –
producing value for our customers.
And it will lavish the attention on the human element that produces
value – the team.
That being said, I would add this caveat: There will be rare circumstances when
one team member goes above and beyond the call of duty to make the team
successful. I donÕt mean the hard
work that we often see from good team members when things get tough, but truly
extraordinary actions. If all of the team members point to
one person who deserves special recognition, then in addition to what the
Customer said, the Coach should add the teamÕs thanks to that individual.
This kind of recognition mix will keep the focus on what is
important: the team, teamwork, and the value they provide to their
customer. At the same time, it
will not diminish the fact that teams are comprised of individuals who must
cooperate to achieve success, and who sometimes go above and beyond.