[Scrum Anti-Patterns] Scrum with Human Resources

Scrum anti-patterns

​Why we are here?

Last week I had a short discussion with some fellows, one of the interesting topic is about "Human Resources", and most of them had an issue with how to align Scrum with HR department:

• Most of concerns we discussed: Scrum is applied and team start to perform/collaboration well but when Annual Review comes Scrum team is broken. While Scrum is over team success, collaboration where is "our goal" important than "my goal". But current Tracking Performance is based more on the individual.

• Team member starts to concern how could they be assessed? and how about their career path?

• They have personal KPIs and focus to finish that first then the goal of the team. If not they will get a bad review this year.

Hold Back! Do we have any gap here?​

E.g: Scrum team members

Sound like, Scrum team and organization level need to be aligned? look at the table below for some example indicators you need to list out and take care a gap with current HR policy

​Job descriptions	​Focused on Individual skill but not Team​work	​Focus more on teamwork
​​Compensation schemes​	​Individual over Teamwork	​More teamwork
​​Individual career paths​	Individual​	​More teamwork
​Performance evaluations	​​​Individual KPIs​	​More teamwork

Usually, Organization focuses more on Individual than Team Work. This lead to people more focuses on "My work" than "Our Work".

How and What you should do?

As Scrum Master helps the team understand Scrum and maximize value of Scrum, but If only care about Team level is not enough. He/ She needs to serve Organization level where have many indicators or stakeholders can be impediment.

• Leading and coaching the organization in its Scrum adoption;

• Planning Scrum implementations within the organization; 

​
- Scrum Guide 

As Scrum Guide, Scrum Master serves the Organization level as well, so you should educate HR department and join with them to change a process from their approval and this is ongoing to inspect and adapt process. Below is something you need take in to account to align for Scrum is adopted with your Organization:

• How to focus more on Teamwork factors than individual factors? Why?
• Who will be line manager of Scrum team member? Why?
• When should annual review happen? Why?
• How career path is aligned with Scrum? (more focus on flattening while remove titles in team, so team member will concern about their career path? How do we build good career path for the individual but also raise up teamwork?)
• How does 1 year experience Developer look like with 10+ years Developer look like, are they same in the team? (will go to details more on other post)

Besides, you need to educate the HR department by sharing or asking them to join part of your training with the team, support them if they can using Scrum for internal HR projects/works.

More understanding about Scrum values on your Organization is more success is showed-off.

Conclusion

Try to apply Scrum but do not serve Organization level will leak to many impediments, it's one of importance thing you need to care from beginning when you start to apply Scrum to the team.

In other post, I will go though more details about "How to build Career Path while you apply Scrum".

NOTE: Updated follow scrum guide 2020