Productive communication with employees can be a bit of a challenge, especially when you do not want to interfere with the team dynamics or indeed momentum. However, marketing teams are finding that short bursts of communication can actually enhance the productivity of a team. Referred to as the ‘daily stand up’ or ‘scrum’, this type of meeting could be just what your office needs to improve its focus.
What is a daily scrum and what are the benefits?
Usually taking place in the morning, this meeting is led by an individual of senior rank who has a responsibility for promoting success within the company, particularly when it comes to marketing productivity. This person is called the scrum master, much like the driving force that you will find behind the scrums on a rugby pitch.The meeting includes as standard all members of the agile marketing team and lasts approximately 15-20 minutes, with the aim of progressing through matters at speed.
The key questions a daily scrum answers
During the get together, the group will look to answer the following key questions: What did the team achieve yesterday? What is the plan for today? What obstacles are in the way? Simply put, the point of the scrum is to empower a team to be more productive and effective. See more information at https://www.scrum.org/resources/what-is-a-daily-scrum.
What more do you need to know?
How the daily scrum method originated
The word scrum is ordinarily a rugby term derived from the methodology of a team for self-organising and making quick changes in response to agile principles. The scrum master facilitates the process, since he or she is the one who manages how information is exchanged.
The daily scrum can take place either on or off-site and is the tool that keeps on giving – there are always other opportunities to cover anything missed or forgotten. If you love the sound of this effective communication tool and wish to find out how best to introduce this to your team, then you may wish to consider scrum master training in Dublin, offered by Althris (https://www.althris.com/courses/scrum-master/).
Finally, anyone involved in these daily stand ups must ensure that the meeting does not turn into a forum for problem-solving, nor a place to vent frustrations about tasks or colleagues. Similarly, irrelevant discussions should not be permitted to develop during the scrum.
Summary
This article explains how the ‘daily scrum’ or stand-up meeting, borrowed from agile marketing, can improve office communication without disrupting team momentum. It describes a short, senior-led morning meeting where the team covers what was achieved yesterday, the plan for today and any obstacles, explains the rugby-derived scrum terminology, and warns the meeting should not become a forum for problem-solving or venting frustrations.
Questions this article raises
- How do you stop a daily scrum turning into a longer problem-solving session?
- Does the daily scrum format work as well for non-marketing teams?
- What happens if a team member regularly cannot attend the morning meeting?
