The Spotify Model became famous since it drove the Silicon Valley giant to inspire companies worldwide as an innovative inspirational example.
One of the main principles for their great success was the autonomy of their teams, called squads. Autonomy doesn’t mean you will automate tasks approval. It means the company’s leaders are only involved in the necessary work stages.
They give up the idea of controlling 100% of details concerning all tasks processes, and concentrate on the results the team hands. As a consequence, teams often surprise them with more positive results than they do to controlling bosses.
Of course, not all entrepreneurs are ready to work autonomously. The transformation process demands time, but it’s worth it.
We’re not saying it’s easy. Of course, implementing is harder than theory, but there are reasons and benefits enough to try.
What Autonomy really is, according to the Spotify example
The Spotify Model inspired companies to invest in autonomy because they verified teams were able to deliver results working with a certain freedom.
Autonomy, in this case, means they learn the company’s goals and the results leaders expect from them. Then, they can decide how to do tasks, search for new means to do them, and only present results on the fixed dates.
They follow schedules like any other team. The difference is that their employers verified they worked happier this way, with more independence. In many cases, with location and time freedom, working remotely or in the hybrid system.
This is more popular each day, with teams collaborating on interactive GitScrum Boards, where they get weekly assignments, control their schedules, deadlines, and deliveries with the Agile methodology. Get GitScrum Board for an autonomous squad!
What Autonomy is not
Some employees and business owners might be confused about this concept, so let’s clear up what autonomy is NOT:
- Delegating 100% of decisions. It’s delegating what leaders should not dedicate their time to.
- The collaborators doing as they please. It’s trusting them gradually, as long as they show they can act appropriately, according to the company’s values, and contribute to the company’s culture.
- Lack of control over results. It’s focusing only on important results.
- Each team following different standards, it’s to be granted for the teams which are prepared to meet uniform company standards.
Why Invest in Team’s Autonomy
The Spotify model inspired companies because it made them realize that autonomous teams can hand as many results, or even more, than teams who work under intense control. Furthermore, they work happier and feel more quality of life.
They are given goals to reach but have certain freedom on how to develop their ideas, individually and in groups, so they can test tools and methods, define their own working time and come up with new ideas.
Some benefits to create autonomous teams:
- motivation to collaborators;
- better organizational climate;
- quality of life improvement;
- stimulate creativity on solutions development.
TIPS TO CREATE MULTIPLE AUTONOMOUS SQUADS WITH SCRUM
Collaborative Environment and Remote Integration
Create a collaborative environment, for interactive work and knowledge exchange among workers from all over the world. While some team members are working outside, others are updating their insights and then, the other way around.
Allow team members to customize their own projects, deciding the best way to name their projects’ stages the way it sounds familiar to them.
Integrate remote teams in a humanized way, making them feel closer, even remotely, getting a sense of belonging and union towards common goals that must be clear. GitScrum Board is the tool for collaborative squads
Gather Multicultural Contribution from People to Company
Add even more value to your company, by learning from your employees’ diversity.
Encourage them to research, write and post useful content from different perspectives, to inspire innovation and new working processes. Build awesome pages with your team with GitScrum Wiki
Create an Educational Corporate Library
Preparing employees for efficient autonomy is not always an easy process. To execute work according to your expectations, the staff needs to be trained, educated constantly.
One of the most important means to do so is offering a documents library for your company’s compliance.
By publishing manuals, guidelines, internal rules, and files related to the workers’ tasks, you reduce the risk of investing in autonomy. It means you avoid misunderstandings and distortion of the companies’ standards. Get unlimited storage space with GitScrum Documents
Encourage Creativity
One of the main characteristics of the Spotify inspirational squads is creativity. Team members interact, most times in different time zones, add their multiple ideas into their projects, transform them and come up with the best solutions to the product owners.
Workers use videoconferences at times, but meanwhile, they are able to brainstorm their ideas independently.
They work in teams and interdependently, but not depending on each others’ routine completely all the time. GitScrum Mind Mapping pulls out your team’s creativity any time
Challenges for Self-driven Workers
Sprints are one of the main Scrum features. They are sets of goals and tasks to be achieved by the team in fixed deadlines, usually in weeks. They are normally integrated into your workboard in project management, so your team can monitor the progress of their tasks on a daily basis and be sure they are able to meet the deadline.
The Sprints present a motivational aspect – they got this name from the running sport, and the idea is to challenge your team to overcome their limits in a healthy perspective, wanting to perform better each day.
When you get your team to understand the importance and the Sprints concept, they will be ready to self-manage their assignments as an autonomous team. Form self-driven teams with GitScrum Sprints
Gamification
In all types of businesses, people need recognition and motivation. It’s a universal, human condition applied to all cultures. And we also need fun! Yes, we need some fun to relax from the seriousness of the work environment.
These factors are related to the successful model of autonomy because collaborators need stimuli to feel like overcoming results, while they feel the need to make this experience funnier.
It’s still a reality that most companies have no idea how to improve these points, or they don’t even know they should.
Gamification has become a worldwide trend, though, and it’s conquering more and more enthusiasts. Rewarding top performer collaborators and friendly competitiveness help you create an autonomy culture. GitScrum Rock Star Team is the perfect tool to start your gamification!
Innovate Focusing on End-users and Employees
To improve customer experience and working processes, you must collect data constantly, with the help of your team. With project management, it’s possible: every worker must be aware of customers’ needs, potential needs, and lacks.
Then, they write representative “user stories”, based on real cases or exemplary ones.
They must use this request form to send information to developers and designers, so they make product increments. They can also use them to communicate their own needs of work tools to improve the company’s work processes. GitScrum User Stories get you closer to your customers
Invest in the Interaction Among Clients and Developers
Educate your employees and developers to interact with clients always they need.
Allow your clients to participate and contribute in all project stages and feedback loops, so your collaborators will get a greater sense of responsibility and need to be responsive.
When you get clients’ contributions and let them interact with developers and designers, you make communication more efficient, delivering exactly what clients expect, in fewer steps.
The team learns to deal with clients’ requests and returns valuable increments work in shorter deadlines. All this will make your team more autonomous and your clients happier. GitScrum White Label is your premium feature for client project management
