I know this might not be the most Scrumy approach, but what I like is something alike a journey checklist for the first days. We pass it to the new team member and mention to him that this is his quest, his task for the sprint to complete and he can ask anyone he wants, collaborate, do something on his own and so on. We somewhat add a second Sprint Goal to onboard the new team member and on our dailies we discuss how that goal is progressing :)
For new SMs, it’s nice to give one sprint to pair and one sprint to shadow if at all possible. If they are replacing someone, set them up for success and make it a smooth transition
I encourage team members to "pair" with the new team member and spend a day with each person. By the end of the Sprint, the new team member knows what everyone does and the way in which the team works from a social as well as task perspective. The associated pattern is reviewed at Retrospective and adjusted to improve the onboarding of the next person.
Great question, excellent ideas based on getting a new member involved with the team. I would add another little thing, create that welcoming environment, meet the team and make it a visual exercise. Having done this for quite some time, I have seen how this has always had a positive impact on all, especially motivating for the new team member. The closer the team is to self-managing, the quicker the integration and that inclusion. Thanks RR+TM 🌟 P.S. A new developer is arriving Tuesday next week :D looking forward to it.
Love the videos, you all have been extremely helpful in my journey as a new SM. We will be having a new teammate joining the team on Monday and will take this approach.
When we want to encourage pair programming when a new developer joins the team sometimes the existing developers are not excited about it as they say this slows them down since it takes up their time to answer questions and explain the work and the code to the new person. Hence, they add more story points to the user story. How to tackle this?
Why are they worried about getting credits for points? Why wouldn't they want their new teammate to get up to speed? I suppose I sense a bit of dysfunction here that a new teammate is "slowing me down". Doesn't sound like much of a team to me. I think it might be worth asking those questions to the teammates. Just from your short description, I fear the new person arrives feeling unwelcome. Not sure if you saw our episode on velocity but this might also help: th-cam.com/video/EaNDvNEOMWs/w-d-xo.html.
Depends on the teams ability to successfully on-board the new team member. Could be weeks, could be months. The better the Scrum Team is at self-management and collaboration, the shorter the dip in effectiveness.
I know this might not be the most Scrumy approach, but what I like is something alike a journey checklist for the first days. We pass it to the new team member and mention to him that this is his quest, his task for the sprint to complete and he can ask anyone he wants, collaborate, do something on his own and so on. We somewhat add a second Sprint Goal to onboard the new team member and on our dailies we discuss how that goal is progressing :)
Sounds like a great approach. Not everything has to be "scrumy". :-)
Nice episode as always. We need an episode on how to onboard a new SM. Thanks in advance.
For new SMs, it’s nice to give one sprint to pair and one sprint to shadow if at all possible. If they are replacing someone, set them up for success and make it a smooth transition
I encourage team members to "pair" with the new team member and spend a day with each person. By the end of the Sprint, the new team member knows what everyone does and the way in which the team works from a social as well as task perspective. The associated pattern is reviewed at Retrospective and adjusted to improve the onboarding of the next person.
That was some great tips there. Thank you Ryan and Todd.
Great question, excellent ideas based on getting a new member involved with the team.
I would add another little thing, create that welcoming environment, meet the team and make it a visual exercise.
Having done this for quite some time, I have seen how this has always had a positive impact on all, especially motivating for the new team member.
The closer the team is to self-managing, the quicker the integration and that inclusion.
Thanks RR+TM 🌟
P.S. A new developer is arriving Tuesday next week :D looking forward to it.
How to on Board a new PO when a PO is leaving the company - whom to involve in getting this done?
This was a valuable topic, thanks for the insights
Love the videos, you all have been extremely helpful in my journey as a new SM. We will be having a new teammate joining the team on Monday and will take this approach.
Great to hear! Let us know how it goes and if you discover any other great tips to share.
How to onboard a New Scrum master when an existing Scrum Master leaving the team or company?
When we want to encourage pair programming when a new developer joins the team sometimes the existing developers are not excited about it as they say this slows them down since it takes up their time to answer questions and explain the work and the code to the new person. Hence, they add more story points to the user story. How to tackle this?
Why are they worried about getting credits for points? Why wouldn't they want their new teammate to get up to speed? I suppose I sense a bit of dysfunction here that a new teammate is "slowing me down". Doesn't sound like much of a team to me. I think it might be worth asking those questions to the teammates. Just from your short description, I fear the new person arrives feeling unwelcome.
Not sure if you saw our episode on velocity but this might also help: th-cam.com/video/EaNDvNEOMWs/w-d-xo.html.
In your experience, what's the window on that short-term dip in effectiveness when onboarding a team member?
Depends on the teams ability to successfully on-board the new team member. Could be weeks, could be months. The better the Scrum Team is at self-management and collaboration, the shorter the dip in effectiveness.