Agile QuickTip: Schedule your Collaboration Time

Schedule your Collaboration Time

Looking for some ideas to make your team more effective? Why not schedule collaboration time from the outset.

Many scrum teams, especially if they are new, struggle to find opportunities and reasons to collaborate and work with one another. They may even find it awkward to approach one another and ask them to make time for collaboration.

One idea that can really work is to schedule your team’s collaboration time, by physically putting it on the calendar at a specific time. This can be a one off to get the ball rolling, or it can even be a recurring time in the weekly calendar, for example Thursdays from 2-4pm.  This does more than just let your team know there is a time for collaboration available, it allows them to see that there is an expectation that they will collaborate as team members.

Individuals can use this set time to find opportunities and reasons for working with others. They could ask for help with problem solving, get another opinion on innovation and ideation, or simply use the time to bounce ideas off one another. Whatever it is, creating an opportunity and an expectation for collaboration plants the seed that it might be a smart idea for team members to work together in the future.

Liked that Agile QuickTip? Just wait until you hear the others! Head to my back catalogue to watch the whole series on YouTube, and let me know which one is your favourite, or the most effective for your Scrum team! You can also visit our website, thinklouder.com where you’ll be able to learn more about our training and coaching offerings.