My last blog talked about my own introduction to Daily Stand Ups, or Comm Cells, detailing my initial reluctance, and how I came around to the point of being a Daily Stand Up advocate.
This second in my series of blogs looks at some of the changes to the way we, the Business Improvement Team (BIT), have implemented Daily Stand Ups over the years. As a team, we’ve learned lessons as we’ve introduced more Daily Stand Ups. It's been a gradual process, with subtle changes made to the way we do things over a period of time.
The personal touch
Most teams will be likely to have at least one person who is reluctant to join the Daily Stand Up when it's first introduced. Maybe they are nervous about leading, or are doubtful you can communicate effectively in such a short meeting. Whatever the reason, I’ve found it helps to share the concerns I had about attending a Daily Stand Up.
When I’m introducing a new Daily Stand Up to a team, I’m honest about my own initial reluctance. It helps to put people at ease before they try it out for themselves, and figure out a way that works for them.
Learning to lead
You may remember I previously talked about confidence being an issue for some people when it came to leading the Daily Stand Up. I’m certain it’s not easy to be the first person in the team to take on this role.
With that in mind, the BIT decided that we should lead and scribe the first Daily Stand Up for the team. This demonstrates to the team how to move through the agenda, and keep the meeting on track. It also allows all of the team members to fully participate in the first Daily Stand Up without having to think about the responsibilities of the roles.
Surveys
Initially, we had no tangible evidence to show that the Daily Stand Ups were having any impact on team communication, or on increasing employee engagement. We have now started to issue pre and post-implementation surveys in order to gather this evidence.
The surveys allow us to establish a baseline and measure any improvements from there. This shows the BIT that the Daily Stand Ups are perceived as beneficial by the attendees. For example, when asked if communication in the teams was effective 37% of respondents disagreed. However, once the Daily Stand Up was implemented, 100% of respondents stated that it had improved.
Impact
In my next blog, I’ll be looking at some examples of the positive impact Daily Stand Ups have had across the University.
In the meantime, if you’d like to know more, or are interested in the BIT introducing a Daily Stand Up in your organisation, please contact continuous-improvement@strath.ac.uk.
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