How to Improve Attendance at Scrum Events
There are quite a few meetings to attend when you break down the entire Scrum cycle from one Sprint to the next. The Scrum Team will have events like the daily Scrum, planning, review, and retrospectives. One of the hardest things for the Scrum Master to do is get the Product Owner and the Development Team to actually show up and participate in the events. One way to combat this is to provide incentives to your Scrum team.
The Reason for the Reluctance
When you have a Scrum Team that is hesitant to attend all Scrum events, you need to figure out the reason for the reluctance. Why don't they want to attend? What is preventing them from participating? Do they have their own discussions that are replicating the content of the Scrum events? Are they just busy with projects? Most importantly, do the people attending get value in attending? One of the most common reasons for low attendance is that the events aren’t perceived as valuable.
Explain the Benefits
As a Scrum Master, it is important to explain the benefits of the Scrum events to each team member. Take it one event at a time. Explain how each event fits into the overall Scrum framework. All Scrum events are integral and completely unique. The Daily Scrum, for example, focuses on what you did yesterday, what you will do today, and any impediments the team is facing. The Review showcases functionality to stakeholders and Product Owners. The Scrum events should have value to the attendees as a working session, not just a meeting. Getting input and feedback on making the outcomes more valuable will change the tone and desire to attend.
Snacks and Coffee
When all else fails, and if your teams are co-located, you can incentivize them with snacks, coffee, and other beverages. Everybody loves snacks! You can do a lot with treats to help improve attendance and engagement.
Does your team need a better way to manage complex projects and collaborate on product development? Looking to improve attendance at your Scrum meetings? We offer fun, interactive, hands-on training classes where we teach students about Scrum, Lean and Kanban concepts.