Agile Series Edition #2: Certified Agile training is vital, but certification alone won’t make you an expert

Certified training has become extremely popular within software development, as candidates are more willing than ever to learn and expand their knowledge. In addition, as technology evolves so quickly, training courses must adapt and evolve to accommodate these changes.

Some people feel that certified training is nothing more than a tick-box exercise and only has limited value. Whilst I don’t agree, I do feel that enrolling on a certified training course is not enough on its own if you’re serious about becoming a respected Agile practitioner.

I don’t want to devalue the importance of recognised and established certification programmes. Having a globally recognised certificate is important; it demonstrates not only your ability to learn, but your desire to educate yourself at the very highest standard.

The ideal scenario is to start with a brief Agile change plan, outlining what your roadmap is. Become certified with a suitable and relevant Agile training programme and then apply the knowledge you have learned from the classroom to some real case studies through workshops and activities. 

Consistent Agile coaching is encouraged throughout

The important element is having a coaching layer running throughout your Agile journey. This adds much needed consistency, and having the experience of a seasoned Agile veteran to help guide your transition can become invaluable. Agile places value in people over process, after all. 

You’ll likely have a slightly different change plan and roadmap, but if you take this proven approach as a guide, you’ll have a much better chance of making your Agile transition a successful one; not just for you, but for your team and your organisation.

Certified Agile training should be treated as your starting point – something to engage your brain with the fundamentals, before utilising workshops and the support of an Agile coach to apply your knowledge and add real value to real projects.

The bottom line is simple. Certified Agile training is an essential ingredient to your professional development and Agile journey. But as with any great dish, it’s only part of the recipe.

- James Harvey, Co-founder of Agile Snap

With a decade of Agile experience, James has at some point taken on every role within a Scrum team. Co-founder of Agile Snap, James’ main focus is around coaching project teams in becoming brilliant Scrum teams, along with providing formal, certified Agile training to all levels of an organisation.

Money or recognition; with a widening pay gap, what do you care about?

Valuing the intangible (time and skill) against the tangible (money) equally across a nation is not easy. Unfortunately, pay gaps now seem to be widening, in particular between men and women, and between graduates who are paid for their qualifications and those whose inexperience is being capitalised on.

It was recently announced that, according to a survey of 49,000 graduates in the UK, women earn 17% less than men up to five years after finishing an undergraduate course:

‘Kings College London is currently the target of a petition after recent official figures showed that female academics at the university may earn £10,000 less than their male peers. The petition was started after statistics… showed that women academics at the university were being paid an average of £46,030 annually while the men were paid £56,301 – a 19% difference.’

The conversation surrounding equal rights in the workplace has focussed on the gender pay gap for months now, so this news may barely register at first. But if we remember the sewing machinists at Ford Motor Company Ltd’s Dagenham plant, we will notice that this is a bigger pay gap that what they disputed in 1968. Their strike resulted in the passing of the Equal Pay Act 1970, and was the first time in history that women had taken or even threatened industrial action.

A pay gap was more understandable 47 years ago, with such early attitudes to equality. But in our progressive society, it is incredible to think that in some places, the pay gap is now actually wider than what prompted the machinists to bring a halt to all production at the biggest car company in the world.

But for all the focus on how the strike forced the issue of equal pay… the essence of this dispute was not money… but recognition. The catalyst for the strike was management’s grading of the machinists’ work as ‘unskilled’, despite it requiring a great deal of initiative, focus and technical ability. They cared about respect for their skills before the possibility of equal pay. Today, many studies have shown that financial reward is rarely our top priority, usually resting below purpose, autonomy and mastery (you can read more on The Puzzle of Motivation here). Perhaps they thought that equal pay would always be inevitable (if slow), but that respect, though unquantifiable, was worth more.

It’s the same for the young graduates of today. But there is a contribution to this imbalance facing both men and women. This generation of entry-level workers have been called ‘overeducated and underemployed’, and this may be because most make no attempt to negotiate their first salary. Many settle for far less than they’re worth, despite only 6.2% of employers in a recent survey saying they’d never negotiate! Whether they fear that their offer will be rescinded, or are simply unaware that negotiation is even an option, graduates everywhere are undervaluing themselves.

We can all afford to attribute more worth to our skills and value in the workplace, it seems. Of course this is, however, applicable to some demographics more than others; in particular, graduates, entry-level workers and women need (and can afford, though they may not yet know it) to lift their horizons to make sure that their earnings reflect their efforts.

Top four tips for motivating your staff

The conversation surrounding employee engagement and motivation has been simmering for years, yet many companies still struggle to apply the basics. With advances in technology, some of these approaches are becoming more and more practical, whilst others require only a little time or understanding. Read on and take advantage of these tried and tested motivational techniques!

• 1. Engage; start ‘big conversations’

Consistent two-way communication between managers and their staff is key to successful employee engagement. Meaningful communication, known as ‘big conversations’, should involve making employees feel comfortable enough to provide honest feedback about the workplace and making them aware of the role they play in helping the company to achieve overall business goals. The distinguishing factor between ‘Best-in-Class’ businesses and ‘Industry Average’ businesses is their ability to communicate engagement efforts across the entire organisation; in fact, ‘Best-in-Class’ companies rate it as the most important priority in delivering organisational performance.

The key to effective performance management is frequent, honest and constructive conversations that empower employees to take accountability for results and to play to their strengths.

• 2. Enhance; appreciate the little things

Employee recognition drives engagement and encourages positive behaviours, which in turn enhances employees’ feelings of value and motivation. Organisations with a Reward & Recognition programme in place are proven to have better retention rates and revenue per employee.

However, recognition is not about rewarding an employee’s greatest achievements. On the contrary, it is about noticing and encouraging day-to-day behaviours and being constantly and consistently thoughtful. Small and subtle gestures such as ordering dinner or booking taxis for late workers can be very effective in making employees feel valued.

The challenge is to identify the right form of recognition which works for a particular organisation and to differentiate it by individuals (managers need to now what motivates each person in their team); the ‘big conversations’ will go a long way in achieving this.

• 3. Enable; allow greater flexibility

Enabling employees to take a more flexible approach to their work has been proved repeatedly to be more effective in motivating and engaging them than financial remuneration. Employers should evaluate whether their employees’ work structure is vital; does an employee need to work from the office every day? Do they have to work 9-5, or could they start earlier/later and finish work accordingly?

Of course, it wouldn’t be appropriate to suggest that every business follows a ‘results-only’ work environment, where all structures are abandoned and employees can work however they wish as long as the desired results are achieved on time; one size never fits all. However, allowing your employees to have some control over how they work not only encourages better performance but also helps your company to stand out as an employer of choice.

• 4. Empower; create a greater purpose

It’s important to strengthen the sense of belonging and team spirit amongst employees. Effective engagement comes from an environment where personal and organisational aspirations are aligned; people feel empowered when they know they’re making a difference. Successful organisations will engage their employees in a variety of worthwhile CSR initiatives where staff across the organisation work to common goals. This creates high levels of shared purpose and develops a sense of organisational loyalty and pride, while simultaneously developing the business skills of the employees involved.

Organisations with a sense of shared purpose outperform those without it.

The value of employee engagement cannot be underestimated; engaged people do what they do because they believe it is the right thing to do and not necessarily because there is a reward waiting at the end. A prime example of engagement is volunteer work. There is no payment involved, it takes up a lot of time and it is very often ungrateful work. Yet most volunteers do it with passion and perseverance. Why? Because they believe in what they do. These are the kind of people you want in your organisation, so encourage them!

You can learn more from the challenges businesses face when trying to develop a strong employee motivation strategy by downloading RSG’s white paper ‘The Puzzle of Motivation’.

Agile Series Edition #1: Four reasons Agile isn’t working for you

There’s plenty of expectation when companies use Agile methodologies to help deliver successful projects, but what about the common pitfalls? Here’s a list of four challenges that companies have seen, and in some cases, are still seeing…

1. Thrashing

When a hard drives receives multiple requests and spends more time moving heads than reading data, this is known as thrashing. Usually manifested as the business changes priorities, the same is seen in software development. The more time spent stopping, starting and shelving means less time is used for adding value. Focus on doing one task well, not five tasks badly.

2. Waiting for the Stand-up

Picture the scenario; a problem is found just after the stand-up – how many developers do you know that wait for the next day? They will spend the whole day trying to fix an issue, or waiting for clarification on a requirement. Every delay hurts progress, so focus on open collaboration and communication. It’s a culture worth nurturing.

3. Definition of Done

Are you clear what you mean when you ask “Is it done?” Does it mean the development is complete or testing? What about being ready to deploy, or has it been deployed? It’s the most commonly seen muddy area in Agile projects. Start with a definition and revisit it regularly; this will help stabilise the velocity and reduce potential friction.

4. Scope Cram

Yes, you read that right – CRAM. When a project is finally started, the stakeholders believe this is the only chance they’ll get and so shoehorn every requirement they can think of, every moment they think of it. The result of this is reduced motivation for the team and a struggle to focus on the purpose of the work; it also ultimately means that the same ethos will bleed to subsequent projects. Working closely with a product owner who has a clear vision and the ability to represent the business is key. They can stop the cram from happening or reduce the noise and focus on the objective; VALUE.

- Leon Vincent, Application Development Manager at Gocompare.com

Leon has worked in and around Agile for the last 10 years. He currently works with a skilled team of architects, developers and testers to deliver cross-platform solutions for the leading price comparison site Gocompare.com. He focusses on Agile development methodologies, from Kanban to Scrum. His background was as a developer specialising firstly in LAMP and later the Microsoft Stack.

Gocompare.com is currently recruiting for an Application Developer. Click here to find out more about the role, nd to apply simply contact recruitment@gocompare.com