Hi there,

Think back to a recent big project…

What did you loathe? Seriously.

I bet a lot comes to mind. 

Ask your team members and they might have a completely different list. 

That’s a lot of loathing for one project.

Loathing, loving, longing for, learning… These are all key components of running a successful retro.

Remote Octopus recommends identifying an opportunity for a retro as the year comes to a close. Our next four emails will be a series on how to launch and run an effective retro for your team.

Depending on the company, a retro can go by many names:

➡ What type of retro will this be?

➡ What project or team box of time will we discuss?

Identify a current or recently completed project or milestone that could benefit from a retro – or you might identify that your team internally would benefit from a retro to discuss a specific box of time, such as the past quarter or the past year (a perfect fit for December!)

➡ Approximately when will this retro take place?

Ideally provide at least one week’s notice when scheduling the retrospective to provide sufficient think time for the team. 

Remote Octopus recommends:

The conversation is typically 30-60 minutes in length. Some teams might opt for longer retros if they’re:

➡️ Are you the facilitator? If not, who is?

Ideally, you are the facilitator – as the project Responsible person or as the team lead. If retros are new to your team or company, propose piloting a retro for this project or your team with your supervisor to ensure buy-in and alignment on any specific goals or deliverables.

📬 If you are not the facilitator, forward this email to the person who would be the facilitator… and encourage them to sign up in order to receive our next set of three emails on how to optimize retros! Next week, we’ll be diving into the key responsibilities of the retro facilitator.

Ready to level up operational excellence for your team? Check out our resources: