Learn from success – and learn from mistakes. This is always an important concern for HR professionals. The retrospective method is perfectly suited for this: looking back at what happened to learn for the future. But maybe you are also overwhelmed by the multitude of different variants? Today we present two methods for digital retrospectives that always work!
How does a good retrospective work?
Important: A retrospective is always about the "looking back at the past" (retrospective = looking back). This also means: Concrete solutions are not the goal of a retrospective. Many know retrospectives from the Scrum model, which was originally used in software development.
In the meantime, HR professionals from all areas are using a retrospective meeting in their professional lives to get a common picture of a specific situation or a longer project. And to learn from it what should be done similarly, differently, or not at all in the future.
This is immensely important for every retrospective:
Good moderation
A strict timekeeper
Clear communication: What exactly should be looked back on?
Focus on observation rather than problem-solving
How well do retrospectives work digitally? It's simple!
Since 2020, we at blink.it have increasingly worked digitally or remotely. Sure, not everything can be implemented 1:1 online. However, the retrospective is a method that really works seamlessly in a digital format. The New Work experts at AllesRoger have written a great article about it: How to conduct your retrospectives online. They recommend tools like whiteboard.com or mural.co to collaborate efficiently in a digital space.
We at blink.it simply use Google Docs as a tool for digital retrospectives. It works like this:
The moderator prepares a document in Google Drive beforehand.
All participants think ahead about the categories – this saves time in the meeting.
During the meeting, everyone takes turns filling in their bullet points in the document (ideally using copy & paste) – and explains them briefly.
The retrospective is a method that works wonderfully "online-only". Ideally, all participants are prepared and can present their points briefly in turn.
(Far too many) Different variants of the retrospective
Okay, the purpose of retrospectives is probably clear to you. But if you search the internet for the keyword "retrospective", you will find at least ten different variants of it. Here are a few examples:
Help, too much choice! Which type of retrospective is suitable for you and your team? To be honest: It doesn't make a big difference – they all help to highlight the essentials of what happened. And yet you have to make a choice, so we will present two very different retrospectives that have proven effective for us:
Start-Stop-Keep: The future-oriented retrospective
What do I want to talk about? - The “focused” retrospective
When do we recommend which method and why? You will find out now!
1. Start - Stop - Keep: The “future-oriented” retrospective
This is how Start-Stop-Keep works
All participants answer the following categories:
Start: What should be newly done in the future?
Stop: What should be avoided in the future?
Keep / Continue: What should be continued in the future?
This makes the Start-Stop-Keep method not a typical retrospective: Because you are assessing based on what has happened – but very focused on the future. TU Berlin has a PDF template for Start-Stop-Continue that you can use.
Advantages of Start-Stop-Keep
The categories are very clear and therefore usually easy to answer. This way, the method can quickly determine how the journey continues.
Examples: When do we use Start-Stop-Keep?
The method is great for recurring meetings without a specific trigger. Typically, there is no high conflict potential. We at blink.it primarily use Start-Stop-Keep during our quarterly meetings between (a) employee(s) + manager – the one-on-ones.
2. What do I want to talk about? – The “focused” retrospective
This is how the focused retrospective works
The categories for this variant of the retrospective are:
What happened?
What was good?
What was bad?
What do I want to talk about?
Advantages of the focused retrospective
The ultimate advantage of why we at blink.it prefer this type of retrospective: The need for discussion is particularly clearly articulated. In many other retrospectives, it is all about collecting different viewpoints. This also happens here, but the rest of the time is used for a discussion on the most pressing points – with strict time constraints to remain efficient! Full focus on the greatest need for conversation.
Examples: When do we use the focused retrospective?
Basically, the "focused" retrospective is suitable for many purposes. We recommend it in any situation where at least one participant feels there is a need to talk – and you want to work out exactly what that is. For example:
In projects that run over several months (in between and/or at the end)
After situations that were emotionally charged
After implementing new methods or tools
5 Tips: Even more efficiency in (digital) retrospectives
These were our two top retrospectives that have proven themselves more than once. And both work flawlessly digitally! Finally, we want to look back at all our retrospectives and present our 5 biggest insights:
Create a template that can be reused.
Consider carefully whether participants should prepare – for us, this has usually proven effective.
Don't start with the negative: “What went wrong” should be the last category.
Be a strict timekeeper: Don't let discussions drift.
Too much need for discussion? Move solution proposals to a new meeting.
… So you can learn from our mistakes and start directly with efficient and focused retros! 😎
