Agile software development is mainstream. The productivity and
quality advantages of short iterations, test driven development, and
continuous integration are too large to ignore. But if these practices
are so good, why don't companies apply them to more than just software?
Some do: the Lean Startup movement is about applying those same
principles to your business model. The continuous feedback in short
iterations has proven just as effective for business models as it has
for software.
But what about the third leg of the stool: your people? Why aren't businesses applying the same agile methods to developing their "greatest resource"? When I read about Microsoft's annual circus of employee disempowerment or when I talk to colleagues, even those at other small start-ups, about their annual self-reviews which are then promptly ignored, I cringe and avert my eyes.
At New Relic, I've established a policy of Agile Personnel Development. We use constant, honest, feedback on short cycles - basically it is "continuous review deployment". Keeping the intervals short has all the same benefits that it does in agile software development: deviations are minimized and feedback stays relevant. Our engineers advance in their skills and in their careers faster than those at companies which practice "Waterfall Annual Reviews" on their employees.
Our reviews are not just "list five objectives for the year" because our managers are actually spending time with the engineers, listening to where they want to learn and grow, and tailoring the feedback to help them do so. Some engineers want to move into engineering management, while others want to develop Principal Engineer level technical skills; some want to work on their public speaking; others want to learn more about business so that they can start their own start-up.
We use two nested cycles of reviews: weekly or bi-weekly focused 1-1s and quarterly written reviews. We've tried even more frequent reviews (e.g., monthly) but found that the kind of improvements our engineers were interested in took a little longer and thus quarterly was the most useful. There's nothing magical about our reviews other than the frequency and the care that we put into them. It's a serious time commitment by the managers, but the benefit is well worth the effort.
just as our engineers help the business by adhering to a rapid iteration agile software development process, we managers help our engineers by taking the time to do practice Agile Personnel Development. And, heck, it's a beneficial cycle because better, happier engineers means more productive efficient technical solutions which, of course, benefits the business.