How do you create higher engagement in remote team retrospectives? 5 tips
Various measures are possible and different factors are relevant to generate higher engagement in your agile sprint retrospectives in your virtual or remote team.
I have listed the possible measures in the following table and then distributed points according to the effectiveness and importance of the measures.
Effectiveness & importance of various measures
The following table lists various measures to promote the commitment of team members and employees in retrospectives. They are ranked according to effectiveness and importance.
| Action item | Evaluation of effectiveness (1-3) | Context |
| Selecting the right template | 2: Medium effectiveness | Good templates can certainly lead to more fun in retro, but only to a limited extent. |
| Choosing the right software tool | 3: High effectiveness | Good software like Echometer can greatly increase fun and engagement in Retros through playful elements. |
| Psychological safety in the team | 3: High effectiveness | Without psychological security and a trusting relationship, team members do not dare to open up. |
| Knowledge & adaptation to the team | 2: Medium effectiveness | It is helpful, but not necessary, to adapt the retro to the team - most teams respond similarly to engagement-promoting measures. |
| Previous psychological knowledge | 1: Low effectiveness | Prior psychological knowledge is not necessary to increase engagement in Retros. |
| Team size | 2: Medium effectiveness | A team that is too large (starts at more than 8 team members) makes higher commitment more difficult. |
| Playful elements | 2: Medium effectiveness | Playful elements (fun icebreakers, waiting room games like Echometer) are good at activating even introverted team members. |
| Active moderation | 3: High effectiveness | By actively asking quieter team members, for example, the distribution of speech can be massively equalized. |
| Focus on measures | 3: High effectiveness | Good measures (including implementation) are a decisive feature of successful retros and thus increase the motivation to participate. |
The effectiveness assessment is based on my personal experience as a Scrum Master and psychologist.
Good templates & techniques for higher engagement in retrospectives
The following templates, ideas and techniques are great for creating more engaging agile sprint retrospectives in remote or virtual teams and making them more fun.
Template 1: WRAP Retrospective
WRAP Retrospective: How the retro works
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Random Icebreaker (2-5 minutes)
Echometer provides you with a generator for random check-in questions.
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Review of open actions (2-5 minutes)
Before starting with new topics, you should talk about what has become of the measures from past retrospectives to check their effectiveness. Echometer automatically lists all open action items from past retros.
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Discuss retro topics
Use the following open questions to collect your most important findings. First, everyone does it themselves, covered. Echometer allows you to reveal each column of the retro board individually in order to then present and group the feedback.
- Wishes: What do you wish for?
- Risks: What risks do you see?
- Appreciation: Who or what deserves appreciation?
- Puzzles: What is currently a puzzle for you?
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Catch-all question (Recommended)
So that other topics also have a place:
- What else would you like to talk about in the retro?
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Prioritization / Voting (5 minutes)
On the retro board in Echometer, you can easily prioritize the feedback with voting. The voting is of course anonymous.
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Define actions (10-20 minutes)
You can create a linked action via the plus symbol on a feedback. Not sure which measure would be the right one? Then open a whiteboard on the topic via the plus symbol instead to brainstorm root causes and possible measures.
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Checkout / Closing (5 minutes)
Echometer enables you to collect anonymous feedback from the team on how helpful the retro was. This creates the ROTI score ("Return On Time Invested"), which you can track over time.
WRAP Retrospective
The first template I can recommend for more engagement in your sprint retrospective in remote or virtual teams: The WRAP Retrospective.
- Where can I find the template? In the Retrospective Tool Echometer
- Why does the template work? The four letters and simple structure make it easy to give answers.
| Retrospective Questions | Wishes: What do you wish for? | Risks: What risks do you see? | Appreciation: Who or what deserves appreciation? | Puzzles: What is currently a puzzle for you? |
| Sample answer | Fewer meetings | Is the project goal realistic in terms of time? | Chris fixed the bug super fast! | Why was Production down last week? |
Template 2: Battery Retrospective
Battery retrospective: How the retro works
-
Random Icebreaker (2-5 minutes)
Echometer provides you with a generator for random check-in questions.
-
Review of open actions (2-5 minutes)
Before starting with new topics, you should talk about what has become of the measures from past retrospectives to check their effectiveness. Echometer automatically lists all open action items from past retros.
-
Discuss retro topics
Use the following open questions to collect your most important findings. First, everyone does it themselves, covered. Echometer allows you to reveal each column of the retro board individually in order to then present and group the feedback.
- How full is your personal battery as a percentage right now?
- What has drained your battery recently?
- What has recharged your battery recently?
- What would help you to save energy over the next few weeks?
-
Catch-all question (Recommended)
So that other topics also have a place:
- What else would you like to talk about in the retro?
-
Prioritization / Voting (5 minutes)
On the retro board in Echometer, you can easily prioritize the feedback with voting. The voting is of course anonymous.
-
Define actions (10-20 minutes)
You can create a linked action via the plus symbol on a feedback. Not sure which measure would be the right one? Then open a whiteboard on the topic via the plus symbol instead to brainstorm root causes and possible measures.
-
Checkout / Closing (5 minutes)
Echometer enables you to collect anonymous feedback from the team on how helpful the retro was. This creates the ROTI score ("Return On Time Invested"), which you can track over time.
Battery retrospective
Perhaps the best retrospective technique or template for creating engagement and fun in retrospectives in remote or virtual teams is the battery retrospective.
- Where can I find the Retrospective template? In the Retrospective Tool Echometer
- Why does the template work? The battery metaphor should resonate very well with every team member.
| Retrospective Questions | How full is your personal battery as a percentage right now? | What has drained your battery recently? | What has recharged your battery recently? | What would help you to save energy over the next few weeks? |
| Sample answer | 70%: Working on the same task for too long | Rather negative feedback from our customer | Team event was great fun | Let’s only do the Daily three times a week |
Template 3: Three Little Pigs Retrospective
Three Little Pigs Retro 🐷: How the retro works
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Random Icebreaker (2-5 minutes)
Echometer provides you with a generator for random check-in questions.
-
Review of open actions (2-5 minutes)
Before starting with new topics, you should talk about what has become of the measures from past retrospectives to check their effectiveness. Echometer automatically lists all open action items from past retros.
-
Discuss retro topics
Use the following open questions to collect your most important findings. First, everyone does it themselves, covered. Echometer allows you to reveal each column of the retro board individually in order to then present and group the feedback.
- House of straw: What have we built that is just holding together, but could topple over at any moment?
- House from sticks: What have we built that is relatively stable but can be improved?
- House of stone: what we have built that is rock solid?
-
Catch-all question (Recommended)
So that other topics also have a place:
- What else would you like to talk about in the retro?
-
Prioritization / Voting (5 minutes)
On the retro board in Echometer, you can easily prioritize the feedback with voting. The voting is of course anonymous.
-
Define actions (10-20 minutes)
You can create a linked action via the plus symbol on a feedback. Not sure which measure would be the right one? Then open a whiteboard on the topic via the plus symbol instead to brainstorm root causes and possible measures.
-
Checkout / Closing (5 minutes)
Echometer enables you to collect anonymous feedback from the team on how helpful the retro was. This creates the ROTI score ("Return On Time Invested"), which you can track over time.
Three Little Pigs Retro 🐷
Open questions
The following templates, ideas and techniques are great for creating more engaging agile sprint retrospectives in remote or virtual teams and making them more fun.
- Where can I find the Retrospective template? In the Retrospective Tool Echometer
- Why does the template work? It helps you to take a different look at your agile sprint.
| Retrospective Questions | House of straw: What have we built that is just holding together, but could topple over at any moment? | House from sticks: What have we built that is relatively stable but can be improved? | House of stone: what we have built that is rock solid? |
| Sample answer | The registration process is based on “Vibe-Coding” - should be reviewed | The user onboarding dialog has not been well tested | Backend was developed and implemented in a well-considered manner, including little tech debt! |
Step-by-step guide: More engagement in retrospectives
If you want more engagement in your agile sprint retrospectives, I would recommend the following steps based on the table above and my experience.
- Building psychological safetyFocus on building psychological security, trust and good relationships within the team! This is the basis for an open discussion in retrospect.
- Establish meaning or purposeCheck whether your team goals are attractive and relevant for everyone. Does everyone see the point? If your team members don’t care about the success of your project, they won’t take part in the retrospective.
- Variety in retrospective templatesNow you can start trying out new sprint retrospective techniques, templates and software tools.
- Variety in Retrospective Software ToolsThe retrospective software Echometer in particular is designed to lead to more commitment in virtual or remote teams.
- Alternating moderatorYou can also have other team members prepare and moderate the retrospective. Possibly especially those who have not participated much so far.
If you’ve tried all of that and still don’t have more engagement in your retrospective, feel free to contact me - I’d be happy to help you.
FAQ: Regularly asked questions
What is most important to generate more engagement in retrospectives?
Three ingredients are most important for higher engagement in retrospectives: Psychological safety, a motivated team and alternating, playful retrospective formats, techniques, templates and ideas are also helpful. You can find these, for example, in the retrospective software tool Echometer, which was specially developed for remote retrospectives. You can find out more about this in the table above.
Our continuous improvement process is not working - why?
Your continuous improvement process may not work for a variety of reasons. To find out the causes, it is worth taking a closer look at the following points and answering them:
- Does my team feel psychologically safe?
- Is your team really motivated - does everyone understand the purpose of your current, shared goal?
- Do you regularly bring new templates and techniques to your retrospectives to provide more variety?
What should be considered in remote teams, especially in retrospectives?
Remote teams should pay particular attention to the following points in retrospectives:
- Choosing the right tool (for example, Echometer is ideal for remote retrospectives with high employee engagement)
- Creating psychological security and a relationship of trust within the team
- Ensuring that measures are recorded and implemented. This must be made transparent, especially in remote teams, in order to promote the team’s self-efficacy.
