I want to say that I love my team's retrospectives because they are cute

Hello. This is Nekoyanagi from Corporate.

This article is the 18th entry for the Retrospective Advent Calendar.

Originally, I was thinking of going back to basics and doing a check-up on our team's retrospectives, but... I decided to talk about how our team's retrospectives are the best because they are cute.

It's a somewhat unserious title, but since I also thought retrospectives were boring sessions for self-reflection until two years ago, I would be happy if I could provide a slightly different perspective to those who feel the same.

So, it's been about a year since we renewed our team's retrospectives. I'd like to introduce the points that I personally love about them.

Favorite Point 1: Our retrospectives are cute

Cuteness is justice.

Boards that get decorated on their own during retrospectives

When we renewed our process, our team switched to an online whiteboard tool. Even though I didn't ask for it, mysterious decorations and collage images are posted to match the topics of the retrospective, making the board noisy (and cute).

I think this is actually quite important. In HR-related work, there are many things that can only be shared within the team, and there are many times when we worry about things. At such times, cute decorations often comfort our weary feelings, and it's not uncommon for us to digest our emotions on the spot while laughing and saying, 'Well, let's do it again next week! Thanks for the cute image!'
(Of course, constructive solutions also come out properly.)

By the way, this reaction became a staple because we have a designer on the team who quickly chats and posts cute reactions, so everyone gradually started doing it, and it happened naturally.

Several characters have appeared or been born

We tend to use cute names or characters to point out behaviors we tend to fall into.

Since there are many serious members, we tend to try to do everything. At such times, it's easier to say and easier to accept if we express it using a Pokémon character by saying, 'Greedent?'
For a while, Greedent stayed on our team's board the whole time.

Recently, a character that is a little (no, quite a bit) different from 'cute,' asking 'What would Yazawa say?', tends to appear... (lol)

Favorite Point 2: Our retrospectives are not just cute

Is it not okay to just be cute? It's not. I'll also introduce favorite points other than being cute.

See the actions through to completion

We follow up on the actions we've set by asking 'When will you do it?' and 'Did you do it?' in team meetings to ensure they are completed. (I'm not pressuring anyone, by the way.)

When we asked for opinions while reflecting on the team retrospective itself, people mentioned that 'it's good that the actions (raised during the retrospective) are properly executed' as a positive point, so I think being able to declare something to someone and follow it through to completion is a good stimulus and helps us feel that we are moving forward.

We review our goals (OKR) every time

Do you create team goals and then just leave them alone? In our team, we set aside time during our retrospectives to read through them.
By doing this, I think we can reflect while staying conscious of why we are working hard right now and what we want to reflect on to move forward.

In the first place, the members who participate in the retrospective value the time spent on it

In the past, we had a reduction in scale, and I once worried about whether we should continue to secure one hour per week for retrospectives.

At that time, I received a request from the members saying, "The retrospective time is very important, and we don't want you to stop it." At this year's Retrospective Conference, I was also advised that "it's okay to think about whether to stop it after doing it with the same rhythm," so we have kept it as is until now.
As a result, the team's output has increased, and I believe that being able to work hard in a healthy state is thanks to the retrospective mechanism that encourages us to work positively.

That's all! My team's retrospectives are cute and I love them, but this was a story about how they are not just cute.
I would love to hear what kind of cuteness your retrospectives have. Well then, I wish you a great retrospective life!