Warning! - Anonymous employee Scrum Alliance Employee Review

Back in 2019 a lot of changes at Scum Alliance were taking place. The company was transitioning from a hierarchical organization to a flat organization. In doing so, the 2 CEO’s at that time decided to let all managers go. The plan moving forward was to have various teams based on the different personas the organization supported. These teams were each composed of a product owner, scrum master, and team members with various skill sets. There would then be a chief product owner and a chief scrum master (the titles the 2 CEO’s gave themselves at the time). The idea being that: 1.) No one, not even the CEO’s, would have more power than anyone else in the organization. 2.) No one reported to anyone else. Everyone reported to their team. This idea has since fallen to pieces little by little leading to a huge negative impact on the organization and team members as a whole. Leadership said one thing and then did the complete opposite. Just some of the examples: 1.) Teams were supposed to be the experts and be able to make their own decisions they thought were best for the company, yet we always seemed to move in the direction the CEO’s wanted. 2.) Told us that “everyone had a voice” yet seemed to always agree/listen to the individuals who agreed with their point of view. 3.) Assured everyone that they could come to them or HR with any concerns related to the new structure, yet when 4 individuals raised their concerns, they were fired.HR provides little to no support or advice. 4.) Leadership claimed there would be yearly goals and a strategic plan, yet these goals never seemed to be taken seriously and were never fully defined. 5.) Said they trusted the PO’s to help guide the team in the right direction yet rarely ever trusted our PO with anything. The advisory team members (community members who were supposed to be given the chance to weigh in on decisions made by the team) didn’t seem to be heard either. 6.) Said there would be room to grow professionally, yet never came up with a solution for employees to advance. Everyone made up their own titles. Other considerations: 1.) Gender bias: Hiring women or giving them titles doesn’t automatically create an environment equal for everyone. The female CEO’s opinion never carried equal weight to the male CEO’s. The female CEO has since resigned. 2.) The turnover rate is high. In 2019 there were around 49 employees. In less than 2 years, 6 were fired and 12 quit. The number has now risen to 14 people fired and 19 quitting.