Just been laid off - mass firing
Well, after hearing of some companies laying off agile roles, I never thought it would happen to me. I work for a well known large uk bank and just been informed that the scrum master role and agile coach role are being removed. This means around 1,000 jobs. There are also now only a handful of scrum master jobs available in job boards. Capital One has also just axed 1,100 scrum masters and Royal London made 90% of theirs redundant too. The agile landscape is changing it seems.
I’m just grateful I’m also a software engineer with over a decade of experience too so will get back into that.
Just been laid off - mass firing
The higher-ups are as classy as ever.
The agile landscape is changing it seems.
Have they achieved the outcomes they are looking for, and these skills have indeed now become redundant? Or are other forces at work?
The rumour is that they aren’t seeing projects delivered on time and budget so agile must not be working.
The rumour is that they will use a hammer to try and drive in a screw. This is the behaviour of legacy institutions rather than challenger ones. The dust will settle on this, the need to innovate to survive remains.
"they aren’t seeing projects delivered on time and budget so agile must not be working"
I also see this happening. In the past, and now again.
<rant>
Managers have heard about this great new thing and drop it onto their teams that this is their new way of working as of next week Monday morning - without the needed support; i.e. people who have real experience in it, both in what typically works and what doesn't.
I've seen it happen with CMMI - which is a requirements framework for ways of working. Managers without knowing better thought it was a process framework. Resulting in administrative burden for companies. What a bad framework!
I've seen it happen with PRINCE2 - which is a methodology for complicated work; i.e. more is known than unknown. Managers felt this is it. As it works in construction, why not in software and services. Resulting in big upfront plans for work that is still unknown and cannot be planned. What a bad methodology!
Now I see it happen with Scrum - which is a framework for "generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems". i.e. more is unknown than is known. Managers felt this is it; we can now change everything all the time and only the teams need to change. Resulting in a lot more unproductive meetings (ah yes, the PMO and Project Managers do not need to change). What a bad framework!
<end rant>
Fortunately there are also companies who do understand. And who take the change seriously. The whole organisation needs to support the change. And a large part of the organisation is impacted by this change. A Scrum Master working in such an environment can make quite an impact. His/her value will be visible. I have not seen lay-offs in such companies.
Hope this clarifies a little.
Feel free to shoot more questions!
PS You might be interested in my blog posts about the fundamentals of the Scrum framework. If so, please check out this page: https://boostyourscrum.com/professional-scrum-foundations-series/
Capital One was news early last year if I remember.
Always a shock to me when i hear orgs on an agile transformation when their obviously a conservative culture and interested in hierarchy and deadlines. agility is not always necessary, if you know your products are not are not interested in change or feedback then don't use agile.