Metrics for supportive team dynamics

Employee net promoter score (eNPS): Measure employees' engagement and satisfaction within the organization, gauging their likelihood to recommend the organization as an ideal workplace. This can provide insight into the overall health of the organizational culture and indicates the effectiveness of leadership in creating an inclusive and positive work environment. A higher eNPS can correlate with better productivity, lower turnover, and improved team dynamics. Track using periodic, anonymized net promoter score surveys that require no more that 5–7 minutes to complete. Subtract the percentage of detractors (those who score 0–6) from promoters (those who score 9–10) to get the eNPS value. Neutral scores (7–8) can be ignored.

Cross-functional dependency tracking: The number of dependencies a team has on other teams is measured by the frequency of interactions between teams. Dependencies can slow down work, indicate siloed teams, or point towards inefficient processes. The frequency of cross-team interactions can help gauge how siloed teams are and how effectively they are collaborating. This metric should improve as teams become more autonomous and fully responsible for their value stream. Use time tracking tools, calendar analytics, and dependencies between work items in project management tools to track and categorize dependencies. On a regular basis, such as monthly or at the end of a sprint, calculate the average number of dependencies and the frequency of cross-team meetings.

Team health: Hold periodic surveys that gauge team members' feelings and perceptions about collaboration, support, and team dynamics. These surveys create feedback loops that can highlight strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. If following Scrum, this survey might take the form of a sprint retrospective. If not following Scrum, or for more granular feedback, administer surveys on a regular basis, such as monthly or quarterly. Measure the percentage of positive responses over time and track trends as they emerge.

Team turnover: The frequency that team members depart from a specific team. High turnover can indicate issues with team dynamics, satisfaction, or other underlying problems affecting team cohesion. Identify these issues early to maintain project consistency, team morale, and productivity. Monitor the reasons for departures using exit interviews, and progress towards resolving points of friction within the team. On a regular basis, such as monthly or quarterly, calculate the turnover rate by taking the number of employees who left during that period divided by the average number of employees during the same period, then multiply by 100 for the percentage.