BISS Retro Guide
These gatherings are all about one big question: “How can we be even happier working here at BISS?” We believe that by openly sharing our thoughts and ideas, we can make our company an even more awesome place to be.
To make sure we get the most out of our time together, here’s a little guide:
Getting Ready to Share We love for you to come prepared with your thoughts on the following:
Start Doing: What’s something new you think we should begin doing at BISS? Maybe it’s a new process, a different way of collaborating, or a fun team activity.
Stop Doing: Is there anything we’re currently doing that you think we should stop? This could be something that’s not working, causing bottlenecks, or just isn’t effective anymore.
Do More: What are we already doing really well that you think we should keep doing or even expand upon? We love to celebrate our successes and make sure we continue to build on them!
How We Run the Meeting To keep things smooth and ensure everyone gets a chance to speak, we have a few guidelines:
Time to Shine: Everyone has about two minutes to share their ideas. If a discussion around a suggestion starts to get lengthy, our facilitator gently steps in and moves the topic to the “Discussion” section at the end of the meeting, where we can dive into it more deeply.
One Voice at a Time: Whether you’re in the office or joining online, we take turns speaking. Our facilitator (the person who guides our discussion and keeps us on track) helps manage the speaking order to make sure everyone’s voice is heard clearly.
Respect is Key: This is a safe space for all ideas! We have zero tolerance for interrupting, aggressive comments, shouting, or any behavior that isn’t respectful. It’s essential that we share our thoughts constructively and maintain a peaceful discussion environment.
What We Don’t Cover: Please keep in mind that topics like salaries, benefits, and legal or financial processes aren’t part of our retro discussions. You can always talk about these with the relevant departments, like HR or your team leads.
Keep an Eye on Our Progress! Remember those awesome ideas you’ve shared in past retros? You can see how they’re progressing and turning into action items on our dedicated board:
Checking in on this board helps us all see the real impact of our discussions!
Meeting Flow:
First Session: Following Up on Previous Retros. We start by checking in on the items from our last retro, tracking their progress directly on our Azure board.
Second Session: Sharing New Ideas. We go through a randomly generated list of our company members, taking turns to present new suggestions. Everyone has about two minutes to share their ideas.
Third Session: Discussion. If a discussion around a suggestion from the second session starts to get lengthy and we don’t reach a conclusion, we move the topic here. This is where we dive deeper and work towards solutions.
Location: BISS Levent Office (Upper Floor) & Google Meet
A Little Heads-Up: Your participation in these retro meetings is super important! Attendance is mandatory for everyone. If you’re working outside of Istanbul, feel free to join us via Google Meet. For those in Istanbul, we love to see you in the office for these meetings, unless there’s a special circumstance. If you absolutely cannot make it, please ensure you discuss this with your team lead and receive their approval beforehand.
Looking forward to making BISS an even better place, together!