More roles than people meant things needed to be done differently

The work focused on adopting new approaches to the structure, culture, practices and processes, and importantly how they organised ourselves. 

Reimagining job descriptions and roles was first off the rank. 

Using value stream mapping, the flow of product value throughout the company was visualised; identifying how ideas for product development came in, through to how these ideas were turned into product and value for clients. From there the roles needed were identified and in parallel old job descriptions were tossed out in favour of describing the roles being done. Mapping those roles onto the flow of value showed up bottlenecks and gaps and from there, groups of independent roles were bundled together. This was entirely co-created by the company staff with the final step being team members selecting the roles that made sense for them in the context of their team mates capabilities.

Coaching in agile ways of working, practicing continuous learning and improvement, breaking work into small chunks of value delivered early and often, they became confident and desirous of the freedom and autonomy that comes in exchange of owning and being accountable for their areas of expertise. 

Introducing and implementing OKRs, a new way of designing and approaching goals, the team saw alignment, transparency, communication and focus improve dramatically. 

A final breakthrough came when all HonestyBox staff went through Agile Fundamentals and Product Ownership courses. Sales, tech, data insights, customer service and ops became product people. Using the language and tools of product management, delivered the effectiveness and flexibility that allowed them to become a high performing agile team all pulling in the same direction. Their product/tech backlog had a rapid flow of quality user stories and prioritised items that balanced their need for revenue with their desire and push to continue product innovation.