🧸 Bring Your Kid to Work Day
Let’s relive the curiosity and creativity of childhood! In this playful retro, think like a kid—celebrate our fun wins, tackle tantrums, and decide how to make teamwork even more magical.
Template Columns
🛹 New Playground Rules (Start)
Suggest fresh, playful processes or habits we should introduce to our team sandbox.
Base column: Start🚫 No Toys in Class (Stop)
Identify practices that are holding us back or causing mischief—and should be left at home.
Base column: Stop🧩 Keep the Building Blocks (Continue)
Name the good habits, routines, and tools we should keep stacking to achieve our goals.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The 'Bring Your Kid to Work Day' retrospective inspires playful creativity, helping teams reimagine ways of working by celebrating wins, addressing challenges, and encouraging fresh ideas.
When to use this template
Use this retrospective when your team needs to break from routine, spark creativity, or re-energize team dynamics with a fun, imaginative approach.
How to facilitate
Kick off by inviting everyone to embrace a playful, childlike mindset, sharing a fun childhood memory to loosen up.
Review the three columns and explain their playful themes: new playground rules for starting, no toys in class for stopping, and building blocks for continuing.
Ask everyone to add their thoughts to each column, encouraging imaginative language and child-inspired analogies.
Give the team time to review each other's ideas, highlighting any recurring themes or especially creative suggestions.
Facilitate a discussion on the most impactful items under each column, prioritizing action items that energize the team.
Agree on which new 'playground rules' to try, which habits to stop, and which 'building blocks' to reinforce.
Wrap up with a quick reflection: ask each person to share one playful action they’ll try in the next sprint.
Pro Tips
Start with an icebreaker that helps everyone tap into their playful side.
Encourage the use of drawings or emojis when adding ideas to heighten the playful atmosphere.
If discussion stalls, prompt the group with silly what-if questions—'If our team was a group of kids, what would we invent next?'
Rotate facilitation roles so different team members get to 'be the teacher.'
FAQ
What if my team feels awkward being playful?
Set the tone by modeling playfulness yourself and explain how creative thinking can spark fresh solutions. Encourage even small playful gestures—participation will grow.
How do we keep this retrospective productive and not just silly?
Remind the team that the playfulness is a tool for uncovering valuable insights and creative actions, then focus discussions on making clear, achievable improvements.
Can this format work for serious topics?
Absolutely—the playful format often makes it easier to surface tough issues in a safe, non-threatening way. Facilitate with care if the team raises sensitive topics.
At a glance
- Duration
40–50 min
- Team Size
3-10 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective