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Standard : Team members consistently feel safe and included

Purpose and Strategic Importance

This standard ensures every team member feels safe, respected, and included—regardless of role, background, or perspective. It fosters a culture where people can contribute fully, challenge ideas, and grow with confidence.

Aligned to our "Psychological Safety First" policy, this standard strengthens collaboration, trust, and innovation. Without it, voices go unheard, engagement drops, and team cohesion suffers.

Strategic Impact

  • Higher engagement, morale, and collaboration
  • Stronger team cohesion and trust
  • Greater creativity and openness to challenge
  • Reduced attrition and improved psychological safety
  • More inclusive, resilient, and adaptive teams

Risks of Not Having This Standard

  • Diminished innovation due to silence or fear
  • Team fragmentation and poor morale
  • Missed perspectives in design and decision-making
  • Increased risk of exclusion or bias
  • Decline in trust, performance, and retention

CMMI Maturity Model

Level 1 – Initial

Category Description
People & Culture Psychological safety is not acknowledged.
Inclusion is left to chance or individual behaviour.
Process & Governance No structured processes exist to support inclusion or address unsafe behaviour.
Technology & Tools No tools or rituals are used to gather or act on team sentiment.
Measurement & Metrics Inclusion and safety are not measured or monitored.

Level 2 – Managed

Category Description
People & Culture Teams make some effort to create welcoming spaces, but experiences vary.
Process & Governance Feedback is occasionally sought, but action and follow-up are inconsistent.
Technology & Tools Informal tools (e.g. anonymous feedback) may be used within teams.
Measurement & Metrics Some teams track sentiment or inclusion, but there's no cross-team consistency.

Level 3 – Defined

Category Description
People & Culture Teams actively foster belonging and psychological safety through norms and rituals.
Process & Governance Inclusion practices are consistent, visible, and documented.
Technology & Tools Surveys, feedback loops, and inclusive practices are embedded in team ceremonies.
Measurement & Metrics Sentiment and inclusion data are regularly reviewed and discussed.

Level 4 – Quantitatively Managed

Category Description
People & Culture Inclusion and safety are seen as core capabilities for performance.
Teams are supported to grow in both.
Process & Governance Feedback and lived experience inform leadership practices and system improvements.
Technology & Tools Tools support trend analysis, heatmaps, and visibility of psychological safety indicators.
Measurement & Metrics Inclusion metrics are linked to engagement, performance, and team health outcomes.

Level 5 – Optimising

Category Description
People & Culture Psychological safety and inclusion are part of the team's identity.
Practices evolve based on real-world feedback and learning.
Process & Governance Leadership and delivery teams co-create improvements based on inclusion insights.
Technology & Tools Data and dialogue are used in tandem to deepen understanding and drive change.
Measurement & Metrics Inclusion practices are continuously refined.
Outcomes are visible across the organisation.

Key Measures

  • % of teams that regularly discuss safety and inclusion
  • Trends in psychological safety and belonging (via surveys or retrospectives)
  • Retention and engagement data broken down by inclusion indicators
  • Evidence of leadership response to inclusion and safety feedback
  • Continuous improvement actions taken as a result of inclusion insights
Associated Policies
  • Psychological Safety First
Associated Practices
  • Engineering Onboarding Playbooks
  • Collaborative Story Refinement
  • Guilds & Chapters
  • Dev-Product Pairing
  • Tech Talks & Showcases
  • Mob Programming
  • Psychological Safety Practices
  • Pair Programming
  • Engineering Office Hours
  • Swarming on Issues
  • Retrospective Action Loops
  • Shared Learning Days

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