What it is and what it's for#
A tribe is a team inside a project. Unlike the organisation or the location, which reflect the real structure of the company, a tribe is a membership chosen by the programme: it exists to create identity and to compete as a group.
They are useful when the challenge is cultural and you don't want the competition to be individual. Mixing people from different sites into one tribe breaks down silos; making tribes match the real teams reinforces the team.
How to set it up#
1. Create the tribe#
Tribes are created in Tribes (Manage › Users › Tribes). The form asks for the name and motto in Spanish and English, a description, the Tribe leader, the Leader's words and up to six mascot images, and it is switched off with Tribe active. The fields and steps are in the reference.
Identity is not decoration: the name, the motto and the mascot are what make someone say "my tribe" instead of "the group I was put in". It is worth spending some time on it, or letting the tribes choose it themselves.
2. Choose its mascot#
Below the list, the Mascot of each tribe block decides which mascot the people in each tribe see in the app: an Own one (the images uploaded on its form, or an animated character) or a Project variant, which is the project mascot in other colours. A variant only changes colour if the project mascot is animated; if it is static, the tribe inherits it as it is.
3. Assign people#
Each person belongs to one tribe within a project. The tribe is chosen on their profile, in the Tribe field in Users. Inactive tribes are not offered when assigning.
Three approaches that work, depending on the goal:
| Goal | How to split people |
|---|---|
| Reinforce the real team | One tribe per store, shift or department. |
| Break down silos | Mixed tribes, with people from different sites. |
| Balanced competition | Tribes of the same size, with people assigned at random. |
The tribe ranking adds up the points of everyone in each tribe. If tribes are very different in size, the big one always wins by sheer accumulation and the ranking stops motivating anyone. Keep them even.
4. The leader#
The leader is the visible face of the tribe: they energise it and are the natural point of contact for the programme team. Pick someone with real influence in the group, not necessarily a boss. In change programmes, the leader is often the best gauge of what is really going on in their team.
What employees see#
- Their tribe's mascot in the app, if the tribe has its own or a variant configured.
- Their tribe's name next to their entry in the Directory, and every colleague's.
- The General ranking on the home page, with two tabs: People and Tribes.
- Actions aimed only at their tribe, when you target the action by Tribes. In surveys, by contrast, choosing tribes on the wave does not filter who gets it.
Frequently asked questions#
Can someone be in two tribes?
Not within the same project. In different projects, yes: each project has its own tribes.
What happens if I move someone to another tribe midway through the programme?
Their points go with them and start counting for their new tribe, because the tribe ranking is calculated from the points of whoever is in each tribe at the time. Changing tribe in the middle of a close competition causes arguments: better to do it between campaigns.
How many tribes should we have?
Enough for competing to mean something and few enough for the ranking to be read at a glance. Between 4 and 8 works well; with 20 tribes nobody knows where they stand.
Can I send a challenge to a single tribe?
Yes: on the action's form, tick the tribe under Tribus. If you also tick the option for people who start to meet the criteria, anyone who joins the tribe later also gets it. See Actions and Journeys and challenges.
Can someone end up without a tribe?
Yes: that is the — unassigned — value on their profile. They then add points to no tribe, although they still appear in the people ranking. It is worth checking after every batch of new users.
Limits and caveats#
- Tribes belong to a project. They are not shared between projects even if the people are the same.
- Deactivating a tribe does not reassign its people. They stay in it until you change the tribe on their profile.
- The tribe ranking adds points up, it does not average them, so large tribes start with an advantage unless you even out their size.
- Tribes are assigned person by person. There is no bulk tribe upload: if you add many people, allow time to assign them.