Implementing Design Thinking For HR
Given the changing nature of a global workforce and rapidly growing percentage of next-generation employees, concerns regarding skills shortages and the gradual shift of “power” to the employee , employee on-boarding & retention are key challenges for HR , to survive in this scenario HR needs to be transformed from “process/policy champion” to an “employee experience engineer”.
How can Design Thinking help with transformation?
We in HR need need to leverage design thinking in order to create a better experience for our candidates & employees which will help us to improve the engagement, retention and productivity levels in the organization and within our own HR teams.
Design Thinking in HR can enable us in:
· Understanding, envisioning and designing how employees experience work
· Perceiving the employer-employee relationship through talent solution platform
· Storming, norming and forming ideas quickly with employee experience ideas
But What is Design Thinking ?
Design Thinking is extremely user-centric and solution oriented. How it differs from the usual problem solving is that instead of just identifying a problem, it’s more about understanding why it’s a problem for users (in our case current and future employees) and then come up with effective solutions
So how do we start using Design Thinking ?
Step 1: Persona Based Service Experience Journey Map: What does the employee experience look like across the different stages of an employee journey for the different employee segments (persona in design thinking)?
Step 2: User Need & Pain Areas: Working with user groups to identify their pain areas at different touch point e.g. expressed pain point may be bell curve rating but actual need of the user could be to get the continuous feedback on performance or transparent linkage between KRA achievement to rating.
Step 3: Ideation: This is the most important step, where we need to start thinking outside the box, look for alternative ways to view the problem and identify innovative solutions to the problem statements.
Step 4: Solution Prototype: Based on the ideas generated , create simple iterative solutions with the goal of evaluating these solutions for effectiveness in solving the identified problems.
These solutions are implemented for a test population or pilot and then based on results, decisions can be made to continue with a given solution or to improve it or perhaps reject it entirely.
Step 5: Testing Phase: This is the phase where real impacted users test the best solutions identified in the Prototype phase. This is the final phase of the model but, in an iterative process such as design thinking, the results generated are often used to redefine one or more further problems.
Great so where in HR can I implement design thinking?
Some of the areas where design thinking can be easily implemented to maximize benefits are
Organization Structure: Design Thinking can help to design an organization that is both User (here it will be various internal stake holders) and End Customer-centric.
Engagement: Using design thinking to work on action plans created based on the engagement survey results , here based on partial stage 2 , we need to revert back to stage 1 and create solutions for various target groups based on their specific needs.
Learning: Design thinking can be easily implemented to maximize the impact of learning solutions , content & medium.
Digital HR Solutions: Design thinking is critical to success of digital HR solutions, if its not able to reduce the pain points system implantation will fail.
Recruitment: From candidate value proposition, employer branding, recruitment software interview process to offer and preboarding , design thinking can add value.
Performance Management: Organizations are busy measuring individual results ( bell curve) when in reality, objectives are accomplished by teams. Design Thinking approach to PMS can help the organization to solve its PMS issues while creating a culture of performance and team work.
Where and How did you use Design Thinking ?
