Leveraging the Power of Design Thinking to Detour ‘The Great Resignation’

A guest post by our partners at ExperiencePoint

‘The Great Resignation’ refers to the recent wave of workers quitting their jobs; according to CNN, 68.9 million Americans did so in 2021. These numbers showcase how the global Covid-19 pandemic pushed society to reconsider how, where, and why people work. Today, employees want to feel more connected to their organization’s purpose than ever. 

For that reason, ‘The Great Resignation’ continues to dominate headlines and stun business leaders. Agile organizations that understand the desire to feel more connected to work have reacted by building innovative work cultures; they recognize that employee experience drives customer satisfaction and improves overall business performance. 

At ExperiencePoint, we believe that design thinking provides organizations with an approach to transforming work culture, making it more diverse and inclusive, engaging, and collaborative. Below are three ways organizations can leverage the power of design thinking to deliver a superior employee experience.

1. Define the problem

As a problem-solving approach that revolves around human needs, design thinking focuses on the problem first before moving on to the solution. A culture that empowers employees requires more than just throwing money at the situation. Leaders need to invest in listening to their employees and understanding their pain points before moving on to solutions. 

One of the most common employee problems is a lack of autonomy, flexibility, and control over personal work. By using the design thinking practice of listening, empathizing, and defining the problem into a question, leaders can understand what aspects of independence and control make people both happy and unhappy in their work. Some people may want more freedom when choosing projects, while others may want more guidance from leadership. Understanding both sides of the coin will help you find a flexible solution that addresses all needs.

2. Create personas of your employees

Creating personas or ‘user profiles’ of your employees is another way of using design thinking practices to improve employee experience. Design thinking emphasizes people-centered research and collaboration, which often requires creating personas. Personas are realistic representations of an individual or demographic group used in the design process. By understanding what drives your employees, or your main user group, you can create solutions tailored to their needs. 

Start by creating a persona that encompasses worker performance and personality, including their strengths, weaknesses, and personal values. Next, use this information to shape your company’s culture and product development to resonate with each employee. You can also use the persona to determine what perks would be most appreciated to improve the experience for specific groups.

3. Welcome feedback with open arms

Feedback is a form of collaboration, and the collaborative process allows everyone to be heard on a level playing field. Asking your employees for feedback on their likes and dislikes about their work environment is an excellent place to start. One of the easiest ways to collect feedback is by sending out satisfaction surveys via email. Employees can fill out the questionnaire independently, without taking time off work or finding a quiet place at the office. 

If you want your employees’ opinions to be accurate and honest, they need to feel comfortable and supported. Design thinking prompts such as  ‘I like, I wish, I wonder’ are helpful because they take the negative connotation out of the feedback process and provide users with a framework to talk about their experience. 

The Future of Employee Experience 

After 25 years of working with the Fortune 100 to ‘future-proof’ their organizations, we at ExperiencePoint think it is clear that a new age of working is upon us — an age that requires creative problem solvers, critical thinkers, collaborative teammates and effective communicators. The greatest challenge is not the distance that separates us. It’s creating a confident and capable workforce powered by curiosity and empathy. 

While innovation marks the difference between falling behind and thriving, building that capability throughout an organization is easier said than done. Creating a system to embed innovation into your organization’s DNA and unleash the creativity of your people in a lasting way is your truest path to success. 

About ExperiencePoint: ExperiencePoint is a world-leading innovation capability-building company. We help organizations scale and sustain workforce-led transformations by providing their people with the skills and conditions for innovation to thrive. Become part of our innovation community by subscribing to our monthly newsletter.