Editorial
There is a universal truth about human beings: All humans want to be “seen, valued and heard,” as famously articulated by Brené Brown. This desire for connection is omnipresent and lasting whether we are customers, consumers or employees. However, in a chaotic world where technology impacts every interaction, how can organizations retain their humanity and human connection, whilst remaining competitive, profitable and sustainable?
The Heart of Human-Centered Experience Design
A decade ago, organizations differentiated themselves through products and services. However, with technological advances leveling the playing field, there has been a shift towards creating memorable experiences for customers. The so-called rise of the experience economy reflects this renewed focus on recognizing and prioritizing the needs and preferences of customers.
Consumers now expect more personalized and tailored experiences from the brands they interact with. This necessitates that organizations understand the needs of their consumers and respond to these expectations by designing products, services and experiences that resonate with their target audience. Human centricity speaks to the fundamental principle of putting people at the heart of business decisions and practices. It reflects a deliberate choice and way of doing business to create mutual value. This means that organizations cannot be human-centric if they do not have an internal human-centric culture.
Companies that adopt human-centered design, which prioritizes the needs, desires and experiences of human beings, are twice as likely to outperform their peers in revenue growth and have 17 times faster growth than those who do not.
While human-centered design has commonly been used in marketing, service design and technology, human resources or people practices have been slower in adopting it. This shift requires a critical look at the processes and practices that employees engage with within their employee lifecycle, viewing them as consumers of people practices (who have choice); and harnessing technology beyond efficiencies to deliver human-centered experiences at scale.
Related Article: How to Put the Human Back in Your Human Experience Programs
Human-Centered Experience Design for People Practices: 5 Principles
A lot of human-centered experience design has been focused on the consumer — the client that interacts with the organization, buys its products and services and connects to the brand. However, we also see employees displaying the same consumer-like expectations of the organizations that they engage with and ultimately commit their careers to.
For people practice design, this has significant implications. Instead of focusing on efficient practices and processes that prioritize the needs and expectations of various internal stakeholders, the quality of the end-user or “consumer” experience has to be prioritized. To master this transition, there are five principles of human-centered design that can be applied to shift the dial.
1. Start at the end: Why does this experience matter?
For every practice and process that HR designs or delivers, we have to ask ourselves: “Why does it matter?” Instead of thinking about what it delivers to the function, this principle holds everyone accountable and honest about whether the efforts associated with a particular practice or process are actually creating value for the organization and for employees.
2. Human needs drive the design: Who does the experience matter to?
Instead of hypothesizing, we have to get a clear picture of the needs of the end-user. What needs are being addressed through the experience? This understanding drives the decisions that need to be made throughout the design process and prioritization of experiences.
3. Intentionally shape the experience: What do you want the end user to think, feel and do?
There are moments that matter in every experience: emotive touchpoints, high-stake interactions or moments of truth that disproportionately impact the lived experience of the end user. When thinking about the desired experience, what do you want the end user to think (cognitive), feel (emotive) and do (action) in the moments that matter? Having clarity around the exact mechanics that shape the experience is critical.
4. Processes and technology are enablers: How will the desired experience best be delivered?
The focal point of human-centered experience design is not the processes and systems involved. Instead, clearly defining the desired experience becomes the blueprint for deciding which processes and technology will best deliver it. In some cases, having a consistent process that is driven through human interaction is critical for delivering the experience (for example, performance feedback). In other cases, a highly personalized digital interaction might be more fit for purpose in delivering the desired experience (for example, benefit selection decisions). Thinking about how these experiences will be monitored and measured is also critical in making decisions around the enablers required.
5. Implement, review, revise and realign: How do you know that the experience is delivering value?
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As with any design approach, implementation is only one part of its success. It also requires iterating and realigning, as human beings are dynamic and their needs shift and evolve over time. Ensure that adequate feedback mechanisms are in place. Showing the business impact of experience design is also critical for future investments, adoption and support beyond just HR.
How Do You Adopt Human-Centered Experience Design in People Practices?
Adopting human-centered experience design starts with a clear strategy, clarity on how this will be delivered and taking action that supports this execution.
- Embed human-centered design in your overarching EX strategy: This helps to create a common language and approach when it comes to experience design. It also creates clear alignment between the organizational strategy, people strategy and EX strategy upfront.
- Focus on priorities that will shift the dial: Resource and other constraints have a significant impact on what can be executed on. Focus on prioritizing experiences that matter and will shift the dial.
- Capacitate the delivery of your EX strategy and design: A good experience design is only as valuable as it is executable. Ensure that there is enough focus in the team (through roles and responsibilities) to deliver on the experiences that you are designing.
- Measure and showcase impact: Beyond operational metrics and reporting, showcase the impact and value of experience to the business. There are many expected benefits and positive outcomes associated with experience design. However, for the business to truly support and invest in it, these have to be made tangible within the context of the business and its objectives.
As organizations strive to navigate an increasingly complex and interconnected world, human-centricity offers a guiding principle for creating value and driving sustainable growth. Within people practices, this can only be achieved through tangible experience design that delivers meaningful and impactful experiences for employees. This requires a shift in approach in how we think about employees, their experiences at work and the processes and technologies that enable this.
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