Driving HR Transformation Through "Workforce Experience Design" (Webinar Synopsis)

2020 poured gasoline on The Digital Revolution. Dramatic world shifts, the prioritized prevalence of the Digital Workplace and distributed work, and a need to be physically distant with deeper connections than ever dramatically accelerated digitization in our personal and professional lives. Human-centred design principles are central to delivering a great experience for your people as they navigate to a better normal.

HR leaders are now realizing the importance and prioritizing the overarching workforce experience that encompasses all the key “moments that matter” across the Talent lifecycle– from being present and productive, to the values and culture of the organisation or how employees learn, advance, and grow in their careers.

The webinar “Driving HR Transformation through Workforce Experience Design” held on 30 July 2021, revolved around Workforce Experience Design and its importance in designing a compelling WEX strategy for HR Professionals. The session, jointly organised by hrtech.sg & IHRP, in association with Singapore Polytechnic, focused on designing experiences to keep “Employee First” by placing them at the centre.

The session provided some great perspectives from subject matter experts, who shared their experiences, and insights on delivering the ultimate people experience.

The world of work in 2021

Hybrid work is the new model of work, 1 in 5 organisations are already hybrid and 93% of organisations will be hybrid by the end of the year. The most overwhelming challenge of the “Work From Anytime Anywhere” (WFAA) model is the blurring lines between work and life as indicated by over 50% of the respondents in the poll that was administered during the event. Owing to these challenges, workforce experience matters now more than ever!

David Guazzarotto, Managing Director APAC, Leapgen, moderated the session and shared Leapgen’s workforce experience design methodology which focuses on the “whole-person approach” comprising of :

1. Physical:

a. where & when we work: boundaries,

b. health, safety, environment

c. showing up” in the digital workplace

2. Emotional:

a. how we feel about what we do

b. the rewards, toil & toll of work

c. what makes us happy & how we handle what doesn’t

3. Social:

a. community, creativity, camaraderie

b. trust & relationships

c. how work makes me feel

4. Spiritual:

a. how we align to the purpose

b. what we believe, values we share

c. how work feeds us

5. Intellectual:

a. what we need to know

b. how we continue to grow

c. where we get knowledge

Leapgen’s methodology to delivering transformation includes 3 steps:

1. Learn: While setting out on the Experience design journey, use this phase to define and empathise with the needs of the workforce and analyse the insights to provide better & holistic design across each moment in the organisation.
2. Innovate: In the innovate phase, organisations should provide structure for solving their pain points by ideating, brainstorming and developing prototypes to transform vision into reality.
3. Deliver: The delivery phase is the final phase which involves deploying the prototypes. Provide ongoing support to ensure the experience comes to life in a meaningful and compelling manner, highlighting the measures of success to drive change across the organisation.

Our panellists also highlighted the significance of why designing workforce experience is the need of the hour while giving practical tips and tools that enterprise HR teams can use.

As an EX Practitioner, Sasha Wight (MD & Employee Experience lead, workflow) suggested that It’s important to think about why EX is important to the organisation. Some of the practical tips she shared were to :

1. Focus on Employee Experience design principles
2. Actively listen to employees (Focus groups, surveys, etc)
3. Pilot a WEX program

As a key member of the ecosystem and an EX Practitioner, Anish Lalchandani (Global Head Talent Management, Standard Chartered Bank) highlighted the importance of having a beginners mindset when starting the WEX journey. The key idea is to approach WEX with empathy and a holistic approach while taking continuous feedback from employees.

Focusing on SMEs, Aznan Abu-Bakar (Assistant Director, User Experience Centre, Singapore Polytechnic) shared that they require nudging to focus on WEX. There is a fear factor associated with digitisation for most SMEs. However, organisations in the technical field are looking at how to digitize their operations.

As an HRTechnology provider, Chaitanya Peddi (Co-founder & Product Head, Darwinbox) said that it was crucial to create segments in the employee life cycle for a holistic WEX that leverages technology. A continuous process of feedback; management using chatbots, and a mobile-first approach improves WEX. A mobile-first approach ensures “Employee self-service” which makes them feel empowered.

Design Thinking must be leveraged in 2021 to create holistic journeys and experiences for the entire workforce!

Additional resources:

Webinar Video Recording

Panel Q&A

If you would like to access the presenter slides and the Designing Thinking handouts/infographics, do reach out to us at info@hrtech.sg