An integral part of the design thinking method is reflection. Reflecting on what was accomplished and what could be improved upon is critical to inhabiting a mindset of iteration and experimentation.
The end of a year is a good time to reflect.
A popular way to capture reflections in design thinking is the rose/thorn/bud method.
Rose (what has gone well):
The thing that I am most grateful for despite the year that was 2021 was the ability to use the HR.Hackathon Alliance as a platform to advance social impact causes.
#HRvsRacism
In January 2021, we officially launched #HRvsRacism, an initiative which aims to create a space for HR professionals to heal, become courageous allies, and learn how to design equitable workplaces. Our kickoff event was attended by more than 100 HR professionals.
In Q1, we offered two workshops focusing on identity “Dear White HR Ladies” and “Dear Black HR Heroes”. We also launched our Mighty Networks community to foster informal peer learning.
Throughout the rest of the year, we led four functional Hackathons focusing on how professionals can address inequities in Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Comp & Benefits, as well as Learning & Leadership Development.
#HRvsBurnout
In August 2021, I read an article about burnout in Human Resources and decided to run a Hackathon to provide peer support and generate ideas for how to combat burnout. The reception was incredible, and 50 professionals came together and left the event energized and refreshed. We summarized all the ideas the group generated in this blog post to benefit those who were too burned out to attend the event…
Thorn (what didn’t go well):
I would have loved to see a larger number of HR professionals taking advantage of our #HRvsRacism programming and community. I am reflection on the root causes: Has the sense of urgency around this topic waned? Are HR professionals burned out on the topic? Is there discomfort in sharing stories around topics of racism in the workplace? How might we encourage more candid conversations?
Bud (what’s next):
Shifting to a remote model allowed us to expand our global reach and expand our community of design thinking obsessed HR rebels to +3,600.
To better understand the needs of our growing community, we launched our first comprehensive community feedback survey. We will be building on that feedback in 2022 and continue to learn where we might create the most value.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nicole Dessain is the Founder and Chief Employee Experience Designer at talent.imperative inc, an employee experience design consultancy.
Nicole's superpower is "connecting the dots" which she applies to her passion of bringing design thinking to the world of Human Resources through the HR.Hackathon Alliance.