153 - Transforming HR with Design Thinking with Nicole Dessain

Nicole Dessain is a consultant, Design Thinker, and proud ‘recovering perfectionist’ - and sees those three labels as closely related.

Her work in HR consultancy is informed by her training in Design Thinking. In turn, this has taught her to value process over perfection.

Through Design Thinking, Working Out Loud, and facilitation, Nicole has found brilliant insights into HR - some breakthroughs, some roadblocks.

In this episode, Nicole eloquently explains her key learnings so far.

Combining facilitation and HR can produce some fascinating results and has some surprising applications. I highly recommend taking this crash course in HR, facilitation, and Design Thinking!

Find out about:

How and why the spotlight has fallen on Human Resources since 2020

Why a shift of focus from ‘resources’ to ‘humans’ has become imperative

What it looks like to apply Design Thinking to HR and how Nicole does it

How Design Thinking asks us to challenge the judgement mindset HR can demand

Why the number of workshops in a Design Thinking project will shift depending on an organisation's culture

How to present the results of a Design Thinking process in a memorable narrative structure

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Questions and Answers

[01:11] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator - if you do?

[03:39] What mindset changes are needed to adopt a Design Thinking approach?

[06:17] What's your history with Design Thinking - when did it begin?

[08:01] Does Design Thinking change when we apply it in different settings?

[09:40] Has your perception of Design Thinking changed over time?

[11:26] Why did it take a pandemic to get HR a seat at the decision-making table?

[15:58] How do you use Design Thinking specifically within an HR context?

[22:27] How do you account for the inevitable biases in HR teams?

[29:46] What do you recommend to HR professionals when it comes to interviewing their peers?

[31:45] How about when we interview colleagues?

[33:46] Do HR teams conduct more interviews after working with you?

[39:25] How do you bring to life the results of a Design Thinking process and sell it into leadership?

[41:58] What’s the easiest way for an HR team to start using Design Thinking?

[46:16] Rethinking the HR function.

[51:16] What makes a workshop fail?

[52:31] How much of the Design Thinking workshop process can be done asynchronously?

[54:08] What would it take for design thinking to become a normal tool for HR?

[55:17] Will facilitation become a key part of the HR professional's skillset?

[59:04] How did you ov