Your job is not simply a means to an end, a way of putting bread on the table. What if we looked at our jobs more as a way of expressing our creativity? This may sound like a radical idea, but as today’s guest explains, it’s not only possible but essential that we design an extraordinary employee experience that unlocks the potential of our people.

Vanessa Shaw is the founder of the global community group the Workplace Lab, which is a welcoming environment for HR and talent leaders looking to discover how to innovate the employee experience. She supports leaders to bring empathy and creativity into the workplace, whether working with the United Nations, West Point cadets, or tech giants in Silicon Valley. Vanessa strives to help people answer the fundamental question, “Can my job be an expression of my creativity.”

In our discussion, Vanessa sheds light on why creativity is an essential part of not just feeding our own needs but also for developing a thriving and supportive workplace. Indeed, supporting our creative side is one of the most powerful antidotes to stress. We also take a deep dive into the concept of “design thinking” and its role in engineering cultures.  

Throughout, Vanessa discusses the shifting landscape of HR and how managers and leaders can meaningfully implement change without getting overwhelmed in the process. She shares some of the trends and themes that are happening in workplace cultures these days and how these can be implemented in any company to influence the employee experience. 

For example, design thinking supports Diversity and Inclusion efforts due to its ability to pull in external voices and create cross-functional collaboration. When we are really close to things that we’ve built ourselves, we are making assumptions and often have a biased perspective. Diverse perspectives from different roles, levels in the organization, gender, race, and other perspectives help to test for bias. Solutions designed for one type of employee have serious design flaws because they are not inclusive. 

What’s your experience with design thinking? How can HR leaders and managers enroll employees in creating an outstanding workplace culture? Let us know in the comments!

• The lie that we need to outgrow our creative inclinations as we mature
• What “design thinking” is and how it is an integral part of fostering creative experiences
• Useful tools and techniques for identifying problems and solutions in collaborative work
• Why giving employees a sense of purpose and room to be creative is a better motivator than perks and bonuses
• Predictions about future trends in employee management 
• How to use “design thinking” to get the executive team on board with engineering a powerful company culture
• Three key questions that will kickstart your design thinking process

“You can see how [design thinking] becomes a really powerful tool as we’re looking to solve for diversity and inclusion, and create organizations that facilitate a sense of belonging for more than one type of employee.”  [12:51]

“There’s a lot of pressure to reimagine the entire employee experience. From how we pay our employees, how we reward them, do performance management, everything is being unpacked and rethought and that’s overwhelming to do all at once.” [13:47]

“Companies are made of people. If the individual parts internally are operating at their highest selves -- highest being possible -- then that’s going to reflect into everything we do.” [21:34]

Find Vanessa Shaw at The Human Side of Tech

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