Challenge & Selection    The tool I chose is the Storytelling.  I work at an organization that was on a process to get more focused on the well-being  of its workers by promoting some actions and policies that demonstrate its concern to  their health, happiness and equity between genders and races.  Aiming to concretize this policy, the organization created a group to propose actions  related to the equity of gender and races and compile all of them into a plan format.  This plan should have indicators, goals, deadlines and sectors responsible for the  achievement of the objectives related to gender equality and race in the company.   This group of approximately 10 individuals, which I was one of the members, was very  heterogeneous and included people of different races, genders, social levels and,  because of that, different points of view.    I proposed the storytelling as a tool to help us to connect with each other and  empathize with each other’s stories of life and points of view, so that we could  cooperate to propose actions that would benefit the company, but sometimes would  have to prioritize a specific group over another.   The company where the project took place is a public agency that has not renewed its  team for a while. Because of that, most of the workers were retiring or have had  recently been admitted to the company. Because of that, the company, despite the  good payments for managerial positions, was having problems to find workers who  wanted to commit to that positions (because ones were almost retiring and want to  slow down or because they were too young and didn’t feel prepared to assume the  responsibility to run the company).  Despite the existence of this problem, the group did not initially had the objective of  solving this question, much less had thought about how to solve it. It was out of our  scope.    Application  Despite not knowing about the design thinking process and tools, we used this tool  more than once during the construction of this plan.  I believe that the storytelling is a good tool to get the attention of people, especially  during long meetings when people tend to lose the focus very easily.  In my point of view, when the members feel empathy with the person talking, they  stay more time focused and usually, respect and try to understand the person´s point  of view, and also get inspired, motivated and engaged to the theme.  First time we used storytelling was as a presentation tool to help us to know each  other and also, build some empathy and see each other not only as a colleague, but  also as a human being.   The second time was in the moment when each member brought ideas of topics they  considered that should be included in the equity plan.  After the presentation of an  idea, members should discuss this idea, refine it and decide whether or not it should  be part of the plan.   As an example of the tool being used, a member proposed that the mothers of  children up to two years of age should have a reduction of work time of one hour a  day. So that they would have more time to dedicate to their children, since babies

need more contact with the mother during early childhood. In addition to this, it also  benefits the emotional health of the mother.  This member told how she felt guilty, stressed, overwhelmed and not worthy to  assume a managerial position since she could not devote more time to work.  The team not only agreed to this proposal but also suggested, after a study of how  much it would impact the company, to extend this benefit to the fathers of children  under two years and parents of children with mental disabilities.      Insight and Approach  This insight to extend the benefit to men and families, who have children with mental  disabilities, was only possible because of the storytelling tool, which allowed each  member to stand in others shoes.  In addition, this measure solved the problem of filling positions of leadership, since  these people felt able and supported by the institution to fill these positions.  Moreover, after a long-term study, the data demonstrated that workers benefited by  this measure were more committed to work, motivated and that there was a reduction  in the number of absences within the benefited group.  We used the storytelling many other times during the construction of the equity plan  and I believe that, by using this tool, we could construct a plan that really represented  and, mostly, embraced the diversity of the company.

Thematic Axis: People Management

OBJETIVE:   GOAL  DEADLINE                    (months)  Indicator

Responsible

Unit

Reduce one hour in the  work day of workers who  have children under 24  months or children with  disabilities

100% of

workers who  fit in the terms

benefited

6 months  Policy

implemented  SEGP

DETAIL OF ACTION  Mid Terms  Unity

Involved

1.1. Elaborate Policy   3 months  SEGP

1.2. Submit policy to Management   2 month  SEGP

1.3. Implement Action   1 month  DG

