Challenge :

I work in the HR team of an airplane engine manufacturer. COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in a deep  contraction of commercial aviation with a prolonged recovery projected. Our most optimistic  prediction model says the air traffic would only get to the level that it was in Feb 2020 by quarter 1  2022. Our airline customers have reacted with significant reduction in operations and new engine  deliveries that will extend into 2021 and beyond. To sustain in this crisis, our business had announced  workforce reduction across the globe. Most of our employees were seeing a cycle like this for the first  time and these global announcements were bound to take a hit on their motivation level. Also, with  the virus spreading all of us were forced to work from home, something that our employees hadn’t  been used too. We had to look at a way that works in virtual world to navigate this situation while  ensuring our employees are engaged and we don’t end up losing the employee skills which would be  crucial in pulling us out of this downturn.

•  Why I thought Design thinking was appropriate for this . I tried answering the 4 qs  mentioned in this course (video lecture 5 week 1)

( The problem was human centric , it involved understanding emotions that  humans experience during a crisis situation   We didn’t have a clear understanding of the problem , this crisis was diff from  the others the industry had seen before  The level of uncertainty was huge , various prediction models showed  different recovery cycles for our business and none of us knew when (if ever)  we can get back to normal.  Lastly , we had very little existing data to refer, which could guide us as we  work on the plan.

Selection of the tool:

The tool I felt would be relevant was Storytelling. Storytelling gives life to strategy and makes  accessible to all (video lecture 4 week 2  ). We wanted all our employees to be involved in the process  of navigating this crisis and not see the strategy as a top down thing. We wanted our employees to  see the logic and feel emotionally connected to all the actions that we had to take to protect our  business.  Its been months of virtual story telling process following the 4 steps highlighted in the (video  lecture 4 week 2  ).

Application:

Step 1 : Helping our employees understand the current state of business

We had arranged for weekly calls which our business leaders had with the front-line manager and the  HR team, people who were the direct point of contact for all employees to continuously give them a  sense of where the business is going. These managers then had their flow-downs within the teams.  We also had monthly all employee calls to answer their questions.

Step 2: Talking about all the people that are involved in the process

In our weekly calls, leaders video blogs we spoke about the insights that we were getting from our  customers and the support they wanted from us ; we also spoke about what we  were hearing from  our global counterparts and how they were looking at this problem

Step 3: Creating a points of reflection by asking them questions

Through our different communication blogs we asked employees intriguing questions that like-

What  will  build  a  sense  of  confidence  in  this  uncertain  time?

How do we keep the team motivated?

The answers we got from them were pretty much inline with what we were thinking. They presented  us with various cost- out measure that the business could take. They wanted us to re-look at our  benefit’s policy, exploring voluntary retirement schemes before we go for involuntary actions.

Step 4 : Presenting them with possibilities

We presented employees with the pros and cons of long term and short-term cost cutting measures  that had to be taken for the resized business to operate. My then employees were completely part of  the story . All of them felt that all of them were okay to give up a few of the benefits to save a a few  jobs. Based on the inputs from employees we revised few of our benefit policies (not mentioning the  details of it due to confidentiality reasons). And this time didn’t have to convince employees why such  decisions were taken.

We continued sharing with all employees the amount of cost out actions that had to be done and what  was achieved so far. After a while most of our employees realized that workforce reduction was  inevitable, but we were India was able to much lesser no of layoff compared to other counties that  our business operates in because all the policy changes and other cost out actions that we took.

We also had all leaders and non-impacted employees helping the laid off employees finding new jobs  using their own contacts I different organizations. We have been quite successful so far in our efforts.

Insights:

The whole process of resizing the business for the future storytelling helped us staying connected to  our employees. For each action that we took they exactly knew why we did what we did and helped  us implementing those actions. This connection helped in keeping our employees motivated as they  were able to relate to the purpose. Mostly employees leave organizations when they don’t see a clear  road ahead. This process helped us retain the employee skills that organization needed to survive in  future since all employees had more clarity on the process and criteria of layoffs.

Approach / Learnings:

Engaging employees with a compelling story and involving them in each step of executing a strategy  is something we took back from this experience which we will implement whenever we have to  implement any major employee related change.


Challenge : I work in the HR team of an airplane engine manufacturer . COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in a deep contraction of commercial aviation with a prolonged recovery projected . Our most optimistic prediction model says the air traffic would only get to the level that it was in Feb 2020 by quarter 1 2022 . Our airline customers have reacted with significant reduction in operations and new engine deliveries that will extend into 2021 and beyond . To sustain in this crisis , our business had announced workforce reduction across the globe . Most of our employees were seeing a cycle like this for the first time and these global announcements were bound to take a hit on their motivation level . Also , with the virus spreading all of us were forced to work from home , something that our employees had n’t been used too . We had to look at a way that works in virtual world to navigate this situation while ensuring our employees are engaged and we do n’t end up losing the employee skills which would be crucial in pulling us out of this downturn . • Why I thought Design thinking was appropriate for this . I tried answering the 4 qs mentioned in this course ( video lecture 5 week 1 ) ( The problem was human centric , it involved understanding emotions that humans experience during a crisis situation We did n’t have a clear understanding of the problem , this crisis was diff from the others the industry had seen before The level of uncertainty was huge , various prediction models showed different recovery cycles for our business and none of us knew when ( if ever ) we can get back to normal . Lastly , we had very little existing data to refer , which could guide us as we work on the plan . Selection of the tool : The tool I felt would be relevant was Storytelling . Storytelling gives life to strategy and makes accessible to all ( video lecture 4 week 2 ) . We wanted all our employees to be involved in the process of navigating this crisis and not see the strategy as a top down thing . We wanted our employees to see the logic and feel emotionally connected to all the actions that we had to take to protect our business . Its been months of virtual story telling process following the 4 steps highlighted in the ( video lecture 4 week 2 ) . Application : Step 1 : Helping our employees understand the current state of business We had arranged for weekly calls which our business leaders had with the front - line manager and the HR team , people who were the direct point of contact for all employees to continuously give them a sense of where the business is going . These managers then had their flow - downs within the teams . We also had monthly all employee calls to answer their questions . Step 2 : Talking about all the people that are involved in the process In our weekly calls , leaders video blogs we spoke about the insights that we were getting from our customers and the support they wanted from us ; we also spoke about what we were hearing from our global counterparts and how they were looking at this problem Step 3 : Creating a points of reflection by asking them questions Through our different communication blogs we asked employees intriguing questions that like- What will build a sense of confidence in this uncertain time ? How do we keep the team motivated ? The answers we got from them were pretty much inline with what we were thinking . They presented us with various cost- out measure that the business could take . They wanted us to re - look at our benefit ’s policy , exploring voluntary retirement schemes before we go for involuntary actions . Step 4 : Presenting them with possibilities We presented employees with the pros and cons of long term and short - term cost cutting measures that had to be taken for the resized business to operate . My then employees were completely part of the story . All of them felt that all of them were okay to give up a few of the benefits to save a a few jobs . Based on the inputs from employees we revised few of our benefit policies ( not mentioning the details of it due to confidentiality reasons ) . And this time did n’t have to convince employees why such decisions were taken . We continued sharing with all employees the amount of cost out actions that had to be done and what was achieved so far . After a while most of our employees realized that workforce reduction was inevitable , but we were India was able to much lesser no of layoff compared to other counties that our business operates in because all the policy changes and other cost out actions that we took . We also had all leaders and non - impacted employees helping the laid off employees finding new jobs using their own contacts I different organizations . We have been quite successful so far in our efforts . Insights : The whole process of resizing the business for the future storytelling helped us staying connected to our employees . For each action that we took they exactly knew why we did what we did and helped us implementing those actions . This connection helped in keeping our employees motivated as they were able to relate to the purpose . Mostly employees leave organizations when they do n’t see a clear road ahead . This process helped us retain the employee skills that organization needed to survive in future since all employees had more clarity on the process and criteria of layoffs . Approach / Learnings : Engaging employees with a compelling story and involving them in each step of executing a strategy is something we took back from this experience which we will implement whenever we have to implement any major employee related change .