IBM is a multinational technology company that has been at the forefront of innovation and design thinking in many areas of their business, including their human resources (HR) function. IBM has recognized that to attract and retain the best talent, they need to create a workplace culture that is engaging, inclusive, and supportive.

Reza Moussavian, a senior HR and IT executive at Deutsch Telekom explains the company's journey and how important Design Thinking is as a business strategy for HR. Reza Moussavian's presentation provides great examples of issues tackled in HR and the results achieved.

Many enterprise leaders are looking into design thinking as a way to accelerate the employee experience in their workplace...It’s a good lens through which to view employee experience programs, because it's based on leaders seeing the world through the eyes of their employees, encouraging them to be empathetic with the employee's journey.

How can HR create great employee experiences that empower creativity, collaboration and innovation? Design Thinking is an approach that works...design succeeds when it finds ideal solutions based on the real needs of real people. HR has taken notice: Why not apply design thinking to improve the employee experience with the same care given to delight customers?

Deloitte's 2016 Global Human Capital Trends survey includes design thinking as one of the tools to redesign the Human Resources (HR) function and shows strong evidence that Human Resources Professionals place on using Design Thinking. The Design Thinking in Human Resources survey was conducted globally.

Design thinking takes aim at the heart of unnecessary workplace complexity by putting the employee experience first—helping to improve productivity by designing solutions that are at once compelling, enjoyable, and simple.

Usually, when we think of transformation, we think of it as a shift in the fundamentals of a business, like Lee Iacocca’s turnaround at Chrysler or Steve Jobs’ return to Apple. Unfortunately, managers often overlook skills-based transformations, which can be every bit as important — and often more so — than higher-profile initiatives.

DESIGN thinking casts human resources (HR) in a new role. It brings an innovative approach that changes the way HR teams deliver value, organize work and find solutions at workplaces. Design thinking helps to achieve this by shifting the focus from building processes to designing meaningful employee experiences.