As one of the largest telecommunications companies in Canada embarked on a transformation to also become a leading-edge technology services provider, they recognized a need to increase their innovation capabilities. They made the decision to invest in their people with training experiences that would develop their creative confidence and enhance their toolkit for innovation to flourish across the organization.
We partnered with the Learning and Development team and several key Executives across the organization who are involved with leading innovation to understand the importance for driving innovation across the organization as well as their strategic objectives.
Our competitive advantage as a partner in talent development is that we are also business professionals who ensure all training experiences connect back to the client’s context for immediate application and ROI. Our team of design thinking facilitators are extremely experienced in real-world design thinking experience, engaging facilitation and bilingual (English and French) capability.
The Company prioritized design thinking training for their new graduates, professionals across the nation, high potential leaders and their executives. This strategic move aimed to enhance their ability to develop solutions that would significantly improve the lives of their customers and employees.
Design thinking is a creative problem-solving process focused on end-users/customers and what is most important to them. Through empathy, collaboration, and inclusive practices, we learn how to innovate in ways that ensure desirability of our products and services now and into the future. Design thinking includes: Human Centred Design (HCD), Service Design, User Experience (UX) / User Interface (UI).
Our Design Thinking programs are action-packed learning experiences that build innovation capability for all functions of the organization. Traditional problem solving is often straightforward, but not always innovative nor effective. In these programs, we challenge our assumptions and learn more about the customer to really understand the right problems to solve. We help our participants build the right behaviours and mindset at all levels to ensure a collective shift in culture towards innovation at scale. These include:
The programs leverage our Design Thinking Map™ which is a 9-step process we created for professionals to work through a business challenge, apply the design thinking methods, and ultimately generate an MVP (Minimum Viable Product).
In many of our programs we also use the ExperierencePoint Aware simulation that creates a highly engaging way for participants to learn the 6 creative habits of design thinkers – asking How Might We Questions, learning about extreme users, creative brainstorming, idea selection, prototyping and testing.
| Audience | Program | Duration | # Sessions | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Employees | Introduction to Design Thinking | 4 hours | 2 sessions with 20-25 people / session | English and French |
| Leaders | Design Thinking Challenge | 3 half days over 1-2 months | 3-4 sessions per year with 25 participants | English and French |
| Business Unit | Design Thinking 2.0 | 2 half days over 1 week | 1 session of 25 participants | English (also available in French) |
| Business Units | Design Thinking Lite | 1 day | 20+ sessions of 25-30 participants / session | English (also available in French) |
| Executives | Leading Innovation | 3 Hours | 1 session with 5 Executives | English (also available in French) |
"Your innovative approach to solving problems by putting the customer first and applying design thinking principles has been instrumental in our success. Together, we continue to create solutions that truly meet our customer needs. Thank you for being an exceptional partner."
"This is by far the best course and most useful course I’ve taken in the last 10 years. I really did enjoy the content, the skills I’ve picked up…and the reason why in my opinion is that continuous learning and practise over a 2 month time frame. Our team spent a lot of time together. We went through the whole process and like you said we had to “TRUST” the process."
"I found a lot of value in this course and I know it will have a very valuable impact to my career. Very well done in delivering the Design Thinking concepts in 1 day (!) and then seeing the great presentations as a result. Not to mention our concept and Design Thinking process being presented to our CEO."
"As all of my teammates have expressed, we have learned so much throughout this process, especially in switching our corporate mindset from a main focus on viability (and feasibility), to desirability! I truly hope to have the opportunity of having your guidance and access to your vast pool of knowledge in the near future!"
"One of the best courses I’ve taken is this one. I always thought I put the employee first but this course really ensured that I get their input vs assuming what they needed or wanted. With the start of any project - I always remind myself of the Swiffer example and go from there."
"We are still using the UX and design thinking toolbox we learned from you!”
"As a new member of the Business Process team, I can truly say I am better prepared for the role, as far as coming up with creative ideas to improve current process, or even to create new ones."
"9 times out of 10, the problem we present is not actually the problem that needs to be solved. This program helped me to rethink how we configure problem statements or the overall objective of what we are trying to achieve."
"The program has made me realize how you can apply Design thinking for really any concept or idea. It is a great way to explore all possibilities with no limits."
Book a free consultation with Joanna at Kirke Leadership to learn how our tools and expertise can help you make an immediate impact.
