Employee-Centric Application Design

Human-centered technology strategy: start with the people! Technology isn’t inherently smart. It becomes smart when it helps humans thrive. Too many digital strategies forget the human in the equation, focusing instead on features, speed, and scale while overlooking the day-to-day reality of the people using it. If your tech plan doesn’t make work more meaningful, it’s just noise. If it doesn’t ease a burden or solve a real problem, it’s just expense. Start with talking to employees about what problems they need to solve or what challenges they need to address in their day-to-day. THEN, find a solution. Once you've implemented the solution, talk to employees again. 1️⃣ Ask how it improves their workflow. Does it reduce friction? Streamline what matters? Or does it create more steps, more checkboxes, more shadow work? 2️⃣ Ask what pain it removes. (Hopefully the one you uncovered in earlier conversations!) Every team has daily frustrations: manual tasks, duplicative systems, outdated interfaces. Tech should solve real pain points, not just chase the next big trend. 3️⃣ Ask how it adds meaning, not just speed. Efficiency matters, but so does purpose. The best tools create space for higher-value work: thinking, collaborating, listening, solving, building relationships. Human-centered technology isn’t soft. It’s strategic. Because adoption, productivity, and experience all rise when people actually want to use the tools they’re given. A “smart” strategy doesn’t just deploy tech. It designs for the people who power the business. For more details on putting people first, see the link in the first comment. #technology #digitaltransformation #culture #peoplefirst #employeeexperience #humancentereddesign #leadership

"The current approach to the employee experience simply doesn’t work." Employee experience often gets treated as a comp exercise, fixes to onboarding, maybe a revised perf process -- often built "one size fits all." Companies invest heavily in customer experience. Research, data science, human-centered design and product management creates massive results through personalization, loyalty and deep understanding of emotional drivers. What if we applied a lot of the same tools to employee experience? What if we thought of employee experience through the lens of product management? Great #EX boosts retention and drives great #CX. Visibly in retail: Trader Joe's and Costco have excellent EX, strong financials and very loyal customers. This movement is growing. It will get larger because the demographics of labor are changing: slow growth, more diversity, tradeoffs well beyond comp and benes. Here's some faves, 🔗 in comments: follow them all if you don't already! ⭐ Samantha Gadd and Kalyn (KP) Ponti have been leading with their EX Manifesto and focus on human-centered design. How to work directly with employees to understand needs, and build together. Which leads to... ⭐ The top quote from "Reimagining Work as a #Product" by Dart Lindsley & Eric Anicich brings product design thinking to life with stories from Eli Lilly, Shopify and Dropbox where the Melanie / Alastair / Allison trifecta are re-imagining #EX. They share a framework that breaks down a job into tasks, understanding what's rewarding vs drudgery. Work that ... ⭐ Debbie Lovich & Rosie Sargeant quantified: increasing joy boosts retention by almost 2X, and that you can't make assumptions about what brings someone joy: a break where you write notes might be joyful. Debbie and I just talked about how Clay Christensen's "Jobs to Be Done" (JTBD) framework applies to employees. Why the job someone takes often has less to do with comp and title than a broader set of tradeoffs. "JTBD" shows in Dart & Eric's work, and is central to... ⭐  Ethan Bernstein, Michael Horn & Bob Moesta's "What Companies Get Wrong About Employee Experience" which breaks down four typical quests of people taking on a new role -- what are they "hiring" that role to do? Understanding the emotional context of leaving or taking a new job and the desires and tradeoffs of individuals boosts outcomes -- especially retention. Emotional context also shows up in #AI adoption... ⭐ Christina Janzer & Lucas Puente's work on AI personas, which I recently shared -- how might those personas overlap with someone's "JTBD" of their role? ⭐ Rodney Evans knows this is a major transformation, and one group who needs help changing how they work is #HR. Rodney and team do work with people who want to do the work... Which leads to one last quote: ⭐ "Let the work do the work" Iain Roberts, taking a design-centered approach to improving EX by working on it directly with the team. Who am I missing? #FutureOfWork #retention

🚨 𝗛𝗥 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗱𝘂𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻. That’s why I created the 𝗛𝗧 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝟰𝗣 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹™ — a practical, people-first approach that helps HR teams think like product designers and build experiences that actually work. 📌 In case you missed the carousel 👉 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘏𝘙 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵 Now, I’ve gone a step further and unpacked the full framework in a new article: 🆕 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗛𝗥 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁: 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗧 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝟰𝗣 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹™ Read it here 👉 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱: ✅ A deep dive into each of the 4Ps: People, Pain, Prototype, and Progress ✅ A real-world onboarding case study using the model ✅ A checklist to help you get started ✅ A side-by-side comparison of Traditional vs. Product-Led HR ✅ What’s coming next (and how you can get involved) If you're an HR leader or professional who’s done with compliance-first thinking and ready to 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 - this is for you. 👇 Dive into the article and let me know — what part of the model resonates with you the most? #HTCrew4PModel #HRInnovation #DesignThinking #PeopleCentricDesign #HassanTirmizi #HRRedesign #FutureOfWork #ExperienceMatters #TransformationJourney

𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞-𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Digital transformation isn’t just about adopting the latest tech-it’s about empowering people at every level. The latest #Forbes Technology Council article highlights a powerful shift: the most impactful digital transformation trends for 2025 are those that center on people, not just processes or platforms. Here are the top trends redefining the landscape: 🔹𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 ▪Enable employees to access and shape information assets ▪Accelerate decision-making and reduce operational bottlenecks 🔹𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨-𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐭 ▪Enhances human expertise, rather than replacing it ▪Provides actionable insights while keeping people in control 🔹𝐇𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐫-𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 ▪Driven by AI and real-time analytics ▪Delivers tailored experiences for customers and employees alike 🔹𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐏𝐈𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 ▪Foster seamless integration between platforms ▪Encourage co-creation and innovation across organizations and partners 🔹𝐋𝐨𝐰- 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨-𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 & 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬 ▪Empower nontechnical employees to build and adapt solutions ▪Ensure technology meets real user needs and drives adoption 🔹𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧-𝐢𝐧-𝐭𝐡𝐞-𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩 𝐀𝐈 & 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲-𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐈 ▪Keep people at the center of critical processes ▪Build trust, reliability, and security into AI-driven systems 🔹𝐍𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨-𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 & 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐬 ▪Make technology more accessible and empowering for all users ▪Support diversity and inclusion in digital experiences When technology is designed with people at the center, organizations see less resistance to change, greater innovation, and solutions that truly serve both users and business goals. 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞: https://lnkd.in/gQamjbuq #AI #DigitalTransformation #GenerativeAI #GenAI #Innovation  #ArtificialIntelligence #ML #ThoughtLeadership #NiteshRastogiInsights  ---------------------------------------------------------------------- • Please 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐞, 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 https://lnkd.in/gcy76JgE

That post I shared about a company paying engineers $10K to take down their LinkedIn profiles really struck a nerve for me. One of the most impactful classes I took at Stanford was User-Centered Design: start with your customer, understand their needs, then design solutions that make their lives better. When we apply that to work, our “customers” are our employees. Which begs the question: Do you want to limit them, or support them? I passionately believe that when someone dedicates their time and attention to your company, they should come out of that experience better for it. Paying someone to hide their profile is designing against them. It’s about control, not care. Here’s a fun little example of what designing for your employees looks like: my team once started an #RTApets Slack channel. it became popular fast. I personally looked forward to seeing all the pet updates and whenever my cats did something funny, that was one of the first places I wanted to report to. I knew employees’ pets by name and some even got their own custom emojis. When it came time to review benefits, yes we looked at data and surveys but it was through listening and observing that we realized how important pets are to our group. More investigation lead to the conclusion that pet insurance needed to be added. That’s user-centered design in action. Understand what motivates your user and meet them there! Employees felt seen. Prospective employees commented many times on how cool it was that we offered that benefit. Benefits actually matched their lives and values. AND this was WAY cheaper than $10K per person 😅 It was one example of many that we did… One approach locks people down. The other builds them up. One brings you a team of mercenaries The other brings 5-star Glassdoor reviews and people who refer their friends and family to work for you…because they want their loved ones to get in on the action. It brings you 23 day time to fill on your toughest positions. It brings you a super engaged workforce with close to 100% retention. It has real, material business impact. And it aligns with values.

UX isn’t just about making good software and products.   🗝 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 When internal operations are dysfunctional, most companies reach for tools like 𝐒𝐢𝐱 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐦𝐚 to eliminate inefficiencies or 𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐞 to scale agile practices. 🛠 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.  𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 🧠 𝐔𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 + 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬. The best investment you can make is in 𝐔𝐗 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 in how your organization works from the inside out. ✅ 𝐔𝐗𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫.  Before streamlining workflows; we uncover why they’re clunky in the first place ✅ 𝐔𝐗𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧. We talk to the people doing the work a̳n̳d̳ the people designing the processes ✅ 𝐔𝐗𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭. We avoid forcing rigid frameworks by designing flexible systems that evolve with your org UX scales teams and ensures the steps and systems make sense. 𝐈𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬. It’s about rethinking what’s possible. 💡  Scaling inefficiencies creates bigger inefficiencies. 💥 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲, 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞𝐬 = 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝. If the “fixes” aren’t sticking, it’s time to think beyond frameworks. It’s time to 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 behind the processes.   What's been your experience? #humanfactors #operationalexcellence #humancentereddesign #usercentereddesign #operations