Helping learning teams to apply human-centred design
We worked with the Sainsbury’s Learning and Development team to change their relationship with stakeholders by aligning the organisation to the 5Di learning design model.
The Challenge
The learning team were struggling to manage stakeholders who were making time-pressured demands for in-person courses and e-learning.
They felt disconnected from employees and lacked a common design process that would bring about better quality, consistency, and confidence.
The Solution
The Solvd Together team drew on decades of experience using the 5Di learning design model and delivered a series of short, practical, virtual workshops. These were supported by tools, guides, and one-to-one coaching.
Background and context
Sainsbury’s is one of the largest supermarket chains in the UK.
Why Sainsbury's chose Solvd
Our client was recommended to Solvd Together because of our track record of using Nick Shackleton-Jones’ 5Di learning design model (‘How People Learn’, Kogan Page, 2019). Helen Smyth, Digital Learning and Design Manager, understood the approach but wanted external support to challenge entrenched thinking and ways of working to maximise the business impact of L&D.
What Solvd delivered
As human-centred design evangelists, it's important to ‘walk the talk’ and conduct research before providing a solution.
Following a survey and focus groups with the Sainsbury’s L&D team and leaders, we designed a programme of workshops that provided relevant and meaningful guidance that could be applied immediately.
To bring to life the different stages of 5Di, we ran live demonstrations with real stakeholders and target audience members. After each event, the participants shared their feedback that validated this approach, and they were also required to complete challenges in groups between the sessions. This meant the team could observe and practice, on live or simulated projects.
We know learning doesn't get applied without creating habits, so ongoing team coaching was provided over several months post-workshop to enable participants to get specific support on live projects.
When designing learning solutions in challenging environments, learning teams often lose sight of the business outcomes and day-to-day audience challenges.
The results
NPS for the programme was +63 or “Excellent”.
“Solvd are brilliant facilitators and deliver a great balance of speaking with an opportunity for us to ask questions. They articulate and explain things really clearly”. Learning teams often lose sight of the business outcomes and day-to-day audience challenges when designing learning solutions in challenging environments
“I thought the real-life examples were very insightful, and the people that Solvd lined up to speak were fantastic. Having conducted a few of the Discovery interviews this week, I found I was able to apply what I’d learned and took a lot of cues from how Solvd approached the demonstrations”.
"You guys never let that imperative of user-centricity and getting to the cares and concerns of the user get lost in the midst of trying to deliver a solution" ~ Helen Smyth, Learning Product and Experience Manager, Sainsbury's
Next Steps
Stakeholder demands were the team members' number one challenge. Do you have this challenge in your organisation? If so, get in touch and find out how we can help.
What do you
need solved?
Sign up for our newsletter
