Thrive Career Growth Framework

It was 2020, 3 years into the accelerated growth of our digital startup WooliesX and our growing team of 52 UX designers, researchers, UI and front end technologists. At the height of this growth and as part of the UX leadership team we were trying to advance our team’s capabilities to meet the demands of our organisation as well as continually drive excellence in our UX maturity.

We were also losing our talent at the peak of digital transformations, to organisations with dedicated career paths and learning and development programs for their talent.

My role

Program and Delivery lead for WooliesX first ever UX Design career growth framework. Conducted research with expert workshops consulted by international Design Ops leaders Peter Merholz and Dave Malouf. Developed the business case, conducted benchmark research, designed the framework model and in consultation with our Design Operations lead and 4 other UX Managers and Head of UX Design. Formed internal program teams to enable HR and other chapter practices such as Product, Data analytics, Media, Strategy to understand a framework that could scale across our whole WooliesX organisation. So that any practice can continue careers cross functionally with a flexible career framework. 

Lead the change management with sponsorship from the Head of UX and GM of Experience, Head of HR Digital Talent in 2021 with a successful rollout program delivering our handbook guide, training, program launch and career framework spotlight talk series. Facilitation of education tools that onboarded our practice of 75+ and advanced the practice further across partners in our organisation.

Research

Conducted desk research and workshops to audit current career framework programs across multiple industries including product design. Conducted talent team survey across our product design team of 30 on current career development opportunities. Set up evaluation and testing on the career framework when we had a POC to trial with a team of designers and their manager.

Framework program development

Reviewed current skills and future skills from research and consultation think tank workshops and designed the framework to address current skills gap and maturity within UX team. Developed and delivered a framework to assist career development and learning for design managers and their teams which grew to 75+ UX capability after POC test. Improved voice of team survey results by +5% and released a handbook on the framework with 36 skills across our Product design, UX teams.

Program delivery and Change management

Supported stakeholder groups across HR, executive leadership, Design leadership, design teams, product through change management plan and embedding key activities and assets for the framework.

In partnership with our other Chapters across WooliesX such as Marketing, Product Management, Engineering, Strategy, Operations teams drove advocacy and alignment with our UX career framework so some of the activities would develop into standardised frameworks.

Addressing the growing pains of UX maturity

In 3 short years our UX capability was growing rapidly but without the support of design operations we were missing critical programs that would drive career development and the necessary skills our teams were craving for and it showed in our Voice of Team survey results.

Processes and Systems
Career opportunities
Collaboration and team work

The war for digital talent is here to stay!

Every organisation is going through a Digital transformation. It’s predicted that talent scarcity of truly great talent is going to compete on : culture, organisation, work, leadership. It will be the talent that will allow the teams and organisation to step change their product, services, culture and ultimately business, customer and team benefits.

We need to fiercely compete over the right talent and create the right climate to breed best in class culture, products, services to grow and mature our business.

Quote

Leading workshops with Design Operations industry & community

When I first tried to develop our design operations program it was quite in its infancy within Sydney at that time. There were no Design operations practitioners like there is today. I ventured into the industry to learn, seek advice and audit UX maturity. What were top tier human centred design organisations doing differently?

I came back inspired from a presentation and reading across Dave Malouf, a formative Design Leader on everything across design operations. One of the pillars which later would become part of this career framework was establishing clear career paths for team development. 

This further expanded into my research with another Design Ops leader Peter Merholz. His best selling book co-authored with Kristin Skinner, Org Design for Design Ops had a dedicated chapter on Career growth development. And I organised a co-hosted event with Peter Merholz with our Design leadership team. As a result it set off the right momentum on the roadmap to develop and design the first UX Design Career Framework for WooliesX team of 75+.

Pictured in this image : 12, November 2020. Maria Edwards(Senior UX Manager), Peter Merholz (Design Leader author of Org design for Design Orgs), Rebecca Jolly (Head of UX), Trent Watherston (Senior UX Manager). Present in room, not pictured : Manali Mehta (Senior UX Research Manager), Rhuan Coradello (Senior UI Manager)