For years, companies focused only on making their products aesthetically appealing and building their brand through well-crafted advertisements. However, with the onset of the knowledge era, it has become imperative for firms to provide real solutions to their customers’ needs. For this, they needed to have a holistic view of those needs. This gave rise to the systems approach, which emphasized the importance of understanding the interdependence among various factors affecting a customer need to provide the right solution. It also gave rise to a new thinking process—design thinking.

What Is Design Thinking? How Is It Different From Conventional Thinking?

Unlike traditional problem solvers, design thinkers intend to achieve a specific goal, rather than solve individual problems that impede the achievement of the goal. This provides them with a broader perspective.

For example, one of the issues in the early days of the space age was maintaining logs in weightless environments. Conventional ballpoint pens could not be used in outer space. Some engineers at a space agency tried to create a pen that could be used in low-gravity conditions, whereas another group of researchers found a very easy solution—use a pencil. The latter group came up with an effective solution because it focused on the main goal, maintaining logs in space, rather than solutions to problems in achieving it.

How can we use design thinking? Different experts have suggested various processes to use design thinking to resolve issues. But the most popular is the OPDSA, which is an acronym for the five-step process Observe-Plan-Do-Study-Act. This process calls for designers to:

1. Observe the problem carefully to find out its root cause. 

2. Plan a solution to the problem. 

3. Do something. Once a plan has been formulated, it is time to implement the do step. Here, you execute the plan.  

4. Study the impact of the solution after executing the plan. 

5. Act on the findings. This is the final step. If the solution produces the desired outcome, then make it a new standard (baseline). If not, make changes to the solution to get the right results.

How Can Design Thinking Be Applied to Corporate Training?

The design thinking methodology can be used to provide good training solutions for various performance issues. For instance, it can be used to train sales staff members effectively to help them achieve their quotas.

Step 1: Analyze Why Salespeople Can’t Meet Their Quotas

Conduct thorough analyses to identify the core problems faced by your salespeople in meeting their targets. There could be various training-related issues, such as poor product knowledge, lack of customer-facing skills, and an inability to use social media. There could also be problems that are not related to training, such as the poor quality of products. Once you determine that the performance issue is caused by a lack of knowledge or skills, you can initiate a suitable training solution. For the purpose of this post, let’s assume that the problem is inadequate knowledge of products.

Step 2: Formulate a Plan to Impart the Required Product Knowledge 

You now need to come up with a plan to deliver effective product training to your sales staff. Here, you need to consider the work profile and needs of the salespeople to zero-in on the right learning solution. How much time do they spend traveling? What performance support do they require? Based on the answers to these questions, you may consider using classroom training, e-learning, mobile learning, or blended learning.

Step 3: Develop the Product Training Programs and Deliver Them Effectively

Having determined the right format to provide product knowledge to your sales staffers, it is time to develop the training programs and deliver them. You need to make sure that the programs are based on adult learning principles to get the best results.

Step 4: Study the Effects of the Training Solution on Sales Staff Performance

After delivering the training course, you need to analyze its impact on enhancing your salespeople’s performance. Have they met their quotas? If not, what is lacking in the product training courses? The right answers to these questions will help you take proper action to get the desired results.

Step 5: Baseline the Results or Modify the Courses Based on the Step 4 Analysis

 If the sales reps are able to meet their quotas, the product training courses need to become a standard to follow. But if staff members are not able to achieve their targets, then you need to make changes. For instance, the product training course might not have focused on how different groups of customers use the product in different ways, which could have resulted in your salespeople using the same sales pitch for all prospective buyers.

Design thinking helps provide training solutions for performance issues in an effective, systematic manner. First, you need to determine the root cause of a performance issue. Then, you need to identify and plan for a suitable training solution. The third step involves developing the training program and delivering it. Thereafter, you need to study the impact of the training program on resolving the performance issue. Finally, you need to either baseline the training solution or make changes to it, based on the results of the study. I hope you found this post useful. Do share your comments.