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DesignOps and The Great Talent War of 2021
Summary
Lots of organizations are hiring aggressively while, at the same time, turnover is at an all-time high among the design community. Join us for an interactive workshop to explore how DesignOps as a function must shape the recruiting, hiring, and retention process during the “Great Resignation.” We’ll be breaking into groups with specific focus and then reconvening to share: For hiring managers: What is working well to attract new talent and where are you stuck (e.g. a certain profile of talent, lack of perks, etc.)? For people managers: What strategies are you using to retain your best talent? What are your top folks asking for these days? If you’re on-boarding lots of new folks, what’s helping make that effective and friendly? For everyone else: What’s keeping you in your current role? What would get you to jump ship? If you are looking for a job, what do you want hiring managers to know or improve about the process?
Key Insights
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Attrition rates in design fields have spiked to around 30%, with hiring rates hitting 35%, challenging organizations to simultaneously retain and recruit talent.
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Psychological safety and strong team relationships are critical reasons employees stay in roles, especially post-pandemic when bonding was harder to achieve.
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Design portfolios and tests used in hiring are often seen as inequitable, time-consuming, and not representative of real work, leading to candidate frustration.
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100% remote or hybrid work policies that are clear and consistent offer a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining talent.
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Hiring managers struggle with long, bureaucratic processes and location-based restrictions that limit candidate pools and slow hiring.
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Proactive recruiting and recognizing transferable skills can help place candidates in roles they didn’t originally apply for but suit their abilities.
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Continuous feedback culture is preferred over infrequent, annual reviews to foster engagement and personal growth within teams.
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Burnout management is a shared responsibility where managers need to actively support workload balance, not just leave it to individuals.
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Internal mobility within organizations represents an underutilized opportunity to retain talent by allowing movement across experience and service design roles.
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The competitive talent market requires collaboration between design teams and talent acquisition partners to refine hiring strategies and improve equity.
Notable Quotes
"There’s this kind of Collective unconscious within teams that formed over the pandemic which is deeper than any other team experience I’ve had."
"Attrition numbers that normally hover around 14 or 15% have spiked to 30%, while hiring is up to 35%."
"People stay in roles mostly because of the people and the relationships they have on their teams."
"Design challenges in interviews don’t really help and are often inequitable and exhausting for candidates juggling full-time jobs and family."
"Some companies have gotten ahead by making 100% remote work an official policy, which is a big advantage in hiring."
"Many hiring managers feel stuck by bureaucracy and policies that haven’t adapted, limiting candidate pools to specific locations."
"Continuous feedback instead of just end-of-year reviews helps people understand their long-term goals and improve in the moment."
"Burnout isn’t just an individual issue; managers must actively help employees say no and manage workload."
"There’s opportunity to shift people internally within organizations rather than just hiring externally to fill experience design roles."
"Many candidates are filtered out by ATS systems due to keyword matching that overlooks valuable but unconventional experience."
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