How Virtual #HRvsVirus Co-Creation Resulted in Solutions To The Crisis - LinkedIn

9/20/22, 9:15 AM (1) How Virtual #HRvsVirus Co-Creation Resulted in Solutions to the Crisis | LinkedIn
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How Virtual #HRvsVirus Co-

Creation Resulted in Solutions
to the Crisis
Published on May 4, 2020
Image Credit: Leah Lavelle, Urban Wild Studio
Nicole Dessain
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-virtual-hrvsvirus-co-creation-resulted-solutions-crisis-dessain/ 1/12
Head of Employee Experience Design 🎈I co-create human-centered, inclusive

talent programs.
49 articles
Following
How might we convene a diverse group of global thinkers in a virtual

forum to design solutions for work-related challenges caused by
COVID-19?
In a previous post I wrote about the “why” behind #HRvsVirus.
Today, I want to share how we approached the experience, who was

involved, and what the outcomes were.
The Team
We were lucky to partner with workforce development social enterprise

i.c.stars and its Executive Director Sandee Kastrul as co-organizers
on this initiative. Their technology solution design and talent
development lens were a great complement to our Human Resources

and design thinking experience.
We had 130 registered #HRvsVirus Hackathon participants - designers,

academics, data scientists, business leaders, and HR professionals from
countries across the world, including Argentina, Brazil, Dubai,
England, Germany, Ireland, and the United States of America.
We designed dedicated roles to provide support during the Hackathon:

Challenge stewards submitted challenges and provided additional
context, moderators facilitated a team’s efforts over the three-day
period, and mentors supported various teams with their subject matter
expertise.
The Process
The #HRvsVirus Hackathon was conducted entirely virtually. We used

Slack for team collaboration, Zoom Video for daily check in calls, and
Google Docs to capture each team’s project documentation. Teams
leveraged additional virtual design thinking tools such as Mural and
Miro to facilitate their research and ideation processes.
The #HRvsVirus Hackathon ran from April 17 – 19, 2020. Participants

had 72 hours to build solutions to the above work-related challenges
caused by the COVID-19 crisis. We kicked off on Friday at 9am CST
and closed on Sunday at midnight CST with the final submission of
solutions.
Each day was dedicated to a step in the design thinking process.

DAY 1: DISCOVERY
We kicked off the day with an educational interview on the role of

research with Jeff Merrell, Associate Director Master of Science in
Learning Organizational Change at Northwestern University.
Teams formed in Slack to tackle five challenges that were submitted in

advance to the Hackathon.
Each team designed their own research approach to gain deeper insight
into the challenge and to immerse themselves in empathy with the
stakeholders they were designing their solution for. Discovery methods
included surveys, empathy interviews, and secondary research.
DAY 2: IDEATION
Ideation day was kicked off with a short education segment provided
by Jane Garza, Managing Director at NOBL.
The teams applied various ideation methods using virtual ideation tools
such as Mural, Miro, and Google Docs. At the end of the day they
coalesced on one concept they would prototype the next day.
DAY 3: PROTOTYPING
On the last day, teams designed solution prototypes that ranged from
apps to event agendas. Each team was also asked to document their
process and create a video pitch of their prototype.
“What a weekend! What an

experience! What an
opportunity! This past
weekend, in the midst of family
time, work responsibilities and
all of the cares of life...an
amazing "troop" of HR leaders
came together...from ALL
OVER THE WORLD to begin
thinking about and solving
some of the people challenges
that will face us all in this post-
COVID 19 world."
The Solutions
These were the five solutions created by #HRvsVirus Hackathon

participants:
ONN (Our New Normal) App which Facilitates Safe Return to

Work from Isolation
Employees will be returning to the office in a working world with a

whole new set of concerns around workplace safety and care.
Companies can provide the ONN mobile app so their employees might
obtain key information about their workplace, including metrics on
building occupancy, COVID infection rates and incidences, and
cleaning information for common areas.
Design Thinking for Career Development for Those who

Experience Crisis-Related Layoffs
No alt text provided for this image
As of April 19, 2020, 22M people have filed for unemployment in the
US alone skyrocketing the unemployment rate to 13.5%. Imagine the
impact this will have on the entry-level talent entering the job market,
and direct correlation to volume of Human Resources and Talent
Acquisition jobs that are currently being displaced. Imagine a new
exploratory career adventure where diverse job seekers are connected
to a team of mentors collaborating to help the job seeker Discover,
Ideate and Prototype a career path that is customized to the current
hiring demand in the marketplace.
An Interactive Virtual Onboarding Journey Map
The solution is a centralized web space (ideally incorporated into the

company intranet) that provides a complete onboarding roadmap and
timely reminder of what is next. It also provides hiring managers, HR
and buddies with reminders and synchronized information.
Open Space - A Platform to Maintain Meaningful Work

Connections
Open Space is a digital platform that helps companies and employees

maintain and build on the meaningful connections they created during
the COVID-19 crisis.
Tap In! Tap Out! - A Language Concept for Leaders and

Employees to Manage COVID-19 Related Anxiety in the
Workplace

Anxiety disorders impact 19% of the U.S. population every year and
are expected to spike during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on
studies of previous disasters, 10% of those impacted can develop more
severe problems, such as mood disorders, anxiety disorder or PTSD.
The Tap In! Tap Out! program includes both a digital and manual
engagement methodology for employees to openly acknowledge their
need to temporarily tap out of work duties. “Tap in” is the counterpart
component - encouraging leaders and managers to pay special attention
to setting clear expectations during these not-normal times.
#HRvsVirus Hackathon solutions were designed by volunteers to

benefit the social good. They are made available for free to the public.
Key work processes and documents are shared as part of each case
study so you can leverage them to support implementation inside your
own organization.
It would be wonderful if you worked out loud and

shared back how you used these solutions by tagging us
#HRvsVirus or sending us a quick feedback.
We are also continuing to collaborate with i.c.stars to

explore how we might build and scale some of the
solutions so they might benefit as many organizations
as possible. Subscribe to our Twitter and YouTube
channels to follow along.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nicole Dessain is the Founder and Chief Talent

Experience Designer at talent.imperative inc, an employee
experience design consultancy.
Nicole’s creative superpower is “connecting the dots”

which she applies to her passion of bringing design
thinking to the world of Human Resources through the
hr.hackathon alliance.
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Nicole Dessain 49 Following
Head of Employee Experience Design 🎈I co-create human-
articles
centered, inclusive talent programs.
Published • 2y
How might we convene a diverse group of global thinkers in a virtual forum to design
solutions for work-related challenges caused by COVID-19?
In a previous post I wrote about the “why” behind #HRvsVirus. Today, I want to share how we
approached the experience, who was involved, and what the outcomes were.
Special thanks to Sandee Kastrul, Jeff Merrell, Heather Thomas, Nancy A. Harris, Peter
Dessain, Belinda Gannaway, Barbara A. Boldt, Leah Lavelle, Ellie Bahrmasel, Leila Matta,
Jane Garza, Jenine Lurie, Katerina Bohle Carbonell, Sabine Sickinger, Oneka Cornelius and
all the wonderful participants who made this such an impactful experience.
My hope is that this effort might benefit as many organizations, HR professionals, and
employees as possible.
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Barbara A. Boldt •
3rd+ 2y
Executive Coach | I help Executives and Directors whose first language is not English
develop the leadership communication skills they need to be effective in their roles |
Keynote Speaker
It was such a privilege to be part of this initiative Nicole. It was an awesome

experience and I would do it again in a heart beat! ❤️
Like · 3 Reply · 2 Replies
Nicole Dessain • Following 2y (edited)

talent programs.
Thanks for the awesome collaboration! Can't wait till you and Dawn Poteau,
SHRM-SCP, PMP, CPC can rock HR.Hackathon Alliance live events in Detroit
metro!
Like · 2 Reply
Dawn Poteau, PCC, PMP, SHRM-SCP •

3rd+ 2y
Executive Coach | I help leaders and entrepreneurs make successful transitions
into new roles.
Looking forward to it as well Nicole Dessain
Like · 1 Reply
Antonio López •
3rd+ 2y
Consultor en recursos humanos | Te ayudo a Mejorar la estrategia de recursos
humanos | Diseñador de employee experience | Talleres y conferencias para RH |
Facilitador Design Sprint
Great work Nicole Dessain. What a relevant discussion and prototypes you guys
have designed. I would love to hear more about it. Is there anyway I can learn
more about it?
Like · 2 Reply · 1 Reply
Nicole Dessain • Following 2y

talent programs
Thanks, Antonio! I recommend you follow us on Twitter to track the latest
updates: https://twitter.com/HRvsVirusHack
Like · 1 Reply
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Nicole Dessain
Head of Employee Experience Design 🎈I co-create human-centered, inclusive talent
programs.
Following
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9/20/22, 9:15 AM (1) How Virtual #HRvsVirus Co-Creation Resulted in Solutions to the Crisis | LinkedIn

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