Creating an Empathy Map

and

Problem Statement

Week 2 Course Work for Design Thinking offered by Venture Labs

SayNew hires

often can’t

write or speak

proper English

Many young

people are

wholly

unprepared

for the work

world

May have been

“big fish” at

school but here

have to earn

credibility and it’s

hard

They want to come

in and do “big

things” but end up

is jobs that are

detailed and

repetitive – not

what they expected

They want to

work 8 hour

days and have

super flexibility

in when and

where they work

Many have

unreasonable

expectations –

such as high

pay and fast

promotions

There’s a

change in the

level of

freedom and

control

Do

We spend the

first week or

two sharing

employer

expectations

We have them

read policies,

procedures,

safety best

practices, ethics

guidelines

We set up

extensive “on-

boarding” programs

that teach

communications

and decision-

making skills

We have

created a

“buddy” system

for them for 1st

few weeks

We set them

up with a

business

mentor

We have raised

the hiring

standards –

Bachelor’s is a

must no matter

what the job

We do

behavioural

interviewing as a

way to ascertain

level of “job-

ready” skills

ThinkStudents

aren’t

picking the

right courses

New

employees

are just

entering the

“real” world

New employees

expect the work

world to be like

the school

environment

They think

they’ve

“earned”

their dues

Employees

have to adapt

to the

employer’s

ways

Many younger

employees are

self-centred –

it’s all about

“me”

They don’t

have a clue

how to

behave in the

work

environment

Work

environment

and school

environment

are and should

be different

Feel

Insights

The school-to-work transition is a major life change for which many

people seem to be less than ready.

1. The change happens very suddenly for many… one day you are a

student immersed in that culture and its expectations – the next you

are an employee and immersed in that culture and its expectations.

Graphically, it would look something like this:

2. In addition, schools and businesses seem to function in two

independent and very different environments. It seems that this

isolation impacts understanding of expectations on both sides of the

divide.

3. We expect schools to be “factories” for producing workers. Is that a

reasonable expectation?

Years

% o

f Ti

me

6 24 65

School Work

Problem Statement

Nina, a long term employee, but a new recruiter for a large manufacturing business,

NEEDS A WAY TO

fill open positions with job-ready employees

BECAUSE

failure to do so negatively impacts productivity and profitability.