Staffed 200+ designers onto projects using a human centered approach

Business Operations
Written By Lisa Bauer

Company: IDEO

Type of Work: Business Operations

The Mission

Effectively staff designers to projects based on availability, capabilities, and growth opportunities.

Teambuilders* were responsible for knowing all 200+ designers of North America so that they can effectively and efficiently staff them onto project requests based on their availability, capability and personal interests and goals. They needed to efficiently collaborate across functional teams and with leaders to determine the best fit and help drive revenue for the business.

*Teambuilders are what IDEO NA called the team responsible for staffing designers onto projects.

Lisa’s Impacts

  • Built a collaborative interface, including the designer profiles, for a more effective teambuilding workflow.

  • Hosted over 150 coffee chats to get to know the designers better.

  • Served as a teambuilding lead for one of the biggest client relationships at IDEO.

  • In collaboration with other teambuilders, managed an average of 30-50 teambuilding requests per week.

  • Navigated internal conflicts through creative problem solving.

Outcome

  • Successfully resolved over 150 teambuilding requests

  • Increased the efficiency of the teambuilding process.

Lisa Bauer
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