Design Thinking Action Lab

Service with a Smile: Empathy Map and Problem Statement

Shamik Chowdhury All icons courtesy www.iconfinder.com

Design Challenge Develop empathy for the stakeholder, and define a problem or need he/she has related to the challenge.

Say

Think

Do

Feel

Problem

Statement

Empathy Map Interview the stakeholder, and create an empathy map based on conversations and observations.

SAY THINK

DO FEEL

INSIGHTS

Stakeholder:

SAY THINK A 37-year old female career coordinator working at a hotel school, who has no formal qualification or experience in the hotel industry, but is passionate about student development, and keen to ensure that her students receive a good all-round education, and then find suitable work opportunities that help them realize their talent and potential.

I have no formal qualification or experience in the hotel

industry

I am passionate about education and student

development

I want my students to gather the knowledge and skills

to succeed in ways that make the learning memorable

Employers must make an effort to identify potential

before they map skills to job descriptions

Many students have talent, but they cannot

communicate or present their potential during interviews

Employers often don’t have the time to develop talent

– they need people who are ready to “hit the ground

running”

SAY

What she does at work:

1. Coordinates with employers to identify suitable job

opportunities, and opportunities for industrial training and summer

projects

2. Counsels students about career opportunities and job profiles,

and helps them identify areas of interest

3. Organizes self-development / personality development training

sessions and career orientation “talks” by inviting hotel industry

leaders to the campus

What I observed during the interview:

1. Asked me about ways in which education technology could help

make learning more interactive and engaging

2. Was not confrontational or argumentative, but seemed

passionate about her work and her beliefs

3. Received a number of calls from students during the interview,

and handled each conversation with sensitivity and patience

DO

“The curriculum is very hectic; students often don’t

get the time to reflect on life”

-Life skills are as important as technical skills

“Not every one is “hands-on”. Some of the

students like to think and understand more than

they like to memorize and do”

-People learn and view life and learning differently. Their

learning and job outlook may need greater customization /

personalization

“Many students finally go abroad to find work,

because they don’t find healthy work environments

or the desired job culture in India”

- For some, the gap between what they learn and what

they finally do at work may lead to disillusionment or

frustration

THINK

Apprehensive: How can I get my students to explore new

ways to understand what to expect when they join hotels?

Eager: Isn’t enhancing communication and ‘people” skills as

important as learning hotel accounting or culinary arts?

Concerned: How can students develop a true passion for

serving guests if they perceive their education only as a means

to get a job?

Inspired: Working in a hotel is as much of a “thinking” job as

managing a business. Learned skills can only take one so far…

it’s one’s personality that shines through at the end.

* The stakeholder understands the limitations of the

existing model of hotel school education, which stresses

development of skills at the cost of development of the

“person”

* The stakeholder is interested in exploring new ways,

means and avenues of training delivery which involves active

participation and self-reflection by the students

* The stakeholder appreciates that building management

and communication skills among students, and the

confidence to “tackle the world”, is as important for long-

term success as the vocational skills currently taught in

the school

* The stakeholder agrees that every person learns

differently, and a “one size fits all” model may not always

be the most effective one INSIGHTS

Problem Statement The career coordinator at a hotel school needs to explore ways to equip her students with adequate knowledge, understanding, skills, and wisdom, because she wants them to step into the hotel industry with greater confidence and self esteem.

* No formal qualification or experience in the hotel

industry, but passionate about education and student

development

* Students should gather the knowledge and skills to

succeed in ways that make the learning memorable

* Employers must make an effort to identify potential

before they map skills to job descriptions

* Many students have the talent, but they cannot

communicate or present their potential during interviews

* Employers often don’t have the time to develop

talent – they need people who are ready to “hit the

ground running”

* Coordinates with employers to identify suitable job

opportunities, counsels students about career

opportunities and job profiles, helps them identify areas

of interest, and organizes self-development / personality

development training sessions

* Asked me about ways in which education technology

could help make learning more interactive and engaging

* Was not confrontational or argumentative, but seemed

passionate about her work and beliefs

3. Handled students with sensitivity & patience

* The curriculum is very hectic; students often don’t

get the time to reflect on life”

* “Not every one is “hands-on”. Some of the students

like to think and understand more than they like to

memorize and do”

* “Many students finally go abroad to find work,

because they don’t find healthy work environments or

the desired job culture in India”

SAY THINK

DO

* How can I get my students to explore new ways to

understand what to expect when they join hotels?

* Isn’t enhancing communication and ‘people” skills as

important as learning hotel accounting or culinary arts?

* How can students develop a true passion for serving

guests if they perceive their education only as a means

to get a job?

* Working in a hotel is as much a “thinking” job as

managing a business. Learned skills can only take one so

far… it’s one’s personality that shines through at the

end.

FEEL The career coordinator at a hotel school needs to explore ways to equip her students with the knowledge, understanding, skills, and wisdom because she wants them to step into the hotel industry with greater confidence and self esteem.

Problem Statement

Thank You

Design Thinking Action Lab

Shamik Chowdhury All icons courtesy www.iconfinder.com