Fall Studio 2024
How might we design an engaging onboarding program for Big Thought’s site-specific and HQ staff that sets them up for success?
Big Thought is a national leader in arts education, out-of-school time programming, social-emotional learning, youth justice, and learning systems. For over three decades, Big Thought has been empowering and equipping youth with the skills and tools to create their best lives and a better world. Founded in 1987 by Dallas civic leaders Edith O’Donnell and Mitch Jericho as an affiliate of Young Audiences, Big Thought has been at the forefront of youth empowerment for years. The organization began innovating education from its inception by bringing arts and cultural performances into classrooms at a time when the arts had been marginalized or even eliminated from public school curricula. Fast forward to 2004, their vision had outgrown the original name, leading them to become Big Thought—a name that reflects their big ideas and even bigger impact.
Big Thought strives to create a world where all young people have access to the transformative power of learning. The organization’s programs aim to ensure that every young person is supported by a robust network that includes educators, mentors, peers, and family members. Through creative collaboration and community-building efforts, Big Thought works toward the common goal of amplifying youth voices and providing a platform for lifelong learning.
View the final Client Presentation on the SMU MADI YouTube page.
Team One: Welcome Wizards
Prototype: The Big Thought, Little Book
Atifa Shalwani | Chris Cloud | Kayla Compton
The Big Thought, Little Book serves as a comprehensive, interactive guide for Teaching Artists (TAs) to help them transition smoothly into their roles, learn the ins and outs of the organization, and connect with Big Thought’s mission. It acts as a first-week resource, guiding Teacher Artists through their initial onboarding journey.
Key Challenge:
The core challenge was to create an easy-to-digest and engaging resource that not only introduces Teacher Artists to Big Thought’s history and culture but also aligns them with the organization’s core values and teaching methods in a fun and inspiring way.
Research Insights:
Through conversations with current Teacher Artists and managers/leaders, we identified that new hires often felt disconnected or overwhelmed when first entering the organization. They needed something tangible, engaging, and creatively aligned with Big Thought’s mission to spark inspiration and facilitate smooth integration.
Big Thought, Little Book FINAL 2
Design Principles:
- Connection: Foster relationships between new TAs and the organization by providing personal connection points with each section of the book.
- Purpose: Ensure that every section of the book clearly ties back to Big Thought’s overarching mission and values, emphasizing the meaningful impact TAs will have in the community.
- Empowerment: Provide actionable tools, including templates for lesson planning, reflection exercises, and self-assessment questions to build confidence in new hires.
Outcome:
The Big Thought, Little Book empowers new TAs to immediately feel part of the organization by encouraging reflective practices, offering teaching resources, and providing a creative outlet for them to express their ideas. Early testing has shown that this resource not only helps with role clarity but also boosts morale and excitement about their work.
Team Two: Team ABC
Prototype: Spark Cards
Mary Nunley | Carlos A. Flores-Rodríguez | Lauren Kelly | Haritha Muriyath
Following interviews with a variety of stakeholders, Team ABC identified a significant gap in the onboarding experience: the lack of a clear, interactive tool for managers to lead their teams effectively from day one. Thus, the Spark Cards were born, an interactive and adaptable resource to guide managers through engaging conversations with their new hires.
Key Challenge:
The challenge was to create a tool that would both engage and empower managers, giving them a playful yet structured way to build relationships with new employees while ensuring the transfer of critical knowledge about organizational values, culture, and specific job roles.
Research Insights:
The research revealed that many managers felt underprepared to lead new hires, particularly in remote or hybrid settings. Interviews with current managers indicated that a flexible, gamified tool would help foster better relationships and make onboarding more engaging for both managers and new employees.
This initial exploration allowed participants to actively contribute to the card design, providing immediate, tactile feedback on the prototype’s clarity and effectiveness.
We organized two testing sessions with Big Thought managers and staff members to engage with the Spark Cards. The first session occurred on November 21st, 2024, from 12 PM to 3 PM, and the second on December 4th, 2024, from 10 AM to 12 PM.
During these sessions, participants were invited to engage with the cards in various ways, including:
- Using the cards to guide discussions by selecting a card, reading the prompt, and engaging in brief exchanges of ideas and strategies.
- Integrating the prompts into games, experimenting with how they could fit naturally into gameplay, such as adapting them for card games like War or Go Fish.
Design Principles:
- Be Purposeful: Ensure that every card has a specific goal that ties into the new employee’s role and the company’s mission.
- Be Flexible: Provide enough room for adaptation so managers can tailor the experience to the unique needs of their team members.
- Be Playful: Gamify the onboarding process to make it more interactive and fun, increasing engagement and retention of key information.
Outcome:
Spark Cards bring an element of play and flexibility to the onboarding process. Each card contains a discussion prompt, quick exercises, and reflective activities that can be customized depending on the manager’s needs. Early tests have shown positive results in terms of team morale, manager confidence, and overall engagement.
Team Three: Team Big MAK
Prototype: Art Allies
Melody Chiang | Angela Molinero | Karan Quintero
Art Allies is a creative bonding initiative designed to integrate new hires into Big Thought’s community by using art-based activities. This tool aims to enhance interpersonal relationships across the organization, allowing new employees to connect with one another and feel part of the team.
Key Challenge:
The key challenge was to create an onboarding experience that integrates staff from multiple departments and creates a sense of inclusion and shared purpose through creative means. Traditional icebreakers often fail to engage employees in a meaningful way, so Art Allies uses collaborative art projects to foster deeper connections.
Research Insights:
Through interviews with HR and team leads, it became clear that fostering connections across departments and breaking down silos were crucial for employee engagement. Employees expressed a desire for more creative and open-ended activities during onboarding that encouraged genuine interaction, rather than just surface-level icebreakers.
Design Principles:
- Belonging: Make sure each activity fosters a sense of connection and camaraderie.
- Bridging: Design activities that encourage cross-departmental collaboration.
- Balance: Focus on activities that are not only engaging but also brief enough to integrate into busy schedules.
Outcome:
Art Allies introduces new hires to the organization’s culture through collaborative art projects, such as mural painting or collective storytelling. These activities encourage teamwork, creativity, and bonding, all while aligning with Big Thought’s mission of creativity and community. Testing with a small group of new hires has shown increased positive feedback regarding the connections made and the creative freedom provided during the activities.
Conclusion:
The prototypes developed by these three teams—Big Thought, Little Book, Spark Cards, and Art Allies—offer innovative, engaging, and effective solutions to Big Thought’s onboarding challenges. By focusing on connection, empowerment, and creativity, these solutions not only facilitate a smoother transition for new employees but also ensure they are equipped with the tools to succeed in their roles. With further refinement and testing, these prototypes have the potential to set the standard for an engaging, impactful, and long-lasting onboarding experience at Big Thought.