Introduction
The newly launched WDC Introduction to service design training course was introduced in
2023. To date, the course has been conducted three times, with the initial session being
delivered online and the subsequent sessions conducted in-person. With a participation of
22 employees, the feedback has been overwhelming positive, leading to full enrollment in
each session.
2023. To date, the course has been conducted three times, with the initial session being
delivered online and the subsequent sessions conducted in-person. With a participation of
22 employees, the feedback has been overwhelming positive, leading to full enrollment in
each session.
The course provides employees with the fundamentals of applying the service design
approach in their roles across the council. The workshops explain what Service Design is
and how it can help make services better for the people that use them.
Employees engage in a blended learning approach, incorporating in-person classes and
interactive activities, while collaboratively tackling a practice design challenge to gain a
better understanding using some of the tools and methods. Furthermore, we have
continued to improve the course by adjusting modules, activities, and learning
environments to cater to both online and in-person facilitation.
Awareness
Raising awareness about Service Design prior to running the course was crucial to help
generate interest and increase participation. This would provide WDC employees with a
greater understanding of what service design was and if this would be releant and useful
to apply to their own role in the council.
generate interest and increase participation. This would provide WDC employees with a
greater understanding of what service design was and if this would be releant and useful
to apply to their own role in the council.
We used a variety of methods to do this effectively which included:
- sharing awareness posts and course adverts across communication platforms
including the Councils Trickle engagement platform, Intranet Newsfeed, and MS
Teams Channel.
- cascading course information to senior managers for their support and
encouragement to maximise the opportunity for employees
- developing a dedicated Intranet page that provides a central hub for access to service
design resources including details of the course that highlighted the key details.
Additionally we offered manager awareness sessions and gave an overview presentation to
trade union members to highlight the approach and how it could help improve services for
the people that use and deliver them.
Resources
We created an Introduction to Service Design I-learn course to give employees a basic
understanding before starting the training.
understanding before starting the training.
A centralised support hub was established for employees who had successfully completed
the course. This provides a comprehensive toolkit aimed at facilitating the use of service
design tools, offering a structured approach to service design learning, providing refresher
videos and valuable resources for creating user-centered services all in one place.
the course. This provides a comprehensive toolkit aimed at facilitating the use of service
design tools, offering a structured approach to service design learning, providing refresher
videos and valuable resources for creating user-centered services all in one place.
Employees who have completed the course also receive access to the WDC Service Design
handbook, which was created as an additional resource to compliment the training. The
handbook contains some essential information and key takeaways from the course.
A collection of instructional videos was created in partnership with West Lothian Council
to serve as informative guides on various service design tools and techniques.
to serve as informative guides on various service design tools and techniques.
Service Design Community
Following the course, employees are invited to continue their
learning journey with OD, Change and Digital.
learning journey with OD, Change and Digital.
They have the opportunity to attend a 1:1 catch-up with one of
the course facilitators, have the option to stay connected with
their fellow delegates to share knowledge and insights, and be a
part of the wider WDC service design community.
the course facilitators, have the option to stay connected with
their fellow delegates to share knowledge and insights, and be a
part of the wider WDC service design community.
Additionally, regular community catch-ups are arranged to foster
a co-ordinated approach to service design engagement across the
council.
a co-ordinated approach to service design engagement across the
council.
