What does a day in your shoes feel like? And what are the key skills that can make or break a career in your field?
We have asked a diverse group of Apolitical members to share their career story with us and the tips they have for junior public servants. In this article, Deanna Young explains why curiosity is every designer’s best friend.
What is your role in government and how do you spend your time on a standard workday?
Currently, I am in the role of the Director of Service Design for the Justice Sector, which includes the Ministry of Attorney General and the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General. I have been in this role for nine months and lead a multi-disciplinary team that supports the practice of Service Design across the sector, as well as the governance for the sector’s intranet and internet web presences.
My team provides expertise, advice, mentorship and oversight to assist business area clients across the sector with the design of services and processes based on a holistic, human-centred design (HCD) and evidence-based approach.
I have been in the British Columbia (BC) Public Service for 30 years, where I have held UX and Web Manager positions in several areas of government such as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training. I am also the former Manager of Service Design in the Government Digital Experience Division, Government Communications and Public Engagement, where I was part of the team that leads the service design practice for government, aligned with the BC Service Design Playbook.
In your opinion, what are the most important skills someone needs to excel in your field?
I truly believe that the best service designers are those who bring varied experience and transferable skills to their work.
They must have strong leadership skills through a coaching and mentoring approach; understand how to navigate government; bring empathy to the work they do, not only from a citizen’s perspective but from the perspective of their teams and colleagues as well; have a collaborative and experimental mindset; have strong facilitation and presentation skills in order to gain insights from participants around their experience with services and processes, and then be able to tell impactful stories about those experiences; be able to work in the open and share their insights and experiences with others; be able to demonstrate the value human-centred approaches brings to solving problems and decision making; have experience working with senior executive and understand how to use service design approaches to influence the way they think about decision making.
What is your favourite part of your job? What would you change if you could wave a magic wand?
I love the work I do! I am passionate about ensuring that BC is solving the right problems for citizens. I apply service design approaches and methodologies as a different way to think about these problems, and to ensure that the voice of the citizen is brought into the decision-making process. I am also a big subscriber to building capacity with other BC public servants and love to be able to share my service design expertise with people along with new ways of doing and thinking.
Now, if I had a magic wand…. I strongly believe we need to invest in our people! A hiring strategy that provides us with the opportunity to hire the expertise we need to support different ways of working and thinking in the public sector that promotes innovation; a culture change strategy to help shift the mindsets of public service employees to a growth mindset that promotes collaboration and experimentation; giving staff the tools and skills along with the permission, time and space that they need to experiment and take risks in their work.
What advice would you give to young public servants who are interested in a career in your field?
My advice would be to establish networks and partnerships with those who are leading human-centred design/service design in the organisation you want to work in; find a mentor; join communities of practice to expand your knowledge and skillsets; volunteer or seek out projects that will build your skills in human-centred design and design thinking; have a curious mindset and look for ways to build on your experiences by working with a variety of people in different areas within your organisation; just start applying human-centred design principles to everything you do — his provides the opportunity to practice their design skills and helps to build their own capacity. — Deanna Young
Twitter: @deannacusack
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanna-young-ab2146195/
(Picture credit: Unsplash)
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