THAT Conference 2023: Inviting People In

This slide deck is from my talk "Inviting People In" at THAT Conference 2023 in Wisconsin.

The rise of all-remote and hybrid work environments has affected our access to the collaborative environments we enjoyed when we were in person. It inadvertently builds walls that can silo us from our teammates. So it’s even more important that we make efforts to maintain connections and make our teammates feel genuinely welcomed. When people know they belong, teams can thrive, collaborate, and accomplish amazing things!

In this talk, I encourage attendees to take this opportunity as we redefine what hybrid working environments look like - to reflect on how we can ensure we’re inviting people in.

Transcript

1. 25 July 2023 | THAT Conference INVITING PEOPLE IN Michelle Chin Design Advocate, zeroheight @soysaucechin
2. Design system documentation made easy! Design systems aren’t easy • Creating design systems at scale -> Tough! • Getting adoption -> Oof! • Documenting things -> “I can’t even!”
5. ! Hello, I’m Michelle Design Advocate & Chair of the DEI Committee at zeroheight ❤ UX, Design Systems, DesignOps # Maryland -> Oakland, CA Twitter: @soysaucechin IG: @michelletalksdesign
6. Diverse teams are great! Unique ideas! Creative disagreements Diverse thought More productivity “Why Diverse and Inclusive Teams Are the Engines of Innovation” from Great Place to Work. Frans Johansson, June 2020.
11. Hey, can we chat over Slack and not meet? You Me Yeah, sure. Yesterday I finished the designs in Figma. Feel free to comment there. Me You Ok, will do. Today
12. Me You Me You Me You Me You We built “walls” that disrupted true collaboration This became our autopilot
15. I agree, but it’s a lot of work. Well, I’m not sure where to start. Actually, I’m really busy. HR is working on this, let’s wait to see what they say. It’ll take some work, but it’s important. That might take awhile. You can still take action, though. The e!ort doesn’t have to be big. There are things you can fit in. No worries, we’ll cover that in this talk!
16. Step 1. Reflect on who you are • Before you can invite others in, you need to understand who you are and who your team is. • The Positionality wheel by Lesley-Anne Noel Languages I speak & why Who am I? Race & Ethnicity Age Gender & Sexuality Ability / Disability Marital Status What do I do for a living? Level of education Class or status today Class or status as a child Parental Status Where I grew up “Learning to Recognize Exclusion” by Lesley-Ann Noel and Marcelo Paiva (Journal of Usability Studies, Vol 16. Issue 2. Feb 2021.
17. Positionality Wheel Languages I speak & why Who am I? Race & Ethnicity Age Gender & Sexuality Ability / Disability Marital Status What do I do for a living? Level of education Class or status today Class or status as a child Parental Status Where I grew up
18. Positionality Wheel Languages I speak & why Who am I? Race & Ethnicity Age Gender & Sexuality Ability / Disability Marital Status What do I do for a living? Level of education Class or status today Class or status as a child Parental Status Where I grew up Asian American Masters in UX Chinese & Japanese Neuro- diverse
19. As a team activity Languages I speak & why Race & Ethnicity Age Gender & Sexuality Ability / Disability Marital Status What do I do for a living? Level of education Class or status today Class or status as a child Parental Status Where I grew up Who are we?
20. Step 2. Identify perspectives you’re missing Positionality Wheel review • Question: “What are other aspects unlike mine? • It’s not just opposites. Life isn’t binary. • The gaps are who you could invite in Languages I speak & why English English English English English Spanish Ukrainian Hindi High school Spanish ?? ?? ??
21. Inviting people in takes intention and some effort. It doesn’t have to happen overnight.
22. Step 3. Inviting people in Quick fixes Long-term e!orts Usability testing Ask for feedback within your company Hire and cultivate a “full perspective” team
23. Usability testing • Test your site or product with your users • Invite participants that reflect your users • Invite people who’s perspectives were missing from the design process
24. Usability testing • Be an advocate for the unrepresented • Ask if any user research or usability testing is happening • Ask how people are recruited; recommend including a diverse group Hey, out of curiosity, what’s the participant recruiting process like?
25. Ask for feedback within your company • Talk to other teams for feedback and perspectives you might not have • Customer success, Sales, Marketing, Employee Resource Groups Languages I speak & why English Spanish Ukrainian Hindi East Asian languages Arabic languages German
26. Hire a “full-perspective” team • This can take e!ort and time • Can be going out of your way - a lot of systems in place provide shortcuts, but might not be equitable. • The value it provides is worth it!
27. It’s not about ticking all the boxes • Creating a “full perspective” team isn’t just getting to this step. • In many ways it’s just the beginning • This is the “invite”
28. Inviting people __ in
29. Not fitting in
30. Feeling like I didn’t belong
31. Feeling like I didn’t belong
32. How could he say those things?! I have to say something and defend my race. Everyone is looking at me to validate this! How do I stay calm and not blow up!? I hope this doesn’t end in retaliation. My internal reaction all at once
33. Let’s avoid this
34. Step 4. Really inviting people in Send invites Think about dietary needs Welcome guests Engage in conversation Reflect on the enriching, fun evening
35. When your new hire arrives Make them feel welcome • Pair them up with a buddy for onboarding • Politely identify any accommodations they might need • Listen and take a genuine interest in the conversation Is there anything I can get you to ensure you can be successful here?
36. Engage in conversation Hear di!erent perspectives • Be open to hearing new ideas • Avoid dismissing or judging • Act with curiosity
37. Cultivate conversation Build a safe space and encourage contribution • Build psychological safety • Help dismantle biases • Listen and make space for people Psychological safety • The ability to be yourself without fearing negative consequences because of who you are. • You can take risks without fear of judgement. • Teammates feel accepted and respected.
38. Cultivate conversation Build a safe space and encourage contribution • Donut chats • Onboarding 1-1s with teammates • Engaging in conversations over Slack; react with emojis
39. Cultivate conversation Build a safe space and encourage contribution happened to notice that beyond tellerrand is coming up pretty soon. i hope you're feeling good about making the trip but let me know if talking to someone else who struggles with anxiety would be helpful. Awesome co-worker Michelle aww thanks so much, you o!ering this means a lot! The other day
40. Foster a psychologically safe team
41. Foster a psychologically safe team
42. Foster a psychologically safe team • Don’t be afraid - the challenge that you feel is nothing compared to the challenge of other marginalized people • Lead by example • Recognize the weight people carry when they’re the only one. • Support and encourage your team through this • Have conversations around what having a safe space to talk looks like for your team
43. Reflect on things • Check in with yourself, your team - how did that go? • What could go better? • What moments can be celebrated? (Don’t forget to celebrate them!)
44. B.R.I.D.G.E. • Be uncomfortable • Reflect (on what you don’t know) • Invite feedback • Defensiveness doesn’t help • Grow from your mistakes • Expect that change takes time From: Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work by Ruchika Tulshyan
45. Step 5. Start small, try today • Complete the positionality wheel • Engage in conversations with people who are unlike you. • Take your time and don’t get discouraged. This can be awkward, but it gets easier. No one will fault you for trying!
46. Thanks, everyone! Connect with me; I look forward to hearing how you invited people in! bit.ly/michelletchin