PHASE 1
UNDERSTAND
Creative workshops
AIM
To hear the real stories and experiences of working class advertising professionals in the industry.
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RATIONALE FOR EXERCISES
We knew the subject matter could provoke difficult memories and events, and so we picked exercises promoting a sense of safety, camaraderie and also providing a springboard for further discussion.
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See the workshop below.
Hiring Manager interviews
How do you encourage busy people you've never met to speak on a provocative subject?
Conscious of busy schedules, interviews had a 30 minute maximum. The result? We attracted participants from a variety of roles and agencies.
Time was not on our side and we had to put interviewees at ease, quickly. We began interviews with a structured, interactive exercise online, so they could relax. We presented participants with a 4 quadrant matrix along two axes of ‘importance’ and ‘difficulty in finding’ (see image above).
We asked the hiring managers to write on sticky notes the skills, qualities and attributes they looked for when hiring senior managers. We then asked them to place these in the quadrants in order of importance and how difficult they were to find.
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The matrix acted as an icebreaker because it was sufficiently different. The interviewer talking the participant through the exercise helped build rapport naturally. The interviewee provided an understanding into their challenges whilst commenting on their actions. These responses paved the way for unstructured, free flowing questions and conversation.