Challenge
Leadership at Spur Reply, a go-to-market consulting company, believed that equipping their consultants with Design Thinking capabilities would help them deliver superior results to clients, differentiating the company in a crowded field of competitors.
They also recognized the need to bolster their own innovation and growth capabilities with new collaboration skills.
Approach
In creating a Design Thinking training program for the company, SALT Collaboratory first sought to understand the unique needs of its consultants. After a series of interviews, a custom program was created to equip consultants with the skills needed to work in a more innovative and collaborative manner.
With support from Leadership, the Spur Reply Design Thinking training program was launched to:
Train consultants and internal team members in the Design Thinking framework and methods from the LUMA System
Address internal company challenges as part of the training experience to generate additional value from the program
Provide coaching to support consultant integration of Design Thinking into client engagements
Build an internal team of Design Thinking champions to serve as a resource for those acquiring the skills
Develop fluency in Design Thinking facilitation in remote and hybrid settings using virtual collaboration plaforms, e.g. Mural
Results
The consulting company saw great returns on their investment in the first 3 years of the training program. They continue to invest in Design Thinking adoption across service lines and levels in partnership with Spur Reply.
Design Thinking Program has had a wide-reaching impact:
25+ training cohorts
250+ consultants trained in Design Thinking fundamentals
20+ consultants trained as advanced Design Thinking practitioners
4 consultants trained as Design Thinking instructors
Design Thinking is now incorporated into consulting engagements, delighting clients and contributing directly to additional work
Expanded consultant skillset in Design Thinking methods and MURAL contributes to higher levels of confidence and skill in remote/hybrid delivery of complex engagements
"This training keeps me relevant. The course is jam-packed with helpful problem-solving methodologies. It is an excellent resource! I really enjoyed learning the high-level ideas & concepts, as well as working through hands-on objective-driven exercises."
Training Participant, Spur Reply
