Experiment more! – Finance Focus
That is the call from Signe Lyck, project manager for Future Work Lab (FWL) in Copenhagen. Over the course of a year, FWL has carried out several different experiments within working life and the working environment. – Small changes can produce big results, says Lyck.
COPENHAGEN: – Experimenting has proven to work well and is a particularly good method in a complex working life that is constantly changing, says Lyck. We meet her during FWL’s closing conference. Her results of close to a year of experimentation are presented.
Where is FWL? The Future Work Lab was established on the initiative of the Danish Financial Association, which together with the Danish Insurance Association and the Financial Sector Employers’ Association received support for the project from Velliv Foreningen. Throughout the year, in collaboration with academia, a number of experiments were to be carried out at various workplaces. The aim was to create new knowledge and tools to strengthen mental health in the digital working life of the future.
In total, nine experiments were performed. Lykke believes experiments can be a good tool in change work.
People are tired of changes coming from above.
Signe Lyck, FWL
– People are tired of implementation and changes that come from above. Then, for a limited period, you can test something that is rooted and developed in collaboration between management and employees. By trying things for a shorter period of time, it is easier to get employees on board. We have also set relatively small measures can produce big changes, says Lyck.
She points to one of the experiments in which employees in a department in Nordea had to go for a walk with a random colleague once a week for six weeks. They could talk about whatever they wanted, but the times for the trips were fixed.
– It had a very good effect and created enthusiasm among the participants, says Lyck, who believes that the sum of many small micro changes in everyday work has a great overall effect.
BETTER INSIGHT INTO CULTURE
It can often be difficult to imagine that things can be different at work. This can be solved by experimenting.
– Then other things come up during the day, and you see the culture in the workplace better. It often turns out that what you thought was a problem is not, but is something else entirely. Through an experiment, you get more information about how the workplace actually works.
Although FWL is now history, the results continue to deliver. On the website futureworklab.dk there are guides to the various experiments FWL carries out, there will also be podcasts and other content to inform and inspire others to experiment.
– I have started so many small dry ones that this may spread like ripples in the water in the future. I want people for our experiments and adapt them to my own organization, or try to create my own organizations, concludes Lyck.
HOW TO DEVELOP AN EXPERIMENT
FWL had working life researchers on board in its experiments, but this is also something you can test out locally in your own workplace.
FIRST ANALYZE
1. Define starting point
Define the starting point for the experiment. It could, for example, be a desire for better cohesion in the department.
2. Interviews
Here you must clarify what the actual challenges are. Interview four to six employees as well as team leaders and other relevant players. Things to bring are:
- How do you experience this in everyday life?
- Do you recognize our description?
- Is it a challenge for you?
- Do you experience it differently from what we have described?
3. Analyze challenges
Collect and analyze results from the interviews. Define the problem area the experiment will be about.
DESIGN THE EXPERIMENT
1. Define should and expected learning outcomes
- Why do something different?
- What will change if the experiment is successful?
- What do we want to learn?
2. Find out what to do
- Brainstorm with many ideas about what experiments should be carried out.
- Is it research in the field?
- Listen to social media and be aware of ideas around the theme from the network.
- Consult with others who may have a good understanding of the topic, such as researchers or other experts.
From all collected ideas, you choose the best one and proceed with it.
3. The practical
- What will the idea require in practical terms?
- How long will the experiment last? FWL’s experience shows that five weeks is a good minimum.
- Is there any time that is particularly good?
- Look through the interviews to find a practical thing to consider.
- What should the experiment be called?
4. Write experiments and test ideas with participants
- What should the participants do and why?
- Let the participants have as much input as possible on content, practical implementation and so on.
5. Plan the experimental period
It is necessary to meet types during the experiment:
- Kick-off, where the participants are presented with the final trial and what they have to do.
- Pit-stops about every other week, where it is possible to adjust the experiment.
6. Evaluation
Plan evaluation from the beginning so that it does not disappear along the way. I rate almost as important as experiments themselves.
- How would you rate? Interviewing? Questionnaires? Who carries out the evaluation?
- How should the evaluation be presented, and how should the participants be allowed to comment on the evaluation?
7. That around
In order to succeed with the experiment, it is important to be anchored in the management.
- With whom should it be anchored?
- How do you anchor it?
The experience from FWL shows that good support from the management, not least from the immediate manager, is important in order to carry out experiments.
Also think through how experiments should be communicated in the rest of the organization, both before, during and after experiments.