How often have you approached a problem with a solution in mind? We have all been guilty of this sometimes, but what if the solution we land upon doesn’t fix the problem? What if there is a ‘better’ solution? Maybe, we don’t even know what the problem really is.
The Problem
Let’s begin with an anecdote, inspired by a real event: Organisation X had a problem, they would zealously recruit new hires for their technology team and give them a few months of training and then these new joiners would suddenly leave. A lot of quick fixes were implemented, a lot of money was spent, some solutions worked temporarily, and some did not work at all. Attrition among the newly recruited technologists continued to increase.
The real problem that was discovered upon later analysis was the employee onboarding and orientation process (which had stayed the same over many years) was not effective at all. ~This led to most of the new joiners not forming a connection with the organisation and its purpose, which then meant they got bored easily in the first few months and left. However, for the longest time, no one truly wanted to understand and focus on what the problem was.
Have you seen this happen in your teams or organisation? An issue or incident occurs, and we run towards a solution, without truly stepping back and assessing the problem first.
This aspect of not truly understanding a problem or its root cause, using the same solutions repeatedly, or fast-forwarding to the quick fix, is very common across various functions and departments in organisations.
Of course, there are occasions when a short-term fix to stabilise a team, process or function is necessary. However, to ensure medium-to-long-term success, it is important to spend time exploring problems, root causes and new solutions, while consciously shedding the sunk cost syndrome mindset of “now that we have decided this, we just need to make this work” or “let’s do this because we’ve always done it this way”.
The Solution
We, the People & Organisational Performance (P&OP) team within the consulting division of Davies, believe that problem-solving is a science. Based on our research, IP and having worked with organisations across various industries, we understand that great solutions only emerge when you use an engineer’s analytical approach to problem identification and solutions. By following the well-researched ‘Double Diamond’ approach, teams and organisations can open doors for creative and out-of-the-box thinking and help people come together to find innovative and collaborative approaches that address and remediate problems.
In addition, we focus on the analytical approach of defining a problem, understanding the root cause, various patterns of thinking and how they help problem-solving by helping you come up with the most creative yet practical solutions. We combine this with our expertise in designing relevant case studies for the teams to demonstrate how the approach can work in real time.
Recently we collaborated with our specialist Banking and Markets (B&M) team in the UK and India, to deliver a workshop for our client in Bangalore. We provided them with a 2-hour session on problem-solving and conceptual agility using our combined expertise and in-person delivery. The feedback from the client was exemplary.
This offering comprised market-leading content and IP from our P&OP team and a relevant technical case study exercise from our B&M team.
“The concepts were totally new, and it was very interactive,” – client.
If you, your team, or your organisation would like to explore how we might be able to support you with designing and delivering high-impact interventions, please contact us here.
