Co-Designing Strategy: Reducing risk of change.
In 2013, J5 was founded with a simple yet powerful idea: to better understand the connection between organizational purpose and the need for people to feel engaged in their work. My original hypothesis was that if an organization engaged more deeply with it’s employees, it could ignite a sense of belonging and commitment that would ripple throughout the entire organization. My vision of creating workplaces where people looked forward to monday mornings was motivated by my own intrinsic need to be part of communities where I felt seen, heard and appreciated.
Fast forward 12 years, I now work with diverse teams across different sectors on the much bigger challenge of managing change. Change is a constant, one that for many people can feel overwhelming. Solving this problem goes beyond employee engagement and purpose; it requires equipping leaders, employees and customers with practical tools to thrive in the face of uncertainty. One of my A-ha moments has been the realization that the ability to adapt is as important as the work itself - so I have dedicated myself to building new systems and structures that enable employees to embrace change so everyone can thrive and benefit.
We all acknowledge that change is essential, however it can stir up fear and anxiety in people who crave the familiar. When predictable patterns are disrupted, uncertainty makes people feel vulnerable, unsettled, and unsure of the future. A 2019 study published in Frontiers in Psychology revealed that, when changes are introduced without clear communication or involvement, employees experience feelings of insecurity, ambiguity, and a loss of control. This leads to heightened stress, lower job satisfaction, and in some cases, burnout. "Change fatigue" drains our productivity, weakens trust with co-workers, and fosters disengagement across the entire organization. However, the study also highlighted that effective strategies, strong leaders, and ongoing support significantly reduces negative effects.
My clients often ask: "How can we better enable change?"
Let me start by saying that before I started J5, I worked at a traditional management consultancy with a strong track record and reputation. Their value proposition was made up of senior practitioners that facilitated top down approaches to strategy supported by highly technical consultants armed with industry best practices and thought leadership built over time from hundreds of similar projects. The downside of this approach is that many of these decisions are made without involving or consulting with the people most affected by them. At J5, our process flips this model in favour of a more participatory, inclusive process that starts in the board room and goes all the way down to the front line. It shifts the narrative from "change is happening to us" to "we are part of the change," giving everyone a sense of ownership that dramatically improves engagement and outcomes.
What is Co-Design?
At it’s heart, co-design is a collaborative, human-centric approach to enabling, not managing change. As I mentioned earlier, traditional strategy is often confined to the executive suite, with little input from employees, customers, suppliers or partners - maybe they send out an online survey or two. This leads to a disconnect between leadership’s vision and the actual needs of those affected, which inevitably results in resistance during implementation because the strategy typically does not consider organizational maturity or readiness. It emphasizes the question of “what should we do”, underestimating the time and effort needed to answer the more important question of “can we do it”.
Co-design offers an alternative that brings together key stakeholders—employees, customers, and partners—to co-create strategy and implementation early and often. This process ensures strategy is grounded in the lived experience and realities of the people accountable for implementing it, creating an environment where those involved are more likely to support the strategy because they helped shape it. By embedding continuous feedback loops and co-designing strategies more often, the organization can adjust course quickly, ensuring it remains relevant and competitive, even as external conditions change.
This agile approach to strategy fosters stronger relationships with stakeholders, promoting cultures of innovation, and reduces the risk of making decisions based on organizational assumptions and biases about the future. Ultimately, the organization becomes more resilient, with the ability to navigate shifts in the market, and better positioned to seize emerging opportunities. This philosophy is at the heart of the Social Impact Lab Alberta, a collaborative project created by our team at J5 and the United Way of Calgary to transform how social challenges are addressed by placing the community in the driver’s seat of the design process.
From the outset, we recognized that real change requires more than good intentions or a top-down approach. It required listening to the voices of those who are directly affected. Using co-design principles, we engaged a diverse cross-section of the community—from individuals and families to local organizations and key stakeholders—to co-create a strategy that ensured the project’s success and fosters widespread adoption. Through this collaborative process, we continue to tap into the lived experiences and insights of community, crafting tailored solutions that meet the needs of today but also pave the way for a more resilient, connected, and empowered future. The Social Impact Lab Alberta is not just a project; it’s a movement for community-driven change powered by co-design.
The Hidden Costs of Traditional, Top-Down Change
Organizations that use traditional top-down approaches are setting themselves up for following risks:
Employee Turnover: Employees who feel disconnected from strategic decisions are more likely to disengage, leading to higher turnover rates. This disconnect can result in dissatisfaction, increased attrition, and the high costs of hiring and training new staff.
Loss of Trust: When strategies don’t align with customer or employee needs, it can erode trust and loyalty. Customers notice when businesses fail to adapt, and they are quick to move on if their needs are not met.
Wasted Resources: Time, money, and effort are often wasted on poorly conceived initiatives that don’t consider stakeholder input. This leads to costly revisions and, in the worst cases, failed projects.
How Co-Design Reduces the Risks of Change
In contrast, co-design reduces these risks by engaging stakeholders early and ensuring that strategies are both practical and aligned with on-the-ground realities. The beauty of co-design is that it inherently minimizes the risks associated with change. Here are some examples of how we’ve seen this in action:
Patient Experience
J5 worked with a healthcare provider to redesign their patient intake process using service design principles. By involving nurses, administrative staff, and patients in the process, we ensured the new strategy and system was intuitive and met everyone's needs. This participatory process led to minimal resistance during implementation, reducing the need for extensive change management.
Passenger Experience
In another case, we collaborated with an airport to enhance passenger experiences. During the design phase, we engaged staff and passengers—particularly those with accessibility needs to co-create new touchpoints. This early involvement allowed us to address issues before implementation, reducing complaints and the high cost of re-work and lost time during the rollout.
Employee Experience
For a foundation transitioning to new ways of working with technology, we co-created an employee experience and roadmap with staff. Instead of dictating new digital standards and policies, we worked with employees to design a strategy that met their needs. This process reduced resistance to the transition and eliminated the need for a large-scale change management plan.
How to implement Co-Design inside your organization
Co-design isn’t a one-off event; it’s an ongoing, iterative process. Here’s how we recommend organizations get started:
Deep Listening and Empathy Building: Begin by conducting interviews, workshops, and surveys to gather insights from employees, customers, and other key stakeholders. The goal is to understand their challenges, needs, and concerns deeply. I personally love to use this technique to explore the root cause of what people need and why.
Co-Creation Workshops: Host collaborative workshops that bring employees, customers, and leadership together. These sessions foster brainstorming, prototyping, and idea-sharing, allowing stakeholders to shape the strategy from the outset.
Iterative Feedback and Testing: Regularly test and refine strategic ideas with input from those who will be impacted. Create versions of your ideas or concepts where people can make suggestions and improvements - we call these prototypes or minimum viable systems.
Align Goals with Stakeholder Needs: Use co-design to align your organizational goals with the priorities of employees and customers. This ensures that your strategy resonates with those who matter most.
Create Shared Ownership: Perhaps the greatest benefit of co-design is the shared ownership it fosters. When people are involved in shaping the strategy, they are more invested in its success.
Success Story: Alberta Continuing Care Association (ACCA)
The Alberta Continuing Care Association (ACCA), a non-profit representing care providers in Alberta, faced evolving industry challenges. To navigate these changes, the Board of Directors hired Denise Milne as Executive Director to lead a transformation. Denise understood that for the ACCA to thrive, member input was crucial. So, instead of relying on a top-down approach, she partnered with J5 to co-create a new strategy with ACCA members.
We facilitated workshops, interviews, and collaborative sessions that brought together care providers, staff, and leadership. The resulting strategy wasn’t just a top-down directive—it was shaped by those who knew the industry best. The process fostered trust, transparency, and engagement, positioning the ACCA to succeed in a rapidly changing environment.
By engaging stakeholders from the start, ACCA avoided the costly revisions and rework that often result from traditional approaches. Co-design ensured that the strategy was practical, aligned with member needs, and embraced by everyone involved.
Conclusion: A Proven Path to Success
Co-design isn’t just a better way to develop strategy—it’s a more efficient and cost-effective way to manage change. By involving those most affected by your strategy early, you can build a stronger, more engaged organization ready to thrive in a fast changing world. If you are interested in learning more, please book a consultation here.
