1. Introduction
In a rapidly evolving world, infrastructure is turning synonymous with care. Organisations are expanding from business operations to active value systems. Design can draw distinctions between competitive organisations - from tangible infrastructure to its intangible experiences. Employees are arguably the most crucial and complex resource of an organisation. The experience of employee is critical for shaping organisational success (Reference Vereb, Krajcsák and KozákVereb, Krajcsák, & Kozák, 2025) (Reference Mosquera and SoaresMosquera & Soares, 2025). Employee lifecycle begins with the induction experience i.e., the first impression provided by the organisation (Reference Borman, Ilgen and KlimoskiBorman, Ilgen, & Klimoski, 2003). This initial interaction sets the tone for their overall journey and can significantly impact motivation and long-term commitment. In many organisations, induction is not perceived as the experience of onboarding, but a singular or series of events conducted as a compliance measure to convey organisation vision, mission and code of ethics (Reference Mosquera and SoaresMosquera & Soares, 2025). This creates a transactional relationship between employees and the organisation - lacking expressions of care or belonging. This negatively affects employee engagement, productivity and even retention (Reference Constantin and BaiasConstantin & Baias, 2015).
Design is increasingly recognized as a key driver in shaping employee experiences (Reference Ratkal and PatankarRatkal & Patankar, 2025) (Reference Melazzini and CarellaMelazzini & Carella, 2024). Within this context, service design offers a holistic approach to design organisational services by integrating people, processes, and environments (Reference Mahamuni and LoboMahamuni & Lobo, 2025). Rooted in human-centred design, service design focuses on orchestrating policies, touchpoints, and interactions to create seamless experiences. As defined by (Reference Dieter FenselDieter Fensel, 2011), service design is:
“The activity of planning and organizing people, infrastructure, communication, and material components of a service to improve its quality and the interaction between provider and user.”
This makes service design particularly relevant for employee experience, where multiple stakeholders, complex processes, and intangible interactions converge. Service Design inherently involves relationships between end-users, organisational interfaces and touchpoints, and designing for their interactions and experiences (Reference Meroni and SangiorgiMeroni & Sangiorgi, 2011). As organisations strive to create positive experiences, service design becomes essential for shaping meaningful interactions throughout the employee lifecycle. Viewing induction as an organisational service, provided by organisation to onboard new employees can prove to be deeply rewarding for employees and the multiple stakeholders that make an organisation (Reference MitrofanovaMitrofanova, 2023).
The induction programme of a large organisation was assessed as a service offered by the organisation to its new employees, through a mixed-method multi-stakeholder approach. The paper focuses on the experiences of the researchers undertaking the mixed method service assessment methodology. The paper does not elaborate on the findings of the assessment but rather reflects on service design practice in a large multinational organisation in information technology consulting. The reflections were a precursory step towards enhancing or reimagining the induction programme and other organisational services from a service design lens. We believe the design community would deeply benefit from the practitioner experiences of implementing service design theoretical frameworks in business contexts.
2. Context
A large multinational organisation in information technology consulting was onboarding eighty graduates through an induction programme. The programme spanned across seven weeks and was administered by the Human Resources (HR) team, in accordance with the objectives of organisation leadership and policy. The induction programme involved introductory talks by heads of different verticals of the organisation, allocation of laptop & company merchandise, visits to brand experience museums, inducted into the organisational ecosystem, and a problem challenge group project under the supervision of an assigned mentor.
The design research team were approached to assess the induction programme, and by extension explore ways to enhance employee onboarding as an organisational service. For this purpose, the design research team were made of aware of organisational mechanisms and operational protocols of the induction programme. Accordingly, the design research team devised a holistic assessment methodology.
3. Assessment methodology
To assess the induction programme, the researchers embraced the service design lens. Service design advocates for a holistic understanding of services, prioritising the perspectives of all stakeholders involved in the sequential progression of the service. Services span across timelines through interconnected touchpoints and interactions. These collectively shape the experience of the service users i.e., the newly recruited employees. A mixed-methods approach was deployed to assess the induction programme as an organisational service for new employees. The assessment captured behavioural and attitudinal aspects through qualitative and quantitative means as illustrated in Figure 1. The assessment combined surveys, fly-on-the-wall observations, and stakeholder interviews. Insights were synthesized and shared with HR and leadership teams, on a weekly basis. This fostered a culture of continuous improvement. A comprehensive report with the triangulated insights from different assessments methods, over the duration of complete induction programme was also created for organisation leadership.
Service experience assessment methodology
Figure 1 Long description
The flowchart illustrates the service experience assessment methodology for new joiners. It is divided into three main sections: Service Assessment During, Service Assessment Post, and Induction program. Panel A: The first section, Service Assessment During, starts with Kick-off Discussion with Leadership, followed by Experience Surveys with new joiners, Fly-on-the-wall Observations of onboarding, and Sharing weekly assessment reports with leadership. Panel B: The second section, Service Assessment Post, includes Interviews with new joiners, Interviews with Session Speakers, and Secondary Research & Trends mapping. Panel C: The third section, Induction program, shows the comprehensive Service Experience Assessment Report Creation. The flowchart uses arrows to indicate the flow of processes and interactions between different assessment methods and stakeholders.
3.1. Survey design & analysis
The events and activities of the induction programme was guided by goals articulated by the organising HR team. Surveys were created to assess the experience of new employees and the extent of realisation of articulated programme goals - on a weekly basis. Seven weekly surveys were designed to understand the realisation of the activities and schedule of the week. An overall survey on the cumulative experience of the induction programme was also created. The overall survey was based on critical parameters sourced from literature review - employee integration dimensions such as organisational clarity, acculturation and collaboration, and service experience indicators such as awareness, reliability and responsiveness.
The surveys were made online, on the organisation’s enterprise software and designed to take a maximum of 5 minutes. The survey primarily involved mandatory questions on the events & activities of the week with a five-point Likert scale. Open-ended questions about favourite aspects, challenges and unresolved doubts were also included in each survey, but on an optional basis.
The survey was ensured to have clarity and ease of response, using unambiguous and simple language, maintaining a neutral tone, and ensuring logical flow of questions to minimize cognitive load.
The surveys were administered by the organising HR team. Responses of the new employees were anonymised i.e., cleared of all personally identifiable information, prior to analysis by the design research team. The analysis of questions with a Likert scale followed a statistical analysis – identifying the range of satisfaction with events for the entire batch, and along demographic differences like gender and educational credentials. The responses to open-ended questions were sorted over a digital collaboration whiteboard and grouped to derive a list of reported favourites, challenges and doubts. The mean satisfaction of all events experienced by all new employees in the week was referred to as the weekly satisfaction index. The weekly satisfaction indices were also compared to understand the emotional and behavioural progression of the induction programme.
3.2. Fly-on-the-wall observations
The researchers documented the intangible, non-measurable aspects of the induction experience like engagement of the new employees, socio-emotional dynamics, group behaviours and real-time realisation of the induction programme through naturalistic observations. Two researchers conducted observations as silent spectators akin to a fly-on-the-wall for different events of the induction programme. The organising HR team were made aware and had consented to the unobtrusive participation of the two researchers. The AEIOU (activity, environment, individual, objects, understanding) framework, proposed by Doblin innovation consultants Rick E. Robinson, Ilya Prokopoff, John Cain, and Julie Pokorny in 1991 served as guideline for fly-on-the-wall observations (Reference Martin and HaningtonMartin & Hanington, 2012). Inferences were drawn from all the observations noted in a spreadsheet template. Affinity mapping was carried out over a digital collaboration whiteboard to cluster observed findings into suitable areas of implementation – ambiance, seating, audio-video setup, doubts expressed and the like. Frequent discussions were held among the design research team members, to learn about the findings from the observations.
3.3. Introspection as a method to self-reflect mentoring journey
A key component of the induction programme was a problem challenge group project under the supervision of an assigned mentor. This involved new employees working in teams on real-world problem statements to gain hands-on experience. Each team was mentored by a senior employee who had designed their specific problem statement. Drawing on introspection as a method (Reference Xue and KootenXue & Kooten, 2023), one of the project mentors engaged in continuous self-reflection throughout their seven weeks mentoring journey. This aimed to articulate the sequence of steps undertaken to supervise the group of new employees, their thought process and expectations. This served as assessment of the experience of the mentor as a stakeholder in the induction programme.
3.4. Interviews with new employees
To understand the overall experience of undergoing the induction programme, new employees were interviewed. Convenience sampling was the means of selection. An interview protocol was made outlining questions and key areas of focus – induction experience, highlights, challenges and opportunities for improvement. Semi-structured interviews spanning around forty minutes were conducted with the three new employees who consented to discussing their experience. The interview transcripts were analysed with the support of AI software (MS co-pilot GPT 4 Model) to identify experience highlights, challenges and other relevant insights. The interviewed employees had provided informed consent acknowledging that AI tools would be used for analysing their responses. All personally identifiable information was removed prior to AI processing to ensure confidentiality. The researchers manually scrutinised the output to validate the findings.
3.5. Interviews with session speakers
Heads of different organisational verticals who presented during the induction programme were interviewed. An interview protocol was made outlining questions and key areas of focus – presentation experience, preparation for the talk, challenges and opportunities for improvement and post presentation interactions, if any. Semi-structured interviews spanning thirty minutes were conducted with two session speakers, chosen via convenience sampling. The interview transcripts were analysed with the support of AI software (MS co-pilot GPT 4 Model) to identify experience highlights, challenges and other relevant insights.
3.6. Communication audit
Communication artefacts shared with the new employees were consentingly sourced and analysed. Mails, programme schedules, learning documents and similar content were studied to understand the communication channels throughout the induction programme.
3.7. Secondary research on ‘future of work’
The researchers conducted extensive secondary research on the projected futures of work and workplace, trends affecting work culture. This knowledge served as a critical reference in the service experience assessment and directions for reimagining the induction programme.
3.8. Assessment reports creation and design artefacts creation: the journey of a new employee, stakeholder map & SWOT analysis
The collected responses from seven weekly surveys were analysed to create reports comprising of weekly satisfaction index, identified strong areas, weak areas and unresolved doubts of the new employees in that week.
Insights from all design methods were triangulated to create a comprehensive report. The triangulation involved validating multiple findings from different assessment methods and correlating with experiences of different stakeholders. For instance, the new employees expressed a need for informal exchanges with their prospective managers; session speakers were wary about the new employees feeling comfortable asking questions in front of their new peers. This warranted for new means to capture and address these concerns. Through recurring discussions, the design research team deliberated on learnings to gather and present a holistic perspective in the comprehensive report. The comprehensive report also comprised of suitable service design artefacts – journey map, stakeholder map and a SWOT analysis.
The journey map followed a structure of event-thoughts-gains-pains. Key events from the induction programme were listed, and outlined for thoughts, gains & pains from the perspective of a new employee. These included, but were not limited to, introductory talks, visits to brand experience museum, getting laptop ready and working on the problem challenge. The thoughts, gains & pains were sourced from surveys, observed findings as well as learnings from interviews of new employees.
The stakeholder map was designed to depict all involved stakeholders of the induction programme. This was created from learnings sourced from the induction programme schedule, observations and stakeholder interviews.
SWOT analysis was conducted identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the induction programme. A list of strengths and weaknesses was made by clustering the strong and weak areas from weekly surveys and learnings from observations. The projected futures of work and workplace, and trends affecting work culture informed the threats and opportunities for enhancing the induction programme.
4. Findings from the assessment
The surveys conducted every week helped understand the collective experience of the week - highlights, challenges, and areas requiring organisational support. Certain events involving visits to brand experience museums, and factories were deeply praised by new employees. Weeks involving many sensorial experiences or interactions with senior leadership scored higher satisfaction scores. The change of environment from an academic institution to a corporate organisation involved considerable transition. New employees learnt to cope with limited timelines, infrastructural differences, communication mechanisms and other policies of their new company. The surveys help pinpoint such experiential hurdles. The surveys also emerged as a means for new employees to express doubts or challenges, which they may not be able to express otherwise.
Observations helped researcher uncover internalised behaviours and actions. For instance, new employees were excited to receive branded merchandise on a stage, from the organisation leadership. Likewise, through interviews the researchers were able to understand specific moments that made the induction programme memorable. The experiences of meeting like-minded peers, collectively solving a problem challenge and gradually assimilating into the organisation were highly prized. The introspection-based reflections from the mentor indicated assumptions and expectations from the programme organisers for better coordination. The reflections from mentor emphasised on the role key stakeholders like mentors can play in shaping new employee experiences. The reflections of the mentor were also essential for a multi-stakeholder understanding of the induction program. Interviews of new employees and session speakers further contributed towards understanding attitudinal aspects of the experience - the emotional states, feelings and perceptions of different events of the induction programme. Overall, the holistic assessment of the induction programme was found to be a fruitful exercise. The HR teams and leadership were satisfied with the identified strengths and made proactive plans to address the programme shortcomings. The organising HR team also expressed eagerness to implement the emergent recommendations.
5. Reflections about the assessment methodology
5.1. Reflections from survey design and analysis
From their past experiences, the design research team was well-acquainted with the perceptions surrounding quantitative surveys. The researchers deliberated upon having a single survey towards the end of the seven-week induction programme. However, this survey would have been lengthy and demanded an unrealistic recalling from the new employees. A short weekly survey was deemed more appropriate. This also offered the advantage of timely course correction. Efforts were also taken to ensure the surveys followed an empathetic tone and not arouse dismissal or contempt. The anonymised survey responses recurringly revealed a completion time of less than 2 minutes. Though a dedicated time slot of 10 minutes was allocated, the quick completion time initially made the researchers question the veracity of the survey. Through the analysis of survey responses, the researchers were able to gain better understanding of the limitations of self-reported quantitative data. However, worded responses in the open-ended questions allayed the researchers’ reservations. In some cases, when responses to open-ended questions lacked sufficient detail, it was difficult to interpret their context and derive accurate meaning. As a result, the researchers felt a need to go back to the survey respondents to get clarity, although it was not practically possible. Such responses were sometimes discarded or interpreted based on the researcher’s judgment. Overall, the need of triangulating the findings from the survey with findings from the other data sources was deeply felt.
5.2. Reflections from conducting observations
Observing users in their context is a fundamental method in design, requiring minimal preparation of tangible artefacts. However, observations were not a traditional assessment practice in the organisation. Conducting observations raised doubts about its value and potential disturbance to programme proceedings. Creating an observation protocol established the focus and the unobtrusive process of the design research team. This also helped create assurance against functional interference and leadership buy-in towards the method. Since observations were conducted by two different researchers, the protocol aided in establishing a certain consistency. Yet observations continued to be a highly subjective exercise dependent on researcher’ prior experience, perspectives and states of energy. Prolonged periods of observations would often cause fatigue. Two researchers observed the same event from different vantage points, having different scopes of view and hence dissimilar observations. This was particularly seen with intangible momentary aspects like engagement or discomfort. The two researchers were practising service designers, who had to actively mute the problem-solving mindset and focus exclusively on the viewed reality.
Reporting naturalistic observations also called for an ethical discernment. For instance, viewing a password being typed is inappropriate. Surveys may fall short in assessing intangible aspects like employee attachment to the organisational brand. Observations helped overcome such limitations through the new employees’ interactions with newly received branded merchandise. Interestingly, most new employees barely took any notice of the researchers conducting observations. This came as a relief to the researchers who were previously concerned about the Hawthorne effect (Reference CoxCox, 2000). Observations emerged to be a highly advantageous exercise.
The proximity to the servicescape of the induction programme aided in capturing the intangible spirit of stakeholder behaviours, ambiance and the like. Relevant insights from the on-ground presence helped deciding directions of survey design, mentor introspection and interviews. The varied human limitations – scope of view, fatigue or bias, served as critical thought directions for the teams’ ongoing work on enhancing service observations with tech-based interventions (Reference Ganwani, Gaikwad, Jeengar, Lobo and MahamuniGanwani, Gaikwad, Jeengar, Lobo, & Mahamuni, 2025). The ethical distinction between observations and surveillance is intrinsically a researcher discernment.
5.3. Reflections from conducting interviews with new employees, session speakers and introspection of mentors
The induction programme involved many stakeholders in varying levels of participation. Interviewing employees aided in understanding the emotional and attitudinal aspects of individual experiences - learnings inaccessible through other assessment methods. Likewise, understanding the perspectives of service touchpoints i.e., session speakers and mentors via interviews and introspection methods were highly beneficial. The inclusion of such multi-stakeholder perspectives facilitated a holistic understanding of induction programme as an organisational service. Through their experience of conducting interviews, the researchers reiterate the axiom in design practice– there is no substitute to talking to users (Reference KennyKenny, 2019).
5.4. Reflections from reporting assessment findings
To arrive at a suitable format to report learnings, the researchers referred to several reports. The reports were to be understood by stakeholders from the HR vertical and leadership. Jargons and complex terminology from service design literature were simplified or avoided. All titles of the reports were supported with a one-line description of their meaning, and the process obtained to arrive at them. This ensured transparency to readers, without compromising research rigour. The analysis of weekly surveys and providing weekly reports to the HR and leadership, had an additional purpose to provide timely service recommendations and course corrections.
The researchers had gathered an exhaustive amount of data over seven weeks of the induction programme. The self-reported survey, the observations, the new employee interviews, the interviews with session speakers and self-reflections by mentors aimed at gathering distinct learnings. However, a moderate overlap was necessary to validate the learnings across one another. Triangulating these learnings involved considerable discussion among the researchers. Through extensive deliberations, suitable service design artefacts were designed for the comprehensive report – journey of a new employee, stakeholder map and SWOT analysis. The intent of including new employee journey in the assessment report, elaborating thoughts, feelings, pains and gains of the new employee, was to foreground the perspective of the service user- the new employee, within the induction experience. Organisational teams that are deeply involved in devising and delivering the program, often operate from a compliance lens and may not fully capture the lived experience of new employees. Representing the journey in this way ensured that the report did not merely evaluate processes but reflected the human experience behind them, making the voice of the new employee visible and actionable for stakeholders.
The inclusion of a stakeholder map in the assessment report aimed to make all actors involved in the induction programme visible and emphasised on the need to view the service holistically. Induction is not experienced in isolation, it is shaped by multiple stakeholders HR teams, mentors, leadership, session speakers, infrastructure support staff and new employees, each with distinct goals, expectations, and needs. By mapping these relationships, the report encouraged stakeholders to look beyond their own roles and consider the programme from diverse multi-stakeholder perspectives. This approach reinforced a core principle of service design: designing for interconnected experiences rather than siloed processes.
The inclusion of a SWOT analysis in the assessment report intended to offer a structured summary of the evaluation. By categorizing findings into strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, the analysis offered stakeholders an at-a-glance understanding of the current state of the induction programme and potential directions for its reimagination.
6. Discussion
This section elaborates on the key takeaways from this paper. We believe designers and researchers alike can be guided by these learnings to develop and undertake service experience assessments in business contexts.
6.1. Service assessment reveals not just ‘user satisfaction’ but it’s connection to underlying ‘policies, processes, touchpoints, interactions and servicescape’
Services are inherently continuous and multifaceted, unfolding over time through a series of interconnected touchpoints and interactions. They involve diverse stakeholders, each with distinct goals, expectations, and needs that must be thoughtfully considered. Empathy square approach (Reference Mahamuni, Meroni and PunekarMahamuni, Meroni, & Punekar, 2019) in Service Design can aid in identifying the multiple stakeholders of the service as – new employees - service user; session speakers, mentors, HR programme coordinators – service touchpoints; the organisation leadership as the service provider. It guided the researchers to assess the service from multi-stakeholder perspectives including new employees, session speakers and mentors. Connecting with the service touchpoints like session speakers and mentors, in addition to users of the service, helped in two-ways- first, to understand their role in the service, expectations and experiences; second, to triangulate findings about new employees’ experiences.
Service design offers a holistic framework for assessing and designing for experiences by focusing on five key elements: policies, processes, touchpoint ecosystem, interactions, and servicescape. Embracing the service design lens, helped the researchers uncover each of these elements. Each aspect from introductory talks by heads of different verticals of the organisation to the servicescape of the induction programme, interpersonal interactions and so on, were assessed through different methods, as they all contributed to the overall experience of the new employees. This approach revealed the interdependencies that shape new employees’ overall sense of belonging and engagement, which was beyond knowing just the user (new employee) satisfaction.
Multiple surveys with new employees provided a broad view of participants’ perceptions and helped quantify satisfaction across different aspects of the program. Patterns from survey data pointed to various moments of delight as well as some experiential issues that reflected gaps in service operations - backstage processes and underlying policies. The surveys also revealed both affective and cognitive layers of experience. For instance, cognitive experience like understanding the organisational structure and the work, were also revealed through the survey. Similarly, affective experience such as feeling of being welcomed, valued, overwhelmed, belongingness was uncovered. The interviews with new employees deepened researchers’ understanding about their affective and cognitive layers of the experience. Insights from interviews with session speakers and self-reflections from mentors shed light on the underlying interactions and coordination among service touchpoints and the service user, influencing the user (new employee) experience. Fly-on-the-wall observations during programme activities revealed how the servicescape, including spatial layout, infrastructure available, and the social atmosphere affected their engagement and belongingness.
The use of a multi-method approach enables a holistic understanding of the induction experience by tracing how micro-level user experiences connect to macro-level organisational design elements. Likewise, adopting the service design lens can aid more effective assessment of organisational services. The holistic character of service design emphasizes on viewing organisational services through its interconnected interactions across touchpoints. The researchers recommend the use of empathy square as a guide to identify the range of stakeholders and touchpoints involved, beyond users. The use of multiple user research methods with a service design lens builds the foundation to reimagine organisational services that sustainably balance the needs, concerns and constraints of all the stakeholders involved.
6.2. Introducing comprehensive service assessment in business organisations requires evidencing value and leadership buy-in
Surveys are an established mechanism for feedback collection in large organisations. Introducing other methods often raises questions about their need, value, and potential data privacy concerns. To address this organisational challenge, the researchers recommend demonstrating the value of the method through a lightweight assessment, clearly communicating triangulation strategies across multiple methods, and explain the execution plan for these methods. Getting the leadership buy-in early in the process ensures alignment and paves the way for smooth implementation.
6.3. Traceability strengthens credibility of qualitative insights
Findings from qualitative methods such as surveys and observations are sometimes questioned for their validity (Reference Mahamuni, Ganwani, Lobo, Das, Verma, Hirom and JadhavMahamuni, et al., 2021) because they typically stem from smaller samples unlike their counterpart of large-scale quantitative findings. Additionally, qualitative findings are more reliant on researcher interpretation. This subjectivity can lead to scepticism and downplaying of qualitative insights in organisational contexts. Leadership and decision-makers are likely to value outcomes which are measurable. Therefore, the researchers recommend emphasis on strengthening credibility of qualitative insights through traceability i.e., linking every reported insight to its source: the method, dataset, and individual responses.
6.4. Scaling service assessments requires technology-enabled solutions
Scaling qualitative methods posed a significant challenge during the assessment. For instance, conducting continuous observations throughout the induction programme was impractical due to the researcher’s need for in-person presence. This limitation risked missing critical insights that sustained observation might have revealed. Further, the observer’s position in the servicescape limited their view, potentially causing them to miss observations occurring outside their line of sight. Additionally, boredom and fatigue of researchers observing for prolonged periods, could also affect the quality of observations. These reflections emphasise on the need for using technology in the conducting observations.
The researchers recommend exploring the potential of technology-enabled, unobtrusive service assessment (Reference Ganwani, Gaikwad, Jeengar, Lobo and MahamuniGanwani, Gaikwad, Jeengar, Lobo, & Mahamuni, 2025) for observations. Identifying a set of touchpoints where technologies such as sensing mechanisms (voice, image-based sensors) and AI-driven analysis algorithms can be used in conjunction to monitor interactions and servicescape in real-time. Such systems can help identify strengths and weaknesses across multiple layers of the service experience, enabling continuous assessment at scale. Technology enabled service assessments can potentially scale up observations, reducing the risk of missing out on important findings and overcoming researcher biases. While human researchers exercise judgment in what to observe and disclose, technology enabled service assessment systems must incorporate ethical safeguards to ensure responsible reporting and maintain trust, balancing effectiveness with privacy and organisational ethics.
6.5. Onboarding service assessment laid the foundation for “voice of employee”
Assessing the induction programme through a service design lens served as an important first step in capturing the voice of the employee at the earliest stage of their organisational journey. It demonstrates the potential of service design as a strategic approach for capturing the voice of the employee at critical moments starting from their entry into the organisation. By applying service design approach to assess onboarding experiences, the researchers established a foundation for designing systems that listen to employees continuously and meaningfully.
7. Conclusion
Assessing the induction programme from a service design lens emerged as an advantageous exercise. The multi-stakeholder perspectives gathered from a mixed-method approach enabled the researchers to uncover insights beyond user satisfaction - revealing how policies, backstage processes, and touchpoints collective shape onboarding experiences. Through the rigorous service assessment process, the researchers exposited the induction programme to be a complex multi-layered journey, keenly influenced by organisational culture, stakeholder interactions and servicescape. The exercise expounded pain points and moments of delight and facilitated researchers to propose actionable improvements that foster belongingness and engagement throughout the induction programme. Through the service design lens, researchers could assess how intent of the programme (service provider and service touchpoints perspective) translates to implementation of the programme (end-user perspective). The paper illustrates the practical realities of implementing mixed-method approaches organisational contexts and offer directive insights for future studies seeking to balance rigor, scalability, and ethical considerations. The researchers believe that the reflections in the paper can extend beyond induction programme, offering a framework to assess other organisational services holistically.
The researchers are currently in active discussion with the organising HR teams to understand the backstage processes and thereby, holistically reimagine the upcoming induction programme. The researchers intend to use the service blueprint to map service operations including frontend, backend, and backstage processes effectively. As part of their ongoing work, the researchers are exploring the prospects of technology enabled service assessment for enhancing process rigor. This research also served an initial step towards adopting the service design lens to capture the voice of employees at all critical junctures of the employee journey.
Acknowledgement
The authors acknowledge the stakeholders who participated in the assessment.
Open access
