Do they even care? Evaluating the design maturity of a company
How many of you worked in companies where design is undervalued, people don't understand the role of design, and there's no representation of the design in leadership positions?
Something isn't right. I just received a contract to review, and the role stated "designer," even though I was applying for a product designer position. But I needed that job because it would allow me to finally break the barrier and start working with international clients full-time. So I ignored my gut feeling and signed the contract.
In the summer of 2015, I was lucky to catch this opportunity to work with a startup from California. Until then, I only had experience working with local clients, doing all sorts of design work: from brochures and CD covers (yes, I'm that old) to websites and mobile apps.
This new job would allow me to level up my career and get it to the next stage. I would focus solely on product design and get involved in strategy, business, and product thinking. But the gut feeling I ignored was right. It was odd at first, but then I figured the company sees designers as generalists and order-takers who don't ask many questions but do what's said instead.
I considered myself a generalist at the time because I was self-taught and mainly had freelance and early-stage startup experience. So I convinced myself that calling the role "designer" was good and accepted the position.
I left that job only six months after starting. It remains my career's shortest term with a company.
Does that sound familiar? How many of you worked in companies where design is undervalued, people don't understand the role of design, and there's no representation of the design in leadership positions?
This could be a really challenging environment to be in, especially if you're the only designer on the team.
To avoid these situations, you have to do a background check on whether the company is mature enough in terms of design. It's best to do this while interviewing for the role because building a design culture in a company is an even more challenging task.
By doing the design maturity check, you can future-proof that the company you're interviewing for is where you will be valued.
The process of evaluating the design maturity of a company can be relatively simple. Designers who want to join a company where they get to do more exciting and better work should come up with a list of essential parameters.
Here are some of the questions I would ask a company before joining to evaluate whether they are a good fit for me.
What is the structure of the design team?
You can leave this question as it is or dive a bit deeper by asking something like:
How many people are on the team?
What is everyone working on?
Answers to these questions give you a good understanding of the structure of the design team. Whether it's a studio vs. an embedded model. A studio model is when a designer works with multiple product and engineering teams, depending on what's the higher priority. An embedded model is when a designer works long-term with the product and engineering teams on a single or set of features.
How does the team collaborate and gets feedback?
I like this question because it determines whether the company has a culture of feedback or if a design team operates in a growth mindset.
I've worked in teams where the designer would work in silos, and when they're embedded into the other team, they never talk to each other. Or companies where a few people were working on the same thing and didn't even realize it because they didn't communicate.
This prevents the company from utilizing most of each team member to achieve its goals. Because only when the company enables people to join forces and use everyone's strong skills can they make an impact.
So ask about the collaboration in the design team, but also remember the cross-team collaboration.
What is the design relationship between product and engineering?
In previous posts, we've discussed the importance of building solid mutual relationships between design, product management, and development.
Asking this question helps to understand the level of maturity of product management. It also highlights whether the design and product/engineering collaborate often.
What does that process look like for each party? What if the designer disagrees with the PM? How can a designer push engineering limitations?
This will help you understand the influence and impact on decision-making.
How is design presented in leadership?
I never considered this early in my career — what difference does it make whether or not there is a Director of Design? Or if the founder or at least a company co-founder has a design background?
As it turns out, it can have a massive effect on a company's design maturity. If the company has a Director of Design on staff, they will fight the political battles, so you don't have to. They'll advocate for a better understanding of design, and as an executive, they'll be more likely to be heard.
The design executive is the design chair at the table when important things are discussed. The same is true for the design-savvy founder/co-founder. If they understand the value of the design, it will be built into the company. It simplifies and improves your job.
What is the design team's avg. retention?
Ask how long designers typically stay with the company and if there are any specific reasons they might leave.
There are usually several reasons why people may leave a company:
Lack of opportunities for career advancement. Employees want to know they can advance and develop their skills and knowledge within a company. If they believe there are no opportunities for improvement, they may look for another company that does.
Poor management. Poor management can be a significant reason employees leave a company. Employees may choose to leave if they believe their manager is not supportive, does not communicate well, or is not a good leader.
Low compensation. Employees who feel they are not being paid fairly for their work may look for another company offering better compensation.
Poor work-life balance. If people are overworked or feel they need a better work-life balance, they may leave searching for a company that provides more flexibility.
Negative company culture. A company's culture can significantly affect employee retention. Employees may feel demotivated and unhappy if the culture is toxic or harmful, which may lead to their departure from the company.
Asking this question will help you better understand the company's culture and work environment.
Does the company invest time and resources into systematizing processes, patterns, and user experiences?
Two things are crucial when it comes to design: is it systematized at the company, and if yes, how does it approach systematization?
You'd be surprised by how many companies still don't systematize design or design processes. When the answer to this question is "no," then the company's design maturity is most likely low.
The other crucial thing is timing. When is systematization performed? Does it start before any work gets done, supporting the team to build fast and consistently? Or in the end, when most of the work is done and the product is about to be released?
Need to know the answers? Look for them in job interviews
If you are about to join a company but don't know the answers to most of these questions, job interviews are the perfect opportunity to find the answers you need.
I interviewed many designers for open roles at Nagarro, and around 90% of them don't use the opportunity to ask important questions. Questions that would help them find out if Nagarro is the right company for them.
They'll often ask basic and even trivial questions like what it's like to work from home? What a wasted opportunity! Use the questions in this post as a starting point to come up with questions for your job interviews.