Upskilling designers for high-impact product success

23 designers, 11 Expert-led sessions: Freshworks approach to building a high-impact design culture

In 2023, Freshworks partnered with ownpath to enhance the capabilities of their design team. We conducted an upskilling program with a customized curriculum, with sessions led by design and product leaders.

TLDR

Client: Freshworks
Industry: SaaS
Service: Customized Upskilling program
Results: Enhanced product thinking skills, improved cross-functional collaboration, and learning from industry leaders.

About Freshworks

Freshworks is a leading SaaS company that provides innovative customer engagement software for businesses. It’s known for its user-friendly, refreshing products. However, what truly sets Freshworks apart is its unwavering commitment to continually improving its design capabilities, ensuring it delivers exceptional user experiences.

The challenge: Expanding beyond UX

With their keen foresight, the leadership team at Freshworks recognized the need to expand their team’s skills beyond traditional UX. They aimed to approach design more holistically and enhance cross-functional collaboration by contributing to product decisions and roadmaps.

One Freshworks design leader said, "We needed our designers to contribute more effectively to product decisions and roadmaps. We wanted to see that 'Wow!' factor in our designs, and foster better collaboration with our product and engineering teams.”

The solution: A bespoke curriculum, built by ownpath

Freshworks chose ownpath to develop and deliver a customized upskilling program and bring its learnings and expertise to Freshworks’s design approach. The program was designed for a cohort of 23 Freshworks designers and included:

1. A curriculum covering crucial topics such as Product thinking, Design facilitation, and designing for growth
2. 11 Sessions led by design and product leaders from renowned companies like Microsoft, Gojek, Shopify, and Expedia Group.
3. 20+ hours of live masterclasses, supplemented by articles and videos.

Implementation

ownpath curated a stellar lineup of mentors for 11 different sessions.

1. Product Thinking by Akshay Verma - Partner, Prophecy
2. Articulating & Facilitating Design Decisions by Aiswarya Kolishetty - Design Lead, Alan
3. Designing for Trust by Matt Walleart - ex-Head of Behavioural Science, Frog Design
4. User Research Fundamentals & Jobs-to-be-done by Swathy G. - Senior Researcher, Microsoft
5. Advocating for quality on design execution by Abhishek Ghate - ex Head of Design, Sequoia India
6. Collaborating with Engineering by Abhinit Tiwari - ex Head of Design, Gojek
7. Design Presentation Skills by Ben Sauer - Author of Death by Screens & Product and Design Strategist
8. Persuasive Design by Shivani Gupta - Head, Fractal Dimension
9. Generative AI by Akshay Kore - Author & Design Lead, Suki.AI
10. Designing for Growth by Aditi Kulkarni - Senior Design Manager, SEEK; ex-UX Manager, Shopify
11. Designing for value and retention by Kristin Skinner - Author & ex-VP of Design, Expedia Group

Each session combined theory with practical application, allowing designers to apply new concepts to their work at Freshworks immediately. Here’s the full curriculum outline we designed for this cohort.

Impact

The program created a collaborative learning environment for designers from different teams, focused on maximum learning and growth.

✓ They interacted and learned from design, research, and product leaders who have authored books and led top industry teams

✓ Combined theory with hands-on exercises and case studies to contextualize learning

✓ Got actionable insights and solutions for immediate design and product challenges

✓ Received one-on-one sessions with the instructors

Feedback from the Designers

Comments about the sessions and mentors

Very informative. The session was very helpful for how gain trust from others and also as a designer.

Extremely beneficial. Swathy's interactive session, in which she connected the concept to everyday objects, simplified comprehension. Additionally, her guidance on implementing the framework in our ongoing projects was enlightening.

Matt was very energetic. Even at the end of the day, he made us engage with the content. His examples were relevant and fun.

It was highly motivating and interactive. Everyone got a chance to speak about their research work, I enjoyed and learnt from their experience.

Very interesting. I would say this is the top one in the training till date. Crisp and to the point

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Wrapping up

The world of design and creativity is growing every day, demanding continuous growth and adaptation. This program laid a strong foundation for Freshworks’ design journey. It highlights the value of giving design an equal voice in product decisions, alongside product management and engineering. This collaborative approach leads to products that are not only functional but also user-friendly and effective at retaining customers.

The Freshworks design team is well-positioned to create superior products, drive business metrics, and explore new career growth opportunities. This upskilling initiative represents a significant step in cultivating a high-impact design culture at Freshworks, and equips them to better serve their customers through thoughtful, business-aligned design practices that contribute directly to product success and customer satisfaction.

Are you looking to upskill your team? Book a discovery call with us to explore how ownpath can identify opportunities for your team to grow and unlock business success with better design