HR as Choice Architect

Ever since I served as a teaching assistant in Northwestern University Master's in Learning & Organizational Change “Cognitive Design” class, I have been fascinated by the intersection of behavioral science and design thinking.

One of the core readings of the class is Nudge, written by behavioral economists Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein. The authors recently published what they claim to be the “final edition” of the book. I just started (re-)reading it and am reminded of the many applications of the book’s key concepts.

Consider this personal example:

In December 29, 2021 I launched my “Design Thinking for HR” LinkedIn Newsletter. Since, I have consistently been writing an article every other week. Until August 09, 2023.

What happened?

That day, I felt utterly uninspired and not creative at all. I just didn’t have anything to say. I had a choice to either write some mediocre content that would further contribute to the noise on social media or just not write anything at all. Interestingly, the latter option did not feel like a choice at first.

Why not?

I had (semi-consciously) put in place such strong accountability mechanisms for myself (e.g., by publicly committing via my newsletter settings to a bi-weekly cadence, feeling accountable to my 37,667+ loyal subscribers, setting calendar reminders, templating my LinkedIn post, and having a long list of topics at hand) that I never missed a beat despite vacation, heartbreak, birthday, and family time.

Using Thaler/Sunstein terminology, what I designed for myself were nudges - “any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives.”

I finally realized that I had designed such an iron-clad opt-in default for myself that my free choice to “opt-out” did not seem immediately evident. Once I recognized that, I asked myself: “What is the worst thing that might happen if I miss a post?” I finally concluded that many subscribers probably wouldn’t even notice it. Certainly, no one would send me angry messages since my newsletter is free. So, I chose not to write a post on August 09, 2023. And the world kept on turning…

Why use nudges?

As humans, we are prone to cognitive biases. Knowing about these can help us design nudges that result in better choices for people. Here are a few that Thaler/Sunstein explore in Nudge:

• Anchoring – making an estimate with some anchor, a number you know, and adjust in the direction you think is appropriate. Anchors can serve as nudges (consider the pre-determined tip suggestions in a taxi for example).
• Availability – assessing the likelihood of risks by asking how readily examples come to mind. This bias might be triggered by media coverage (e.g., estimation of whether more gun deaths in the US are caused by homicides or suicides) or personal recent experiences (e.g., experiencing flooding in the area as an incentive to buy natural disaster insurance). Nudges can help adjust in the direction of true probability.
• Representativeness – when asked to judge how likely it is that A belongs to category B, people answer by asking themselves how similar A is to their image or stereotype of B.

How can HR professionals become choice architects?

According to Thaler/Sunstein, “a choice architect has the responsibility for organizing the context in which people make decisions.”

As HR professionals, we organize the workplace context for employees and leaders who, as humans, are prone to the biases outlined above. Keeping this in mind, we need to design policies, strategies, programs, interfaces, and services accordingly.

Here are some work-related applications Thaler/Sunstein share in Nudge:

• Providing clear presentation of information and helpful hints to aid in employees’ health care and retirement plan choices.
• People save more if they get paid biweekly because twice a year they get three paychecks in one month, and many bills come monthly.
• Setting default options for annual open enrollment (e.g., default set to “same health care plan as last year”).

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Looking for an example of how to combine design thinking and behavioral science in HR? Check out my Talent Tales interview with Danielle Crane here.

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I am curious: How do you view HR’s role as choice architect? What are examples of behavioral science concepts you have seen applied in the workplace? Which other books or resources can you recommend for our collective learning about behavioral science?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Design Thinking for HR is a biweekly LinkedIn newsletter that aims to inspire HR professionals to experiment with the human-centered design framework. The newsletter is curated by?Nicole Dessain who is a talent management and employee experience leader, founder of the HR.Hackathon Alliance, and a Northwestern University instructor. Nicole is currently writing her first book about Design Thinking for HR. Join the Early Readers’ Community here.