Designing for change

Organisations across Aotearoa New Zealand are navigating seismic transformations: technology upgrades, process overhauls, restructures, and regulatory reform. These are big shifts, and they’re happening fast. But too often, change initiatives struggle to connect with the very people they’re meant to serve. The result? Confusion, resistance, and missed opportunities.

That’s why we launched our Employee Experience (EX) service line back in January 2025, an evolution of our established Customer and User Experience practice. One area we’ve had the most interest from clients is requests to bring the same principles that guide our CX and UX practices (empathy, clarity, co-design) into the world of change management. And it’s making a real impact.

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Where traditional change meets Human-Centred Design

Change management traditionally focuses on governance, planning, and risk management. It’s important work. But on its own, it can miss the mark when it comes to culture, trust, and human behaviour.

That’s where Human-Centred Design (HCD) comes in. HCD starts with empathy; it’s about understanding the lived experience of people affected by change, not just managing outputs. Our approach integrates the rigour of change management with the insight and creativity of HCD to deliver change that is not only implemented but truly adopted.

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Our approach: Co-Design, prototype, learn, embed

Our methodology blends discovery and design with implementation in a way that keeps people at the centre and creates space to experiment before committing at scale:

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1. Connect & Plan – We build early understanding of the shift and map a realistic path forward, engaging key stakeholders to align on vision, risks, and priorities.
2. Interviews & Co-design – We listen deeply to those on the front lines. Through one-on-one interviews and co-design workshops, we uncover insights and craft stories that make change meaningful and role-relevant.
3. Prototype & Learn – Borrowing from our UX roots, we don’t just launch change- we test it. We prototype new behaviours, processes, and comms in real contexts, learning what works (and what doesn’t) before scaling. This mitigates risk and builds trust by making room for iteration.
4. EX & Education Design – We translate insights into tools, frameworks, and communications that build confidence. We also identify training gaps and provide tailored learning support to lift capability.
5. Support & Embed – We help activate the change with compelling narratives, leadership visibility, and a co-designed Ways of Working framework. Feedback loops and adoption metrics ensure momentum is sustained.

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This isn’t theory, it’s a proven model. We’ve using it to help organisations like Auckland Transport and Foodstuffs to move from rules-based to principle-led thinking, embed new workforce platforms, and drive meaningful adoption at scale.

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Why this matters now

There’s no shortage of change projects out there. But what organisations are crying out for is a different kind of capability, one that’s as comfortable crafting stakeholder maps as they are running field trials; who can translate regulation into relatable stories; who understands that confidence, clarity and reassurance are as critical as compliance. That’s Purple Shirt.

If you’re facing a change moment and want to make it stick, let’s co-design a future your people can believe in.