Establishing Psychological Safety in the Workplace
Can you help build a supportive work environment?
A scenario-based eLearning designed to help managers more effectively support employee mental health and wellbeing within the workplace.
Tools Used: Articulate Storyline 360, Vyond, Figma, MindMeister, Freepik, Google Docs
Responsibilities: instructional design, visual design, eLearning development
The Problem
Managers have a huge impact on employee wellbeing in the workplace, but often lack the necessary skills on how to provide psychological safety and best support employees. Unsupportive work environments often lead to an increase in employee turnover and absenteeism, as well as a decrease in productivity, which in the end, can be costly to employers.
In this project, Blue Peak Consulting has recently seen an increase in employee turnover and a decrease in productivity. The company has learned that the reason is due to employees feeling unsupported, undervalued, and overworked. Debra is a new manager, and the company is hoping she can improve her team’s culture by focusing on building a supportive environment.
The Solution
After analyzing the problem, I determined that managers lack the knowledge and skills necessary to adequately support employees and their wellbeing in the workplace. Specifically, how to foster open communication, how to be an active listener, and what to do when employees are needing support.
I decided to develop a scenario-based, eLearning experience featuring characters who encounter and resolve issues related to psychological safety, demonstrating both positive and negative behaviors and their outcomes. Mangers are able to make decisions and see immediate outcomes in a risk-free environment.
By creating an eLearning training that is interactive, practical, and rooted in real-world scenarios, managers can learn how to effectively provide psychological safety in the workplace, leading to a more inclusive, supportive, and productive work environment.
Action Map
To gather insights to support the development of my action map, I collaborated with a consultant who specializes in workplace emotional wellbeing. These insights helped me to identify a learning goal and three high priority behaviors. Together, we developed specific actions that focus on providing managers with the skills they need to effectively support their employees at work.
Action map showing goal and all possible actions
Once my action map was complete, I put together a text-based storyboard to help visualize the overall structure of the project and to ultimately serve as the blueprint. The storyboard allowed me to imagine and create each scene to ensure the actions and consequences flowed together. Throughout this process, I also created a mentor character for learners to select if they need help. When the character is selected, on-demand information will appear to help guide them in the right direction. Along with that, I also created a gamification element. This was developed to visually reinforce the learner after they select a correct choice and see their positive consequence. Throughout this process I received multiple rounds of feedback from professional instructional designers and my subject matter expert, which provided me with valuable insights and perspectives.
Text-based Storyboard
Mentor slide from text-based storyboard
Question slide from text-based storyboard
Visual Mockups
Once I received feedback and made all the necessary changes to my storyboard, I moved on to visual design. I created a style guide, wireframes, and high-fidelity mockups using Figma. This provided me with a tangible representation of how the design would look and feel, including layout, colors, typography, and imagery. Along with that, the visual mockups allowed the professional instructional designers and my subject matter expert to review and provide input on the design before it was finalized.
High Fidelity Mock-Ups
Style Guide
Interactive Prototypes
Next, I designed an interactive prototype using Vyond and Storyline 360. The prototype included the introduction through the first of three questions to test the flow and functionality. I was able to get feedback and then make the necessary changes on the first part of my project before continuing, which saved editing time in the end.
Introduction slide
Question 1 slide
Full Development
After receiving multiple rounds of feedback on my prototype, I developed the rest of the project. I used different animations, such as the zoom in feature, to draw attention to specific details and to allow learners to connect with the narrative. Incorporating animated characters in the project added significant value by making the learning experience more engaging, relatable, and effective.
Example of animated characters
Example of zoom in feature
Iterative design process: I learned the value of an iterative design process. Regularly gathering feedback and making adjustments based on that feedback helped me refine the eLearning experience, ensuring it met the learners’ needs effectively.
Balancing engagement and instruction: I discovered the importance of balancing engaging narrative elements with educational content. While storytelling can make learning more enjoyable, it must be carefully integrated with the instructional objectives to ensure learners are absorbing the key messages.
Problem solving and flexibility: The process taught me the importance of problem-solving and flexibility. Whether it was addressing technical challenges or modifying the story to better suit the learning objectives, adaptability was crucial.