In 2020, Miele X was founded as the global digital hub of manufacturing company Miele. To support its growth, it wanted to show that agility is a big part of its culture – that when it solved problems, it looked at the best and most efficient processes rather than the usual ones. It also wanted to consolidate its position as a destination employer for ecommerce, data and IT professionals. To show its agile culture, it decided to host a hackathon involving people from different Miele X departments that would help to shape and deliver a new employer value proposition (EVP).

The hackathon was condensed into a four-hour design thinking workshop involving a unique mix of nationalities, personalities, perspectives and skills, led by an experienced design thinking facilitator. The objective was “better telling our employer story”, developing the chapters of that story, its overall narrative and finally its title. The workshop included a sharing wall for employee insights, storyboards for different topics and finally a prototype EVP, complete with chapters, narrative and title.

‘Moving Digital at Miele Forward. Together’ was the strapline for the final product. The process encapsulated the innovative thinking at the company and created a blueprint for the future, when the EVP matures and needs refinement. The approach was cost-effective and generated valuable employee data from across the business, making it easier to gain management buy-in because it accurately reflected colleagues’ thoughts and experiences. HR director Tanja Antonijevic said the approach “means we can directly translate our company culture into our recruitment marketing”.