ONE BEHAVIOUR
THAT UNLOCKS A WORLD
OF OPPORTUNITIES

95% OF INNOVATION FAILS
CLAY CHRISTENSEN

HOW DO WE IMPROVE THE
ODDS?

VOICE INSIDE YOUR HEAD
HOPES AND FEARS

HOPE THERE IS A
MARKET…

HOPE THERE IS A
MARKET…
FEAR THAT WE'RE
BUILDING SOMETHING
NOBODY WANTS

HOPE WE HAVE THE RIGHT
TEAM….

HOPE WE HAVE THE RIGHT
TEAM….
FEAR WE'RE NOT
COLLABORATING WELL

20 YEARS
PRODUCTS & CAMPAIGNS
ONE TRUTH…

GREAT COMPANIES ARE
BUILT ON GREAT
PRODUCTS

THERE IS A MARKET…
THEY HAVE THE RIGHT
TEAM….

AND THEY DO ONE THING

EMPATHY

EMPATHY
INSIDE AND OUT
GETTING INTO USERS SHOES
UNDERSTAND THEIR FEELINGS
DESIGN EXPERIENCES

SOUNDS EASY
BUT IT'S NOT
FEW DO IT

AIRBNB

INSIDE WITH
EMPLOYEES

INSIDE WITH
EMPLOYEES
OUTSIDE WITH
CUSTOMERS

LET’S DISCOVER HOW YOU
CAN PUT DESIGN
THINKING IN ACTION

AIRBNB
AND CUSTOMERS

AIRBNB IS
WORTH
31B

100
YEARS OLD
Airbnb
10
YEARS OLD

4 MILLION
LISTINGS WORLDWIDE
Top 5

EMPLOYEES
268,000
3,100

HOW DOES AIRBNB DO IT?

DESIGN
FOR TRUST

“A well-designed reputa2on system
is key for building trust.”
JOE GEBBIA
CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER OF AIRBNB

“Stranger danger”

REVIEWS

Impar&al Feedback
Hosts and their guests will only see reviews
they receive from a trip a<er both
par&cipants have wri=en their review.

A Host With 10 or More
Reviews is 10x More
Likely to Book Their
Home
Stanford Study Examining Airbnb Users and
Data Suggests That Reputa&on can Offset
Social Bias 1-3
Reviews
10+
Reviews
Ave.
Bookings

PHOTOGRAPHY

2.5x

Craigslist
Hacks
Pro Photographers
Saved Previous
Search
Superhost
Program
A Series Of Design
Thinking Ideas that
Sparked Growth
Over it’s history, Airbnb has experiment with
design ideas to improve trust and the overall
experience.

LISTINGS

Superhost, Super Happy
Great hosts that are guaranteed to have
tonnes of experience hos&ng guests. They
also respond to guests quickly and maintain
a 90% response rate or higher.

Social Proof
Airbnb uses the influence of other peoples
behaviour to validate a choice I wish to
make.

Constant Contact
At every moment a user is encouraged to
communicate directly with a host. By
including the likelihood of a fast response,
the guest feels less risk in making contact.

WHO WOULD YOU LET
STAY AT YOUR PLACE?

CUSTOMERS
AND YOU

VALIDATE

Waterfall
Agile
Define
Build
Release
Define
Build
Release Define
Build
Release Define
Build
Release

IDEAS DON’T LIVE IN
POWERPOINT – THEY
BELONG IN THE HANDS OF
CUSTOMERS.

DIRECT EXPERIENCE:
ALLOW CUSTOMERS TO
USE AND INTERACT WITH
A PROTOTYPE

778594

778594

RECRUIT REAL
CUSTOMERS
Find people who are your
potenJal customers.
Do not recruit family and
friends as customers.
Real customers give real,
unfiltered feedback.
INSTALL A
FACILITATOR
Someone needs to run the
tesJng experience with a
prototype.
The facilitator will help
sessions stay on track and
ensure that designers
understand the feedback.
SET THE
CONTEXT
Provide the user with a
goal or a task.
Don’t forget to explain
where they are, what Jme
of day and any other
context that creates the
direct experience.
DON’T LEAD THE
WITNESS
Never sell a prototype.
In fact the less you pitch,
the beTer the feedback.
REFINE AFTER
EACH TEST
Each prototyping sprint
session should reveal new
opportuniJes.
The more you test, the
beTer the product.

LOW FIDELITY
A5 Card
A4 Paper
Black /White XL foam boards
Post it notes:
4-6 colours
White board markers
MIXED MEDIA
Tape
Pens & Pencils
Scissors
Ruler
String
DIGITAL
Sketch
InVision
Adobe XD
iPad
Laptop

A closed card sort
Participants sort items into categories you give them

EVALUATE

ENDOWMENT EFFECT
Customers value what they have.
And they don’t like change.
When thinking about new products the “switching
costs” weigh heavier than the potential benefits.
Companies also value what they have.
They fall in love with their creations.
They become blind to the customer truth: the customer
see’s more loses than gains

80% OF BUSINESSES
BELIEVE THEY PROVIDE
"SUPERIOR" CUSTOMER
SERVICE.
BUT ONLY 8% OF
CUSTOMERS AGREED.
BAIN/EIU CUSTOMER-LED GROWTH STUDY

LOW
HIGH
HOW TO AVOID A PRODUCT THAT NOBODY WANTS
AMOUNT OF BEHAVIOUR
CHANGE REQUIRED
FAIL
QUICK-FIX
HARD WORK
INNOVATION
iPHONEXIAOMI
IRIDIUM, FIRE, KIN BLACKBERRY
LOW HIGH
USER BENEFITS

MORE BENEFITS, LESS CHANGE
Amount of Behaviour Change Required
Time
Money
Effort
Brain Cycles
Social Deviance
My Routine
User Benefits
Simplicity
Mobility
Affordability
More personal time
Wellness
Freedom
Higher performance
Fulfilment
Impact

BRAIN CYCLES

SOCIAL
DEVIANCE

ROUTINE

AIRBNB
AND EMPLOYEES

78%
“I feel a sense of
belonging at
Airbnb”
87%
“I understand how
my team fits into
Airbnb’s vision and
mission.”
89%
“I’m proud of the
culture at Airbnb.”
85%
“I understand how
to apply Airbnb’s
Core Values to my
day-to-day job.”

A;er we closed our Series C with Peter Thiel in 2012, we invited
him to our office. I asked him what was the single most important
piece of advice he had for us.
He replied,
“Don’t fuck up the
culture.”

REPOSITION
HR OFFICER

Airbnb CHRO
Becomes Chief
Employee Experience
Officer
MARK LEVY
GLOBAL HEAD OF EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

WORKPLACE
AS AN EXPERIENCE

Beyond Payroll &
Benefits
Anything that’s se^ng up our employees to
success, or has the opportunity to bring our
culture to life, should all sit in the Employee
Experience group.
PAYROLL/
BENEFITS
TALENT
RECRUITING

Beyond Payroll &
Benefits
Anything that’s se^ng up our employees to
success, or has the opportunity to bring our
culture to life, should all sit in the Employee
Experience group.
PAYROLL/
BENEFITS
TALENT
RECRUITING
GROUND
CONTROL
FACILITIES
FOOD
CITIZENSHIP

EMPLOYEES
AND YOU

HIGH ALIGNMENT

EVERYDAY CORE
VALUES AND ACTIONS OF
EACH MEMBER OF THE
TEAM IN PURSUIT OF OUR
COMPANY MISSION.
CULTURE STATEMENT

OWNERSHIP
Our Culture Of Ownership and "Saying i got
This" By Each Member of the Team in Pursuit
Of Making So<ware More Human

THRIVING SPACE
Our Culture Of a Thriving Space And
Taking Time to Help Others
By Each Member of the Team in Pursuit Of
Making So<ware More Human

SHOW! DON’T TELL

Hire Based on Values
Every candidate that makes it through
to an interview goes through a set of
interviews related to their role , and they
have two additional interviews related to
core values.
The executive team meets weekly and
within 24 hours of that meeting it’s
Levy’s task to get the notes out to every
person in the company.
Ground control is a part of the employee
experience team with the aim of bringing
the culture to life.
This team is tasked with looking after
the workplace environment, internal
communications, employee recognition,
celebration and events.
Work Based on Values Reward Based on Value

GREAT COMPANIES ARE
BUILT ON GREAT
PRODUCTS

DELIGHT YOUR
CUSTOMERS
ENGAGE YOUR
EMPLOYEES

YOUR BUSINESS WILL
THRIVE

THANK YOU