Why Your Design Team Is Quitting, And How To Fix It
Summary
We’re on wave three of the great resignation. Job opportunities abound for designers of all stripes, and loyalty is at an all time low as we reassess our changing professional needs and ambitions in this new world. Liam Thurston leads a team of 55 designers and researchers at Loblaw Digital, building commerce, loyalty, and healthcare products for all Canadians. Thurston’s team weathered the great resignation with resilience and thrived in the face of change; it left them even stronger. In this talk, Thurston will teach you practical tools and processes for creating a Design Practice North Star, skills matrix, and an inclusive set of cultural rituals to build trust and create safety for your team, especially within a large organization. If you're looking to level up your leadership practice in order to acquire and retain incredible talent who generate outstanding outcomes, this talk is for you!
Key Insights
-
•
The pandemic accelerated rethinking team retention and work culture, especially in UX teams.
-
•
About a third of Liam's UX team left early in the pandemic, highlighting retention challenges.
-
•
Creating a clear career path with a transparent skills matrix significantly improves retention.
-
•
Soft skills such as communication, leadership, and influence are as critical as hard skills in career growth.
-
•
Involving the entire team in co-creating purpose statements and competencies leads to higher buy-in and clarity.
-
•
Low-pressure ambient workshops spread over several days facilitate better engagement and richer input.
-
•
Aligning UX team purpose and career frameworks with the company's mission is essential to coherence and retention.
-
•
Cultural rituals like bi-weekly shoutouts and rotating work-in-progress show-and-tells build stronger team bonds.
-
•
Collaboration with HR during role redesign and career framework creation is critical for organizational alignment.
-
•
Iterative testing, feedback loops, and allowing teams to customize tracking tools drive adoption and meaningful improvements.
Notable Quotes
"Being intentional about how we spend our time is the purest manifestation of our values and our value."
"If your team sees a clear path of mastery in your organization, they’re much more likely to stay."
"Mastery is achievable, whether you have 10,000 hours or not—it’s about building that portfolio and case studies."
"All your team wants to do is win at career Bingo or career Snakes and Ladders, hopefully more ladders."
"Soft skills often are a multiplier on your hard skills—they’re just as valuable, if not more so."
"We ran ambient workshops so folks could contribute on their own time and remove the friction of synchronous meetings."
"Our skills matrix became the center of gravity for our practice—it started writing job descriptions and guiding recruitment."
"Building a great culture means caring for individuals and creating rituals like recognition and shared learning."
"Cross-functional relationships often matter more to output than relationships within the immediate team."
"When your team sees themselves in your North Star and structure, they feel safe, secure, and inspired to stay."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"You have to keep the fight, keep looking back at where you started."
JD Buckley Margot Dear Jim Kalbach Janaki KumarCOMMUNICATE: Discussion
June 14, 2018
"If you make rules, put numbers in them, and say them confidently, sometimes people actually do them."
Leisa ReicheltOpening Keynote: Operating in Context
November 7, 2018
"Sometimes, right, you feel like you’re about to be run over by the delivery train, and that pressure shapes how research is received."
Rebecca BuckMission: Keep Talent in Research Roles!
March 10, 2021
"Getting people who don’t communicate well to at least work together on a single thing is the first step to innovating together."
Jon Fukuda Amy Evans Ignacio Martinez Joe MeersmanThe Big Question about Innovation: A Panel Discussion
September 25, 2024
"You have to empower your employees before you can pass on care to your customers."
Sara Asche Anderson Jamie KaspszakNot Your Ordinary Re-Brand: Design's Path to Driving Customer Obsession at Best Buy
January 8, 2024
"You cannot design for the middle; instead, you must create experiences that are customizable and adaptable."
Samuel ProulxFrom Standards to Innovation: Why Inclusive Design Wins
November 19, 2025
"People can have the same values and ideas but if you don’t tune them properly, you just don’t get what you want."
Lisa WelchmanCleaning Up Our Mess: Digital Governance for Designers
June 14, 2018
"Our teams focus on entire customer outcomes, not just features."
Scher Foord Corey Greenltch Sarah RoweTurn the Ship Around: How to Apply Design Thinking Across Your Organization
June 10, 2021
"Keep legal as a proactive partner, not just someone you call when there’s a problem; build those relationships early over coffee or casual chats."
Eduardo Ortiz Robin Beers Rachael Dietkus, LCSW Bruce Gillespie Jess Greco Marieke McCloskey Renee ReidDay 3 Theme Panel
March 13, 2025
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
In what ways does role fluidity impact collaboration, and how should expertise be respected across domains?
How can AI assist with mundane UI tasks like error state design without replacing human oversight?
What are effective independent pathways for senior design professionals outside of full-time roles?