Customer Centered Design

The Customer Centered Design Community is grounded in human‑centered and customer‑centered design— used interchangeably to describe an approach that starts with the people a solution is meant to serve.

In workforce development, a customer centered design approach leads to strong customer experiences and better outcomes. Whether improving American Job Centers interactions, simplifying online forms, redesigning training programs, or strengthening feedback loops, it ensures services reflect the real needs, and lived experiences of jobseekers, workers, employers, and frontline staff.

This design philosophy emphasizes empathy, co‑creation, iterative testing, and equitable access across the entire workforce journey—from outreach and intake to placement and advancement. While not new to the field, interest is growing as agencies adopt more creative and collaborative ways of designing services.

Key Benefits of the Community

• Learning and Skill Building: Members gain access to practical tools, case studies, workshops, and real‑world examples that build capacity to apply human‑ and customer‑centered design in daily work.
• Improved Customer Experience:Tools to redesign processes that make programs more accessible, user‑friendly, and responsive for jobseekers, workers, and employers.
• Strengthened Equity and Accessibility: Guidance and strategies for identifying and reducing systemic barriers so workforce services meet the needs of diverse customers.
• Performance and Outcomes Alignment: Resources to design with both customer needs and labor‑market demands in mind, ultimately improving employment outcomes, retention, and long‑term mobility.