Customer Centered Design
Tools for human-centered design in workforce development to improve customer experiences.
About
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.
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Event Summary
External Event: Hosted by the LEAD Center. Send all questions/issues to the: LEAD Center / National Disability Institute.
In response to August 2025 guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor, workforce programs are now being encouraged to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) skill-building into services for both youth and adults. This is more than a technical adjustment. It represents a shift toward preparing job seekers for a labor market where AI is deeply embedded across industries.
Moderator(s)
Sarah Loizeaux, LEAD Center, National Disability Institute (NDI)
Presenter(s)
Julie Hocker, Assistant Secretary, Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor
Sara Hastings, Unit Chief, Division of Youth Services, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
Luis Perez, Disability & Digital Inclusion Lead, Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)
Kelly Dorsey, Senior Director Support Professional Penn-Mar Human Services
Jack Bayne, Program and Instruction Coordinator, Carroll Technology & Innovation Council
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Event Summary
Customer Centered Design (CCD) is an amazingly generative process that starts with people and ends with surprising answers tailor-made to put our customers' needs at the center of service delivery, processes and customer flow. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) implementation presents a huge opportunity to step back from business as usual, and design services with the customer in mind.Moderator(s)
Virginia Hamilton, Regional Administrator, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Region 6
Presenter(s)
Caitlin Docker, Program and Partnerships Manager, Code for America
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Event Summary
Universal Design is a significant component of the customer centered design framework to provide exemplary service in American Job Centers (AJC). In this session, you will learn how universal design is a creative vehicle in applying “design thinking” for innovation across the workforce system to benefit job seekers with a wide range of learning styles, language levels, intelligences, and physical mobility to help foster meeting customer’s needs more efficiently.Moderator(s)
David Jones, Workforce Analyst, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
Virginia Hamilton, Regional 6 Administrator, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
Presenter(s)
Dawn Karber, Chief Operating Officer, Spokane Area Workforce Development Council
Kevin Williams, One-stop Operator, WorkSource Spokane
Stacey Thompson, Workshop Facilitator, Career Center of Lowell
*Click HERE to view the abridged version of this webinar.
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Event Summary
Universal Design is a significant component of the customer centered design framework to provide exemplary service in American Job Centers (AJC). In this session, you will learn how universal design is a creative vehicle in applying “design thinking” for innovation across the workforce system to benefit job seekers with a wide range of learning styles, language levels, intelligences, and physical mobility to help foster meeting customer’s needs more efficiently.Moderator(s)
David Jones, Workforce Analyst, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
Virginia Hamilton, Regional 6 Administrator, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
Presenter(s)
Dawn Karber, Chief Operating Officer, Spokane Area Workforce Development Council
Kevin Williams, One-stop Operator, WorkSource Spokane
Stacey Thompson, Workshop Facilitator, Career Center of Lowell
*Click HERE to view the abridged version of this webinar.
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Event Summary
Design Thinking is a practical, repeatable approach to arriving at innovative solutions. Think of this as a step-by-step guide to unleashing your creativity, putting the people you serve at the center of your design process to come up with new answers to difficult problems.Presenter(s)
Virginia Hamilton, Regional Administrator, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training AdministrationNancy Saengjaeng, Santa Barbara County Department of Social Services
Sondra Howell, Memphis Bioworks Foundation
Pam Streich, North Central Workforce Development Board
Nancy Dischinat, Lehigh Valley Workforce Development Board
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Event Summary
Design Thinking is a practical, repeatable approach to arriving at innovative solutions. Think of this as a step-by-step guide to unleashing your creativity, putting the people you serve at the center of your design process to come up with new answers to difficult problems.Presenter(s)
Virginia Hamilton, Regional Administrator, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training AdministrationNancy Saengjaeng, Santa Barbara County Department of Social Services
Sondra Howell, Memphis Bioworks Foundation
Pam Streich, North Central Workforce Development Board
Nancy Dischinat, Lehigh Valley Workforce Development Board
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Event Summary
Design Thinking is a practical, repeatable approach to arriving at innovative solutions. Think of it as a step-by-step guide to unleashing your creativity, putting the people you serve at the center of your design process to come up with new answers to difficult problems.
Presenter(s)
Speakers
- Byron Zuidema, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
- Jake Brewer, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Chief Technology Officer, Executive Office of the President
- Daniel Correa, Senior Advisor, Innovation Policy, Technology & Innovation Division, Office of Science & Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President
- Virginia Hamilton, Regional Administrator, Region 6 (San Francisco), Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
- Nisha Patel, Director of the Office of Family Assistance, Administration for Children & Families, Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)
- Robin Purdy, Special Consultant, California Workforce Investment Board
- Tim Probst, Director of Workforce Development Strategic Initiatives, Employment Security Department of Washington State
- Erick Serrato, Deputy Director, Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network
