John Watson - Your Employees Are Customers. Start Building Like It.

Discover the transformative power of applying Amazon’s working backwards framework to HR. This episode unpacks how HR leaders can turn employees into loyal customers and leverage AI to create impactful HR products that truly delight. If you're ready to revolutionize your HR tech game, listen now!

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction to applying Amazon’s customer obsession in HR
02:00 - Historical perspective: Dell’s direct approach as employee-internal customer model
06:00 - Justifying HR technology investments with ROI examples from compensation software
11:00 - The five questions of the working backwards framework
12:00 - Constructing a true customer persona & insights from HR data
15:00 - Defining the core customer problem in HR: Building confidence in managers
16:30 - Crafting solutions & benefits — example of an AI-powered coaching tool
19:00 - Writing the future press release & internal FAQs to clarify the product vision
21:00 - Iterative testing & how to involve stakeholders in feedback cycles
24:00 - Measuring success & validating assumptions through prototypes & beta tests
26:00 - How AI accelerates customer understanding & innovation in HR
28:00 - Making HR a product team: influencing leadership & fostering customer obsession
30:00 - Conclusion: Start small, ask questions, test assumptions, and keep the customer at the heart