Evaluating the design value you bring
By: Kévin Scotet
Tags: Product Design, Design, Wages, UX, Promotion

All designers are focus on their passion, designing new human experiences, which is great. but I have seen so many of them falling in doing the job they love without taking enough consideration on the business outcome they deliver and the wage they have. So in this article, I want to clarify, why money should not be the last priority for a designer and how to better assess the outcome of your work for bringing negotiation.

First of all, it is always start by understanding and identifying potential underlying needs for making a service that answers user needs. Prioritizing them with the Product Manager and then start to prototype hypotheses that could solve these needs. Afterward, as usual, every designer puts effort into seeing the experience from a user point of view, how it is behaving, how it is communicating, how it is solving the need. But you have forgotten one thing man. Just one thing. Don’t you see it now?

For that, You have to take the other way around and understand what it is the value of this concept and the business outcome you are going to make. Yes, the business outcome! What is the value for your company in solving this need? What is the value for you as a professional in solving this need?

Figure out these questions;

What is the expectation of your company to spend time on this project? Why would they need a designer? What are their objectives in the medium and long term? What is the market of the product you are designing for? What are the competitors (benchmark)? How willing is the end-user to pay for using the great experience you are making? Does your company is in the stocks market? How easy it is to gain money by just having stock? Answering these questions will help you understand the value you bring.

Bringing Procurement knowledge in the design world

My experience in the Procurement field learnt me that as an employee, you are the supplier of the company hiring you for getting your service. To do that, both parties have to follow an employment contract sign initially.

In the procurement world, when business people work “strategically”, it is always important to look at how the collaboration has been with the current suppliers, Did they deliver the quality expected? Did they deliver on time? Are they overpriced based on the market? And to make sure they have always the best suppliers, Procurement teams run new “supplier comparisons” each year to get the best price & quality from them. So they can re-evaluate, and get more powerful for negotiating.

As an employee, you could turn the table around and use the same process by following these tips

Look at the collaboration you had, how have you been delivering on OKR. Is it reaching the objectives set? Do not look at potential “promotion” but instead compare always work responsibility vs wage. The company works for making money and you are your own company delivering your service to your employer. Discuss with colleagues working in the same area or company what their responsibility vs wage is. Be open to get offers from other (2 or 3) companies interested in your skills 1 or 2 months ahead of the planned day for “wage raised”, so you have full control to renegotiate at the best wage by having different offers. When they give you an offer do a round of negotiation with each of them. pick the offer that suits you the best.

To conclude, last but not the least, today, there are tones of jobs opens in the US and Europe especially in the Tech industry. Companies are unfortunately having a harder time catching talents like you. But on the other hand, it is the best time for bringing negotiation to the table with your employers and compare the best bids you could get.

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