The Development of XFN — Part 8: Ready, set, launch!

It is time to share the final chapter of this story. Launching the recruitment for the first prototype cohort of XFN was one of the most exciting things I have done to date in my career. Before going live a number of decisions had to first be made, some of which were easier than others.

XFN Across Canada

Throughout the development of XFN we consulted employees and managers from organizations across Canada. The intention was always for the program to be available to all indeterminate Government of Canada employees. What I did not foresee, was when we would be ready with the right supports to offer the program Canada-wide.

It became quite clear early on in our engagement sessions that for employees working outside of the NCR the experience in XFN would look slightly different, namely because the policy functions they need to access are not often available in their physical location.

In our engagement session on September 12, 2018, we gathered information on supports needed to offer those in the regions the type of learning experience we were advertising. Without getting into the details (which I will in future, as I am currently actively working on this effort), based on the information shared and through many one-on-one consultations, the tough decision was made that our first prototype cohort would be in the National Capital Region (NCR)only.

You might be wondering, why was this such a tough decision? I was extremely concerned that employees in the regions would feel left behind or that when XFN was available to them that they would feel like we had simply ‘scaled XFN up’, as opposed to delivering them a program that met their development needs. During consultations I heard about the extreme disconnect employees had from the NCR and the tendency for them to be consulted after the fact. I did not want to perpetuate those feelings and stereotypes.

That being said, the reality was that the prototype we had built was testing many things and we truly did not know how this test was going to go. Could what we built even work at all?

I was advised by some very knowledgeable experienced senior leaders that by trying to test too much at once we would risk the programs chance of having any success. Qi Wang and Neil Bouwer, I must say, I am glad to have had your wisdom.

Authorities

In August of 2018, the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) enthusiastically accepted our request to be the home department for XFN. What that meant was that CSPS:

• was the corporate enabler for the program (HR, Finance, IT, Security);
• had access to novel assessment tools used for the program for testing within their organization; and,
• had the opportunity to iterate with us for the second cohort.

In addition to the enthusiasm and collaborative nature of the corporate enablers at CSPS, we needed the Presidents authority before we began the recruitment for our first cohort.

This authority was received in early November 2018. I will never forget that day, I think I cried tears of joy when I got the e-mail.

Final Steps

Now, just because you don’t have the ‘official, official’ approval doesn’t mean you don’t move forward on the final steps for your project. I created this list in September 2018 of all the things that needed to be finalized in advance of our November launch.

Something that is not captured here is the extensive amount of work done by two members of the Proximify team. Calan Walker and Mert Metin, did an exceptional job building our website, self-assessment questionnaire, and application tool in both official languages. #forevergrateful

Going live!

During the development of the program, I kept fairly quiet about what XFN would be, as I did not want us to commit to the experience we were offering before we were sure what it was.

You may have gathered from the posts in this series that I like to have plans for my work. Pictured below was the plan for communicating the launch of XFN to the Government of Canada:

I am happy to report that we did indeed meet our timelines! We introduced XFN on November 2 and went live with our two-week application period on November 14, 2018.

Thank you

Sometimes it is still hard to believe that XFN exists, that we have a prototype cohort right now finishing up their second month in their first assignments. I think it goes without that saying that there is no way we would be here without the insights, support, help and encouragement of many people. To name a few key ones (trust me, they deserve the recognition):

• Qi Wang, Director of the Policy Community Partnership Office, for letting me run wild and being the voice of reason when I needed it.
• Neil Bouwer, Vice-President Innovation and Policy Services Branch and Co-champion for the Policy Community, for never saying no and giving XFN a home.
• All my colleagues that allowed me to consult them endlessly and use as a sounding board, you know who you are, but to name a few: Abe Greenspoon, Helen Daniels, Steph Percival, Pierre Lecours, Amy Taylor…..
• All the employees and managers who contributed to the development of the program through our engagement sessions.
• All the HR and professional development experts who allowed me to utilize their knowledge and experience to build a new program for public servants.
• Lastly, but definitely not least, the Canada School of Public Service, for supporting and enabling XFN to be a program.

Next Up

You might be wondering, so what now? Well, it is time to shift gears, and bring you into the live prototyping journey. Stay tuned for my next post on how our first round of applications went! How many people do you think applied?