Every organisation has a Friction Tax.

An approval that takes too long. A meeting that probably did not need to happen. People searching for information. Entering the same data twice. Waiting for someone to make a decision.

Individually, these feel like the cost of doing business. Calculated across people and time, they are a quantifiable business cost - and one that is almost never on the boardroom agenda because nobody has put a number on it.

This programme does exactly that.

Two days at IIT Hyderabad, leaders learn to identify the structural friction in their own organisation, calculate its annual cost using the Friction Cost Formula, and design a tested intervention that connects employee experience directly to the bottom line.

Built on a learning-by-doing philosophy, every session applies real tools to real organisational problems. Participants leave with a completed diagnosis, a costed Friction Tax figure, a set of redesign ideas grounded in evidence, and a 30-day pilot plan ready to run.
This intensive programme equips leaders with 10 diagnostic and intervention tools spanning the full employee experience lifecycle - developed by DSSI Studios, IIT Hyderabad's Department of Design in collaboration with iDream. click here for more information

The first cohort of this programme brought together senior leaders from organisations spanning BFSI, pharma, technology, social impact and professional services, like Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, HSBC, Wells Fargo, Google, GAP Inc, Texas Instruments, Mindsprint, Biological E, BluePine Energy, TCG, Zyeta, Ryan, QualiZeal Tech, Ratio and others.

Day 1 :

• 09:00 – Arrival, Registration and Welcome
• 09:30 – Formal Welcome by IIT Hyderabad
• 09:40 – Journey to IIT Icebreaker
• 10:00 – Opening Session: Why Employee Experience Design, Now
• 10:45 – Phase 1: Sense (Experience Journey Map + Diagnostic Checklist)
• 12:15 – Tea Break
• 12:30 – Design Studio Visit and Group Photograph
• 13:15 – Lunch
• 14:00 – Phase 2: Diagnose (Friction Mapping Canvas)
• 15:05 – Tea Break
• 15:20 – Phase 3: Understand (Stakeholder Map and Validated Problem Statement)
• 16:30 – Day 1 Debrief
• 17:00 – Free Time
• 19:30 – Informal Dinner and EX Story Competition

Day 2 :

• 07:00 – Optional Morning Walk or Cycling Tour (sign-up at Day 1 Debrief)
• 08:00 – Breakfast
• 09:30 – Welcome Back and Overnight Reflection
• 09:45 – Phase 4: Ideate (EX Ideation Canvas)
• 10:50 – Tea Break
• 11:05 – Phase 5 and 6: Pilot and Implement (Pilot Blueprint, VIBE Score, Scaling Decision)
• 12:20 – Certification
• 12:30 – Lunch
• 13:15 – Phase 7: Sustain (Future Readiness Canvas and EX Process Scorecard)
• 14:05 – Open Sharing
• 14:25 – Reflection and Call to Action
• 15:00 – Commitment Wall and Closing

• 10 Practical tools & canvases
• Designing immersive employee experiences
• Diagnosing organisational effectiveness
• Structured intervention strategies
• Completion Certificate from IIT Hyderabad

• Senior & mid-level leaders
• HR, OD, L&D professionals
• Consultants & workplace strategists
• Corporate real estate leaders
• Faculty & postgraduate students

• "The collective aspiration to transform the workplace into a magnet rather than a mandate."
— Amarjeet Singh, Executive Director, Wells Fargo
• "Employees can leave organisations with a great culture if they do not feel valued."
— Saji Mark, Director, People Group, Ryan
• "10 practical tools — every concept directly translatable into actionable strategies."
— Raviteja Mupparaju, Milestone Technologies
• "This programme builds a solid framework — resist the urge to see management science as an employer's discipline."
— Venka Reddy, Chief People Officer, QualiZeal · Ex-HR Head, Infosys
• "Some learning experiences don't just give you frameworks — they change how you see collaborative opportunities."
— Biplab Basu, Tech Ops & Security, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation