— CLIENT
Akind (Academic Work)
— ROLE
UX designer
— PROJECT TYPE
3 months – 2019
Summary
At Academic Work, a staffing and recruitment company, we made sure that the recruitment delivery plan meant for consultant managers and recruiters to use underwent a makeover to align with the vision of being the go-to choice for hiring, ensuring utmost customer satisfaction.
Shifting from rigid structures to user-friendly customisation, the plan became a transparent and adaptable guide, leading to a significant increase of 600% in usage, 12 day less on average time to hire and a 15% increase in client satisfaction. This story showcases the power of teamwork and user-centric design, where Academic Works' vision came to life through practical improvements that resonated with users.
The recruitment process board for our consultant managers and recruiters
Note: Because of NDA this is not the real system but my close to reality visualisation
From chaos to action
Stressing in a demanding world
In the world of recruitment chaos, there was this delivery plan that only a handful of our recruiters and consultant managers —like 10% —bothered with.
Also, from metrics gathered, we knew that it took on average 42 days to fill a position. We definitively wanted to try and bring this number down a notch. obviously with awareness of other affecting factors such as the job market and/or client requirements.
So let's dig into the solution as it is now. Picture a funnel with most of your recruitment assignments blushing in red, and you with your stress levels already above the roof having to bother with the alarming colour, the frustration or confusion of not really knowing why and how to solve it.
The plan was supposed to be the superhero cape for them, helping to figure out who goes where in these recruitment missions and at the same time give customers a clear insight into the process. But nope, plans were made in secret with private notes and custom designs sent to clients. It was a bit of a mess.
Imagine telling clients about their recruitment journey with zero consistency and no sleek design. The system’s plan? Well, it was like living in a fantasy world, not matching what real users faced.
And what else? Well, promising clients exact dates was like playing with fire. There was a lot of risk in over-promising, and it was totally fair they wanted to prevent it from happening.
Everyone also wanted to be able to provide a personal touch in talking to clients about how things were going in their hiring process instead of giving a sense of being only a inhumane system. Completely understandable too.
Consultant managers and recruiters found it easier to take matters into their own hands, but that took up a ton of time, especially when dealing with one recruitment process at a time was far from their reality.
The light at the end of the tunnel appeared when we got this grip on what users were going through by talking to them. I took the chance and motivated my whole team to bump our heads together to turn these challenges into opportunities such as:
• Power to tweak the delivery plan based on their unique hiring journey
• No more strict deadlines; you could use time intervals
• Unnecessary steps? Just kick 'em out (not quite, there's still a business process to keep in mind)
• And templates? Imagine editable blueprints that fit the client’s needs
• Plus, clearer indications on the plan and the funnel on how you're going with your plan, and when and how you should take action
With the elaborated changes in Figma (still NDA)
Synchronising harmoniously
Teamwork at it’s finest
It’s like when a dance is choreographed but it looks and feels natural, with openness for improvisations spontaneously involved. You’d say that is when the magic happens but the magic is all spread in the process to get here as a team as well!
One golden moment? When we did some undercover testing of two versions to figure out what users found was clearer indication on what was going on and what they were supposed to do. The team wasn’t always on the same page, but user feedback ruled. We all joined forces, turning a tough job into a team mission.
Visual progress in the work for the delivery plan became our superstar, with everyone pitching in— creating the logic behind the scenes, designs, tests, the whole shebang. Teamwork rocked, and we encouraged open chats and creative solutions.
Two versions we tested out during guerilla testing
Behind the scenes
Many job ads emphasize the need for a UX/UI designer with a keen eye for detail. The same holds true for user experience.
The differences in the examples above may seem minor, but in their context, one led to clear confusion while the other did not. Why should we make both ourselves and, more importantly, the user go through an extra thought process?
To illustrate, in example B, an unfinished step remains gray. All steps in the plan before it's created and sent to the customer are also gray. This led the user to believe that the step wasn't active, valid, or that something was wrong, despite receiving feedback that it had been sent to the customer and the card being green on the board.
There's also a lot of work in the details. For instance, in date intervals, we needed to create functionality in the date picker that didn't exist before. Since we lacked a design system, I had to build one from scratch that not only fit into the system's design but also gave me the freedom to change the look and feel. I explored other date pickers in our internal systems but unfortunately discovered the chaos when there's no design system at hand.
There were numerous different date pickers, even within the same system. 🤯🤯🤯
Building from or relying on an already established design system was given higher priority in the backlog after this project.
Business jargons & love for processes
Now, imagine this delivery plan journey as a rollercoaster of challenges, where we not only had to make it flexible for users but also give the business a solid process they could proudly flaunt. It was like walking a tightrope, especially when dealing with one type of recruitment where clients often wanted specific dates, while our recruiters were terrified of overcommitting.
On top of that, we had this puzzle with the names of different steps. Business jargon wasn’t always the friendliest language, not just to clients but even to the users themselves. It was like speaking a secret code that only a few understood. We needed a makeover, a language that spoke to everyone.
So, there we were, huddled with stakeholders, armed with sketches, discussing changes and iterating like mad scientists in a lab.
Trust goes a long way
And the plot thickens. We shared our findings and design decisions with our stakeholders, discussed about the process and the naming but the how-to part was left entirely to our development team.
It was a dance where we had the straws to take responsibility, turning our ideas into a well-prepared ice rink – smooth, polished, and ready for action.
The journey wasn’t just about fixing a broken system; it was about finding that delicate balance, speaking a language everyone understood, and letting everyone shine in their element.
And through all the twists and turns, sketches, testing and stakeholder powwows, we emerged with a delivery plan that wasn’t just flexible but a coherent process the business could stand for and for the users to finally destress.
It was like turning chaos into a well-choreographed dance, where everyone had their moment in the spotlight with a clear understanding of why and whom they were doing the performance for.
The best applauses we could get, live in the real world 🫶
Valuable proof to say the least
In product development you never now for sure if what you're going to put out there will be good until.. you know.
Our consultant managers and recruiters were telling us that the new plan was valuable for them but most importantly numbers were telling us the same.
Let's not forget about our clients and their satisfaction score on our candidate delivery service which increased with 15% after the first quarter of implementation. In the end, if we keep our employees happy we keep our clients happy.
Wrapping up
Reflections
In very few projects have I felt as deeply involved as in this one. Here, I’ve not only created different coloured status updates (very simple said), but I’ve also delved into the intricacies around and out of the design process. It’s been more than just crafting visual elements or understanding the user; I’ve been actively contributing to shaping the logic behind it, delving into coding, and witnessing the transformation come to life.
I had the opportunity to step into the shoes of my product owner for a few weeks, prioritising actions based on both technical requirements and user feedback after the changes were implemented.
I sensed personal growth not only in my ability to communicate my design to various roles and individuals but, more importantly, in empathy, tolerance, and understanding.
In all humbleness, I must emphasise that my passion for my work ensures that my colleagues will always be aware when something doesn’t seem right to me or when certain activities or executions don’t contribute positively in the long run!