Recruitment Central

Revolutionising recruitment for tomorrow's talent

Client

A global Nasdaq-listed SaaS company. The company empowers businesses through its digital products for project management, team collaboration, and software development processes.

 

Stakeholders

FP&A, Hiring Manager, Talent Acquisition Professionals, HRBP, Project Manager

Background

The project focused on streamlining and enhancing the hiring process for the client in pursuit of its long-term objective of employing a total workforce of 25,000 staff by 2026.

My Role

My role as a UX Designer in this engagement included facilitating workshops with end users to gain valuable insights and feedback, adopting a user-centred approach. I created wireframes and ran usability testing to elevate enhancement of the UX of the product. From a team perspective, I worked closely with our business analysts in verifying that all necessary information was correctly gathered, and I collaborated with our software developers as they executed the building of Recruitment Central.

Challenges

  • Failure to Recruit Exceptional Talent Due to an Inefficient Hiring Process
    The previous hiring process was inefficient, characterised by lengthy and complex procedures, which resulted in exceptional talent opting to work for the client’s competitors.

  • Insufficient Data for Comparable Compensation
    Insufficient comparable compensation data restricted the client’s ability to determine competitive compensation packages for new hires. Without reliable salary information and knowledge of market trends, the client experienced difficulties in consistently attracting and retaining top-tier talent.

  • Silos Within the Hiring Process
    The hiring process was impeded by organisational silos, which hindered effective collaboration and communication between stakeholders. Different teams and departments operated in isolation, leading to delays, miscommunication, and inconsistencies in the hiring workflow.

Problem Statement

How might we streamline data management and provide market insights to enhance the client’s hiring process, enable them to attract and retain top talent by offering competitive compensation packages, and increase their competitiveness in the job market?

Process

  1. Facilitating Workshops
    To properly define user requirements, the engagement team facilitated several workshops. These workshops centred on the formulation of user stories in the format of, "As a [User Role], I want to [Action] so that [Benefit]". This process ensured that the engagement team acquired a comprehensive understanding of the users' objectives and motivations.

  2. Defining and Designing Features Tailored to User Personas
    Features were meticulously defined and designed to ensure alignment with the unique requirements of distinct user personas. By identifying and understanding these unique requirements, we were able to develop a user-centric product that catered to the specific needs of a diverse range of stakeholders.

  3. Usability Testing with Targeted End Users
    Usability testing with end users who specifically represented our target audience was prioritised. This approach allowed the team to gather precise feedback and insights, ensuring that the product aligns with the client’s expectations and requirements.ented our target audience was prioritised. This approach allowed the team to gather precise feedback and insights, ensuring that the product aligns with the client’s expectations and requirements.

  4. Creating Wireframes and Collaborating with Software Development Team
    The results of the usability testing were then translated into wireframes. Follow this, I then worked together with our software development team to build the dashboard. Collaboration with the software developer team was vital to ensuring a smooth transition from testing to implementation which fostered understanding between our broad multidisciplinary team.

Insights and Persona needs

  • Financial Planning Analysts (FPAs)
    FPAs need a way to swiftly assess whether or not compensation packages fall within predefined budgetary constraints. Furthermore, FPAs seek a streamlined process for the efficient approval of requests made by talent acquisition professionals.

  • Hiring Managers
    Hiring managers do not have real-time visibility into the status of current candidates. They require a clear and comprehensive understanding of where candidates currently stand in the hiring process. 

  • Talent Acquisition Professionals (TAs)
    TAs demand fast compensation approval from FPAs. This is essential to ensure prompt responses to prospective candidates, which would reduce their likelihood of exploring opportunities with rival employers. Additionally, TAs have access to real-time insights into prevailing market compensation rates, which is vital for maintaining competitiveness in the job market.

Early Flow and Wireframe Sketches

Wireframes and its Solution

Features of Recruitment Central, which are centred on its respective users and their needs, include the following:

  1. Offer Calculator Feature
    This feature streamlines the process of TAs in evaluating whether or not the proposed compensation of a candidate falls within budgetary constraints. If adjustments are required, a TA can promptly initiate approval requests with FP&A.

  2. Compensation Bands Feature
    This feature simplifies the process of TAs in assessing whether or not the proposed compensation adheres to budget constraints and also provides TAs the ability to contrast comparable compensation for identical job titles in the company.

  3. Hiring Status Feature
    This feature eliminates information silos by providing real-time insights into a candidate’s current hiring status. The feature promotes seamless collaboration between all relevant stakeholders including TAs, hiring managers, and the candidate themselves. This enhanced transparency and ability for cooperation significantly enhances the overall recruitment process in line with the objectives of the engagement.

  4. Offer Details Feature
    This feature creates an efficient communication channel between TAs and FP&As for the purpose of requesting input from FP&A on candidate compensation, and their approval/rejection of adjusted compensation offers. This feature directly addresses TAs’ concerns of the effect of delayed responses to candidates causing such candidates to consider opportunities with rival employers.

TA Dashboard

The TA Dashboard streamlines job requisition management and candidate offer calculations, replacing the previous Excel-based process and expediting hiring workflows. It also enables offer comparisons with the broader job market to ensure hiring competitiveness. In cases of budget exceedance, the dashboard allows a TA to make urgent approval requests addressed to FP&A.

FP&A Dashboard

The FP&A Dashboard streamlines the review and approval process of candidates for FP&A. When a TA sends FP&A a job offer for approval, FP&A has the option to “Approve” or “Send Back” a job offer with comments. The dashboard allows FP&A to view all outstanding offers and their details, ensuring swift and informed decision-making. The dashboard empowers the client to swiftly execute the hiring process and secure top talent before they consider exploring opportunities with rival employers.

Results

  • The engagement was a success as it advanced into the development phase, a milestone exemplifying our commitment to realising the engagement’s objectives

  • Our usability testing revealed positive outcomes, with participants rating the Recruitment Central platform an impressive 4.9 out of 5 (average). This positive rating underscores the effectiveness of our user-centred design approach and reflect the high degree of user satisfaction with the product

  • In addition to these quantitative findings, qualitative feedback from usability testing was equally encouraging. A TA expressing the following remark, “This is a remarkable enhancement! The transparent and streamlined interface significantly reduces friction in our hiring processes”, further reinforces the engagement’s success in meeting user expectations and optimising processes and communication between stakeholders

Personal Takeaways

Some key personal takeaways from the engagement included:

  • Critical importance of interdisciplinary collaboration: Working with our broader interdisciplinary team greatly contributed to project success. For instance, having an experienced business analyst to assist with requirement gathering significantly benefited the design process and its adherence to the project timeline

  • Contributing to Australia’s leading tech company: It was an absolute privilege to be able to contribute to the growth story of the most prominent Australian tech company. The sense of fulfilment in being a part of the company’s success story is extremely rewarding

  • The UX designer’s quest for lifelong learning and innovation: Continuous learning and adaptability in the ever-evolving field of UX design is vital. Furthermore, keeping abreast of the latest design trends and technologies is crucial for providing the best user experiences and driving project success