Client Project -
6degrees

Stepping into uncharted territory!
As my teammates and I were new to the HR space, we decided to uncovered the magic behind the hiring curtain.  We delved into the world of candidate sourcing and screening, dissecting the methods companies use to find the perfect fit.

Equipped with this knowledge, we could laser-focus the project scope and identify the key touchpoints in the HR's  journey – the moments that truly matter.

Through a rigorous research process, encompassing both in-depth feature comparisons and user interviews, a critical gap emerged – no existing job portal in Asia harnessed the power of community referrals, a strategy proven successful in other regions.  This discovery led me to TalentUno, a European platform mirroring our client's vision.  

A subsequent, meticulously crafted feature comparison pitted TalentUno against five key competitors, illuminating the functionalities that would grant our client, 6degrees, a distinct competitive edge.

This analysis not only identified must-have features but also revealed opportunities to innovate and streamline the recruitment process, ultimately enhancing the candidate experience across Asia.

To deeply understand the target audience for this HR platform, we conducted intensive user interviews with eight diverse participants. These participants, representing a spectrum of age groups, genders, and seniority levels, were strategically chosen to ensure a breadth of perspectives within the HR domain.  Crucially, they all possessed a strong understanding of HR best practices and direct experience in hiring candidates.  This focus on qualified participants ensured their feedback was insightful and directly impacted purchase decisions and product effectiveness.

‍The interview structure was meticulously crafted, incorporating five key categories: Process, Sourcing, Referral, Screening, and Scenario-Based Assessments.  The scenario-based questions proved particularly valuable.  By introducing the business concept and understanding its market position within these scenarios, we were able to establish clear expectations for the product's development and ensure it addressed user needs from the outset.

To glean actionable insights from the user interviews, we employed a meticulous data analysis process.  Leveraging Affinity Mapping, we meticulously categorized similar thoughts and experiences from participants, allowing us to identify key findings.  Further delving into user perspectives, we then utilized "I" statements to articulate these findings in a way that resonated with the user's voice. This exercise fostered a deeper understanding of participant sentiment and enabled us to connect seemingly disparate statements.  Through this process, a clear User Persona and a concise Problem Statement emerged

User Persona

As designers, we understand that users are driven by needs, frustrations, and specific behaviors. Utilizing the key findings from affinity mapping, we were able to distill these user characteristics into a single, compelling User Persona. This persona served as our guiding light throughout the project, ensuring every design decision was made with the user's needs at the forefront.

‍The Voice of the User:  To illustrate the power of user insights, consider this compelling quote from one interview participant: "I don't want to find out only after 5 minutes into the interview that they are not suitable for the job." This powerful statement embodies the frustration of many HR professionals struggling with time-consuming and inefficient hiring processes.

Defining a compelling problem statement is the cornerstone of this process. This statement acts as a North Star, guiding design decisions that not only address the identified issue but also elevate the overall user experience.

This hypothesis goes beyond simply identifying the problem. It  predicts how specific features will address the user pain points. This prediction allows us to  clearly define which features we should track and ultimately measure the success of the design through carefully chosen key performance indicators (KPIs).

User Flows

Based on the features identified in our hypothesis and the knowledge gained from our user interviews, we created potential user flows. We worked closely with our client and went through multiple iterations to refine the user flow and arrive at the final version.

Wireframe

Building upon the user flows, we transitioned to crafting low-fidelity wireframes.  This process was guided by a relentless focus on user efficiency:
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‍Essential Information:  Every element was scrutinized to ensure it delivered only the most critical information for each step.
‍Actionable Steps: The user journey was meticulously mapped, ensuring clear and necessary actions at each stage.
‍Cognitive Load Management: We vigilantly assessed potential overload and proactively divided complex steps into smaller, more manageable tasks.

These considerations served as the bedrock for intuitive and efficient user flows, ultimately laying the foundation for an exceptional user experience.

This prototype showcases three user flows, which represent the user's three main touchpoints with the website.

Click the picture ^^ for a working prototype.

A simple comparison of how we expect the customer journey to change with the implementation of the new 6degrees website.