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Role.
I interned at the technology unit at Beryl Consulting group. During my role, I worked on CrunchT, one of their start-up ventures, creating the MVP UX flow as well as the design system.
Goal.
Streamline the hiring process for recruiters and hiring managers
Duration & Team.
3 months
I worked with 1 other designer and a team of data analysts, developers, and a PM.
Solution
CrunchT uses A.I. to source candidates and organize hiring information in one place. While the software targets 2 user groups (recruiters, and candidates), I have only focused on the recruiter flow for this case study.
ORGANIZE AND POST JOB LISTINGS
Users are able to post and organize job listings while monitor their candidate pipeline on the same platform.
02.
Key Features.
01.
RECRUITING DASHBOARD
The dashboard gives quick access to important data (ex. new applications) and analytics showcasing key metrics (e.g. breakdown of hiring pipeline).
03.
CANDIDATE SOURCING - RECOMMENDED CANDIDATES
CrunchT uses Artificial intelligence to parse resumes and suggest recommended candidates for specific job listings.
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Recruiting can be a time consuming process and an unfit candidate recommendation can often cause reputable damage.
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I interned with CrunchT, whose goal was to use Artificial intelligence to create a software to ease the hiring process for recruiters and hiring managers.
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I began by conducting primary research to understand the problem in more detail and empathize with my users.
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I collaborated with product managers, designers, angular engineers, back end developers and data scientists to design the UI/UX of the software.
- Starting Point 🐎 -
Artificial Intelligence can be used to make the hiring process more efficient and less time consuming for recruiters and hiring managers.
- Hypothesis -
- Primary Research & Synthesis 🔬 -
To gain an in-depth understanding of user habits, behaviors and pain points with the recruiting and hiring process.
Recruiters and Hiring managers
We sent out questionnaires to 20-25 hiring managers and recruiters through the firm. Here is the link to the questionnaire. We then conducted virtual interviews with 8 of the responders to get a more detailed and qualitative understanding of their answers and build empathy with our users.
Based on the user research we compiled an affinity map to organize our qualitative data. I first jotted jotted down key words and phrases from the questionnaires and interview transcript, sorted them by users, and then proceeded to organize them into thematic clusters.
KEY WORDS FROM INTERVIEWS
THEMATIC CLUSTERS
"Since the pandemic the market has been hot so organizing loads of data with teams becomes difficult"
Janine
Recruiter
"We don’t have too many problems getting candidates to the phone, it's more about after that."
John
Headhunter
"We got 100s of applications, spent hours looking for viable ones, which were maybe 5 in 20."
Nili
Recruitment Manager
"We battle out of date data and a lack of seamlessness between platforms like LinkedIn & Encore"
Adam Barne
Recruiter
- Quotes From Our Users 📣 -
Simplfied
Users felt that existing ATS/ candidate sourcing softwares were unnecessarily complicated. They needed a simple/ easy to use platform.
One Stop Platform
Users used many softwares for candidate sourcing and applicant tracking. This lead to a lack of seamlessness between platforms and added confusion.
Ideal Candidate Sourcing
Users had a hard time finding viable candidates that were fit for a particular role.
Seamless Communication
The lack of a one stop platform made it difficult to manage and keep track of candidate and teammate communication.
Digestible Analytics
The data visualization available on certain platforms is too overwhelming whereas some platforms didn't provide much visual data.
Automation
With the lack of a one stop platform there is a lot manual data entry required to keep all platforms in sync.
- Synthesizing Insights: Needs -
We started our with a user persona, however since the recruiting process is so varied across different companies I suggested that we convert it to a user profile to avoid focusing on recruiters and hiring managers for specific firms/ roles.
- User Profile -
How might we design an all in one, simple platform to help hiring managers and recruiters source and organize candidates and candidate information?
- Redefined Problem -
We conducted a competitive analysis with all the competitors we identified in our research to identify features that were solving the user problems we were attempting to solve for.
- Competitive Analysis -
- Brainstorming Solutions -
We created a table to brainstorm features for each user need. I empathized with our users along the way and listed all ideas without being held back by technical/ budget constraints.
At this point I had an understanding of what features users prioritized. I created a roadmap based on the user needs and the ease of implementation by consulting with our front and back end team. Although the goal is to solve for all pain-points and develop a one stop-platform we also had to make sure the MVP is simple and intuitive and not cluttered with features. We were faced with a tight budget and technical constraints that we had to keep in mind while prioritizing these features.
- Feature Roadmap -
Now that we had finalized features for the MVP, I moved on to wireframing.
- Wireframing -
Since we wanted CrunchT to stand out from it's competition, I created the design system of our application from scratch. For this, I began by creating a mood board of the values I wanted our product to reflect (Professional, Simple, Reliable). I then looked at other applications that reflected similar values (Ex. LinkedIn). Using atomic design principles as well as inspiration from other design systems as a reference, I compiled brand guidelines, which lead to the of atoms, and subsequently organisms and pages.
- Design System Snippet -
Faster Development
IMPACT #1
The creation of reusable styles and components allowed our development team to minimize redundancy and reduce time spent on coding each component from scratch.
Efficient Design Transition
IMPACT #2
CrunchT is an evolving product and my time there was limited. As new designers take over, the design system allows them to easily iterate on components based on user-feedback and make quick changes across the product.
Accessibility
IMPACT #3
Throughout this process, I referenced WCAG Level AA guidelines to ensure the design system was inclusive. In addition to increased inclusivity, the reduced barriers to adoption also increases business value.
Personal Growth
IMPACT #4
This was my first time creating a design system from scratch. I referenced tutorials and consulted with other designers which increased by personal knowledge and skills.
Many start-ups often don't see the value in building a design system early in the product's development. in this case, advocating for a design system quickly showed its benefits.
- Design System Impact -
Below are some key screens to highlight the features and functionality of this tool.
Key Screens 🔑
The recruiter dashboard provides a centralized view of job listings, candidate data, and relevant metrics.
Recruiting Dashboard
DASHBOARD TAB
My Jobs
JOBS TAB
Through this page, recruiters can efficiently view, filter, and organize job listings according to their status. They are also able to see the number of applications per listing allowing insights into engagement.
Create Job Listing
JOBS TAB
Recruiters are able to create and share a job listing by inputing details, requirements, and screening questions, increasing outreach to their ideal candidates.
My Network
CANDIDATES TAB
'My Network' page allows recruiters to:
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View candidates that have applied for their job postings
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Search and filter for specific candidates
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Organize candidates according to where they are in the pipeline
All Candidates
CANDIDATES TAB
'All Candidates' page allows recruiters to:
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View recommended candidates for each listing
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Search and filter for candidates that match their criteria
The candidate or recruiter profile allows transparency for both candidates, and recruiters. Recruiters are able to see candidate details including their resume, experiences, and education.
Candidate Profile
PROFILE
- Test & Iterate -
I conducted usability tests over zoom with 4 potential users. We gave them a goal (ex. Post a job) and watched where the were facing difficulties. While they were able to navigate through, letting us know that the product was simple and intuitive, we were faced with some questions we had to iterate our designs to solve for.
1) "How do I account for multiple round interviews and background checks in the pipeline"
BEFORE :
AFTER :
CHANGE 1:
Although we used a very generic recruiting pipeline, we hadn't accounted for the different facets and nuances every pipeline might have.
We added a feature where users are able to customize the default pipeline for each job by adding, rearranging and deleting pipeline stages.
2) "Let's say someone applied through LinkedIn and I add them into my CrunchT platform manually. How can I keep track of where they applied from initially?"
BEFORE :
AFTER :
CHANGE 2:
Initially users could add candidates manually into the CrunchT pipeline if they had applied externally. However, this provided no insights and data on how they applied. This eliminates important data and could get confusing.
I added a field where users could input the platform through which candidates have applied. This information would then reflect on their application.
3) "How would I know whether a majority of applications are actually through CrunchT vs. other recruiting platforms?"
CHANGE 3 (BOTTOM RIGHT DATA VISUALIZATION) :
Initially I designed with the assumption that since this is a one stop platform, users wouldn't need to post listings on other websites. However, users felt hesitant about putting all their eggs in one basket with this platform and stressed the importance of knowing which platform was generating the most applicants.
I changed the line graph on the dashboard (which was earlier reflecting candidate pipeline info) to display quantitative candidate info across different platforms. The platforms will reflect the platforms inputted by the user when adding candidates manually (see above).
- High Fidelity Prototype -
Simplified Process
Based on task completion tests, 80% participants successfully completed 100% of their assigned tasks within the given time. This indicated that our product was simple and intuitive to use.
One Stop Platform
83% participants expressed relief in having all recruiting activities consolidated into a single platform, eliminating the need to juggle multiple tools and enhancing overall.
Ideal Candidate Sourcing
100% of participants expressed enthusiasm regarding the use of AI to parse candidate resumes and generate recommendations.
Seamless Communication
Unfortunately our messaging feature was temporarily deprioritized due to newly discovered technical constraints, this is scheduled to be released soon after first launch. While this need is partly addressed through the "contact info" feature on the candidate profile tab, 50% participants expressed a need to message candidates directly from the platform.
Digestible Analytics
100% of participants thought the graphs displayed on the dashboard indicating applicant breakdown by pipeline and applied candidates by platform were helpful. However, 33% wanted to see additional data such as diversity metrics, offer acceptance rate, etc. While we priotitized the most important metrics for the MVP, as we iterate on CrunchT, we plan on incorporating more detailed analytics.
Automation
100% of participants appreciated the cross platform syncing as applications received from other job listing sites such as LinkedIn and Indeed will populate on CrunchT, reducing the manual input needed.
- User Impact & Opportunities -
Working within tight feasibility constraints: While users expressed satisfaction over the product, due to technical feasibility and budgeting issues, we were only partly able to address some user needs (seamless communication and digestible analytics) for the MVP, indicating growth opportunities in these areas. As we iterate on the product, we plan on incorporating a messaging feature to address the pain-point of users having to leave the platform to contact the candidate through email or phone. We also plan on adding an analytics page with detailed metrics to give users additional actionable insights that drive overall recruitment success.
- Reflection & Next Steps -