The recruitment process has become increasingly impersonal over the years — for both candidates and recruiters — and it’s obvious both sides aren’t satisfied with the experience. WaterAid contacted me with a challenge “how can we rebuild the candidate experience?”
THE ROLE
UX Researcher and Designer
UX Researcher and Designer
I led the implementation of the new talent journey at each identified candidate touchpoint.
I firstly uncovered insights and translated concepts into features that addressed job applicant behaviours and motivations. I then created frameworks and prototypes to share the vision, design principles and strategic goals with the wider team and stakeholders, prioritising and negotiating features for the new system launch and beyond.
I executed and evolved journeys, wireframes, prototypes and design specs to link user and business goals and collaborated with platform designers and their PM partners to translate product features for a new global WaterAid careers site.
In the project a Design Thinking methodology was utilised as a non-linear, iterative process that enabled us to understand users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems and create innovative solutions to prototype and test.
THE CHALLENGE
Candidate experience matters!
Candidate experience matters!
As many as 4 out of 5 candidates (78%) say the overall candidate experience they receive is an indicator of how a company values its people. More than ever before, job seekers and employers are recognising the critical importance of an end-to-end candidate experience.
WaterAid is an international not-for-profit, determined to reach everyone, everywhere with clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. They operate in 37 countries worldwide and employ a diverse range of people and skillsets, from activists, programme staff, fundraisers to water and sanitation specialists.
A new HR software implementation at WaterAid allowed for the opportunity to analyse the recruitment journey to understand the complex perceptions, attitudes and behaviours of both candidates and hiring managers to help inspire the right people to join WaterAid and therefore achieve the organisational mission to give everyone, everyone access to clean water by 2030.
THE APPROACH
Valuing simplicity, utility and focus
Valuing simplicity, utility and focus
Simplicity was the main priority throughout the whole project. To achieve simplicity a deep understanding of our audience was needed to ensure that we were serving users what they need, when they need it, in the most straightforward way possible.
Secondly, it was key that we were always offering utility throughout the candidate experience. When analysing each touchpoint with the applicant we asked ourselves “Am I communicating information in a way that works for my audience?”
“Gemma was great at communicating the business value of UX to project stakeholders. It helped the wider team understand the value that attention and focus on human centred design would bring to this project.”
VICTORIA PINNER, IT PROGRAMMES MANAGER AT WATERAID
VICTORIA PINNER, IT PROGRAMMES MANAGER AT WATERAID
THE DELIVERABLES
Research
Research
It was fundamental to the success of this project that I undertook research to ensure there was a clear understanding of the people who are going to interact with the WaterAid candidate experience.
The research needed to be global in its focus and I gathered case study information, quantitative data, and conducted interviews from multiple countries. This solid research grounding enabled me to later produce designs that were truly relevant to the target audience in all of the countries WaterAid works.
In the initial stages it was important to conduct detailed research to help gain an empathic understanding of the problem you are trying to solve.
I presented the research to the project sponsor and other major stakeholders to show how cultivating a great candidate experience can strengthen company growth. According to a survey conducted by IBM, only 25% of dissatisfied candidates are likely to become new customers, whereas for satisfied candidates that number jumps more than double to 53%. This likely translates directly into additional revenue for companies with positive candidate experiences.
Candidate experience mapping
The candidate experience map was a visual interpretation of the overall story from an individual’s perspective of their relationship with WaterAid across channels and over time, from their initial job search and application to their first day at WaterAid. By analysing every potential touchpoint with WaterAid it enabled me to shed light on key opportunities for deepening these interactions.
Scrutinising each touchpoint helped WaterAid gain insights into potential user pain points, how they can improve the candidate experience, and define what users, and prospective employees, need at each stage of the recruitment journey.
The map was used throughout the project to help the team to consider interactions from the candidates points of view, instead of taking an inside-out approach. The map was continually evolved over the course of the project and enabled WaterAid to move from a more transactional approach to recruitment to one that focused on long term relationship built on respect, consistency and trust.
There were multiple iterations of the candidate journey to ensure that we were provided the best possible experience for applicants across all touchpointswith WaterAid.
The new global careers site
One key decision after the research stage in this project was to develop a completely new careers site for WaterAid. Separate to the country websites that already exist, this site would serve as the global platform for all jobs at WaterAid. Developing an API to also post vacancies to other jobs boards meant that hiring managers can easily advertise their vacancy on common jobs boards in their country.
Site architecture for the WaterAid careers site. Usability testing ensured that the site is laid out in a logical manner with minimal effort required to search for vacancies.
Low fidelity prototyping allowed the design to be tested and evolved quickly. Sharing the design with the developers, copywriters and product managers from this early stage also meant options could be explored. Involving the technical team meant that development could begin while the design stage was still in progress.
Iterative approach: from paper prototyping to high fidelity interactive design to final product
Roadmap and futureproofing
While my role was to design the new careers site to its initial launch, it was also important to scope and prioritise features to develop the product beyond its MVP.
A roadmap was produced with features and enhancements validated by my research and data to encourage the Product Manager and HR professionals to continue to adopt a user centric approach to development and work collaboratively. Aligning the roadmap with WaterAid’s strategic goals also gave visibility to stakeholders about the value of a great UX and candidate experience.
Ensuring the design is suitable for all WaterAId's languages means that the global jobs site can become even more accessible in the future.
THE IMPACT
The need for a human touch
The need for a human touch
The new recruitment system went live on 2 April 2019. WaterAid are now viewing job seekers as a key stakeholder group within their brand strategy. They are confident that by focusing on the candidate experience it will have a dramatic effect on important metrics: attracting talent, cost per hire, job-offer acceptance, and even revenue generation.
View the global WaterAid careers site jobs.wateraid.org >
The new WaterAid global careers site features the latest job vacancies easily searchable by location and department, insights into life at the WaterAid plus details of benefits, training and development opportunities.
If you're doing exciting things and need help with anything user experience related, I'd love to talk.