Enhance Hiring Experience
A dashboard designed to unlock efficiency in the hiring process
My Role:
User Research: research plan, screener survey, user interview, user testing
UI Design: wireframe, prototype, UI iteration
Project Management: SOW development, client management
2.5 Weeks
3 UX Designers
Problem
Employers need a way to quickly access and comprehend crucial recruiting information so that they can stay organized and efficient throughout the recruiting process.
Background & Goals
A job search platform wants to provide employers a dashboard to help manage the recruiting process
https://afootinthedoor.work
A Foot in the Door is a job search platform dedicated to serve job seekers with 0–5 years of work experience, those who are often overlooked by employers. It was a pleasure to meet the masterminds behind this platform: Keith Francis (Founder), Eddie Liu (Chief Engineer) and Daniel Barb (Scrum Master).
Our client’s goal is to provide a recruiting dashboard for the employer interface to allow hiring managers and recruiters to perform recruiting tasks more efficiently and gain visibility into their talent pool.
A Foot in the Door started this project with a hypothesis in mind:
Providing a visual dashboard will enable hiring managers and recruiters to access recruiting statistics and information more easily, which will make A Foot in the Door a more attractive platform.
Research
We conducted research to test the hypothesis and gain insights into how the platform can deliver value to employers
The biggest challenge for the research process was finding recruiters or people with hiring experience to share insights. Although we distributed the screener survey on many platforms, we didn’t have much luck recruiting participants. To make sure we hear from those in a recruiting position, we tapped into our personal network to source interview participants.
Our persistence paid off, and we were able to have 10 interviewees with various hiring experiences and from different sizes of companies!
What we learned from the screener survey, user interviews, and market research:
Dashboards are standard features offered by existing platforms.
A dashboard that provides recruiting analytics may not be a net new solution for recruiters and hiring managers who have access to Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) or job search platforms like LinkedIn.
Zoho Recruit (ATS) Dashboard
There isn’t one set of recruiting metrics that fits all.
The type of metrics and data that matter vary depending on the employers, the recruiters (agency vs. in-house), the positions, and other factors.
Diversity is a goal but it is not actively monitored during recruiting.
Most recruiters we interviewed rarely review the demographics of their candidate pool during the hiring process. An exception is one recruiter from a larger company with a specific goal of increasing diversity representation. While our client views diversity as a critical metric to monitor, most recruiters see it as an aspirational goal rather than an actively tracked factor.
Focus on desktop web app design first.
Although our client showed strong interest in having a mobile design, 85% participants indicated they use desktop for recruiting activities; only 15% indicated they use mobile devices.
Keeping track of the numerous candidates is a challenge.
Recruiters indicated it was challenging to filter through numerous applications, manage scheduling among multiple parties, and tracking status and recruiting stages.
Keeping in consideration of our client’s vision, we recommended some adjustment to the priorities of our design sprint based on user feedback, which our client readily agreed to.
Design Vision
The dashboard should offer customization options and present easily digestible information
Based on our research findings, we envisioned our dashboard design would allow users to:
Gain quick insights through intuitive data visualization
Create a customizable dashboard
Select data points relevant to their needs
Share recruiting progress with stakeholders
We held a design studio to sketch ideas for the dashboard. We also drew inspirations from existing digital dashboards and design conventions of layout customization.
We liked the intuitive layout and the customization feature of the dashboards on Monday.com.
The client provided us with their existing branding guide and Figma files, enabling us to adhere to their established design style.
I tested the color contrasts for accessibility and found out that one of the client’s primary colors didn’t pass the test. I proposed changing the color to a slightly different shade to allow for better contrast, and I also added secondary colors to support the dashboard design.
I also made sure the dashboard design was aligned with the current layout, in order to maintain consistency across the web app.
Style Guide
We collaborated with the client to ensure that our design adheres to their branding guide
We envisioned users interact with the customizable metrics the same way they move widgets on iPhones.
User Testing & Iteration
To make sure our design truly meets the users’ needs, we conducted 3 rounds of usability tests to collect feedback
I tested the prototype with 4 users: 3 HR professional and 1 UX designer. I shared the Figma prototype with users and gave them scenarios and tasks to test the following features:
Customize the dashboard
Create a filtered view
Save changes to dashboard
Sharing a dashboard
Key Takeaways:
Overall Impression: Users find the dashboard visually pleasing and easy to understand. Most of the data presented on the dashboard is helpful information, however, some users would like to see data that is more relevant to the recruiting activities that they need to accomplish on a daily basis.
Findings on key features:
Customize the dashboard: Most users didn’t notice the “Customize Dashboard” button or understand its intent until they clicked on it and saw the options to select different data widgets to display on the dashboard page.
Create a filtered view: The design of data filters for each widget created some confusion, which was one of the focal points during iterations.
Save changes to dashboard: Users had no trouble completing this action.
Sharing a dashboard: This functionality was intuitive and easy to use.
Design Iteration
1. Clarified Usability Testing Questions
After the first usability test, we quickly realized some tasks were confusing to users. Therefore, I updated the wording in our usability test script to make sure we provide clear instructions to users.
2. Updated Default State of Filters
BEFORE
3. Clear Call to Actions on Data Widgets
2. More Relevant Dashboard Content for Users
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
AFTER
“This is a game changer compared to tracking information manually. I would use this tool!”
— HR Professional
Wireframes
Check out the final wireframes and prototype of the recruiting dashboard!
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Dashboard Home
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Data Widget Customization
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Chart Setting & Filters
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Share Dashboard
Outcome
The clients were impressed by the quality of the project output and excited about the dashboard design!
“I am very impressed by the quality of work you produced within 2.5 weeks! This team has been professional and well-prepared from the beginning. At first we were just thinking about a simple dashboard; however, the decision to make it customizable makes so much sense! I also appreciate that you took into consideration of the current layout and branding style.” - Founder
“The design looks great! I was already thinking how I can build it.” - Chief Engineer
What’s Next for the Dashboard Feature
Conduct additional research to create a comprehensive list of dashboard metrics
Design additional dashboard features not included in this prototype for different devices
Explore the potential for integrating with ATS to create a seamless experience for employer
Reflection
What went well:
Testing project hypothesis with users and starting with the right priorities. While our client had some assumptions on what would be valuable to users. We were able to make design decisions and help our client prioritize based on research.
Multiple iterations produced a stronger product. The feedback from user testing helped us identify and rectify any misguided assumptions. Our relentless focus on making incremental improvements was greatly appreciated by the client.
What I wish I had done differently:
I struggled with managing the balance between providing a clear usability test tasks and directly telling users what to click on. I wished I had thought through the test script more before facilitating the first round of testing.
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