Applicant Tracking System design
TEAM:
1 Product/UX Designer
1 Visual Designer
Multiple Contacts at Koya
MY ROLE:
Product/UX Designer
Project Manager
TOOLS:
Pencil and Paper
Conference Rooms
Google Drive
Axure
Overview
Who is Koya?
Koya Leadership Partners (Koya) is a leading executive search and strategic advising firm dedicated to connecting exceptionally talented people with mission-driven clients. Koya contracted Vyasa Analytics to design their applicant tracking system, or Talent Profile, as they called it.
what is the Talent Profile?
The Talent Profile is the first touchpoint for all candidates who are looking for work on their platform. It gathers critical data about the candidate through a series of in-depth questions related to their previous work experience, skill sets, passion areas, personal information, as well as Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) information.
Koya was using a simple form to capture candidate information which was not robust enough to effectively collect the large amount of data needed to best help candidates find their employment match. I was tasked with creating a system that gathered the candidates’ relevant data but didn’t feel intrusive by asking irrelevant questions.
The goal
Transform the gathering of candidate information from a simple form to a multi-page Talent Profile.
The Approach
As clean as this nifty visual makes my approach look, the reality is that I was jumping around between these spheres to better serve the design, and more importantly, the candidates.
A Sensitive Subject
Conversations with Stakeholders and Users
Koya takes diversity very seriously. Its staff is diverse in race, gender, sexual orientation, and social class, as are the companies and candidates they work with. Accurately and thoughtfully gathering EEO was at the forefront of this project for the stakeholders.
To prepare myself for creating the EEO section of the Talent Profile, I navigated through pages of EEO laws and guidelines (my years navigating legalese in financial compliance were helpful here) and scoured other employment and staffing agencies’ websites for comparative analysis. But in the end, I was happy to take direction from Koya’s lawyers on the best language to use on these particular pages.
The collection of EEO information was a deeply personal and sensitive subject for each person I spoke with. I pulled from my experience in social responsibility work, previous user interviews, and hosting my discussion-based podcast to tactfully navigate many delicate conversations with stakeholders and users alike.
Sketching
EEO Prep Page
To best connect candidates with potential employment, Koya required a great deal of information from users. I interviewed various members of Koya’s team to determine the requisite information prior to sketching out individual pages.
Finding and maintaining the best flow of information was essential for a seamless user experience, especially for the EEO pages. I melded suggestions from Koya with insights from users to create a slide which would prepare the candidate for the EEO collection.
Key UX Elements
Controls
Clear navigation
Dropdown menus
Checkboxes
Toggles
Radio buttons
Upload functions
Helper Text Where Necessary
Indicated in my sketches by squiggly horizontal lines
Minimize Cognitive Load
One question per page
As few selections as possible
Consistent formatting and selection methods
Paper Prototype
Usability Testing
I conducted three rounds of usability testing with three different groups of users. The first two groups were made up of representative users: people who were in the job market, but not currently using Koya’s services.
The third group consisted of Koya staff members who were chosen by their executive team to review the Talent Profile from an internal perspective. I reminded Koya team members that this group didn’t represent actual users, but their feedback did help to further understand the range of emotions attached to the EEO pages.
Quotes Regarding Ethnicity:
“Do not lead with white! This has to change. Very disrespectful. I would go alphabetical.”
“I love that you let people select all that apply. It’s the first time I personally could select both Black and Native American. ... I thought the ability to multi-select was both inclusive and empowering for individuals. Kudos.”
“I’m all for diversity, but I don’t want to be hired based solely on my race.”
quotes Regarding Gender:
“Oh, that’s good, non-binary. ”
“I think you could put in more gender options.”
Affinity MApping
Ease Them In
During an affinity mapping session after my second round of usability tests, I learned that the EEO prep page did indeed help ease the users in. Four different users shared positive thoughts about the page when they came to it. (See the “I” statements in the first image above.)
Final Adjustments
After some rewording, slide rearrangement, and updates regarding required fields, the final design of the Talent Profile was complete. My visual designer and software engineer did their magic and we delivered the final product to Koya.
Below are screenshots of the final product.
How’d I do?
Within 30 Days of Launch
Within 30 days of launch: 1,700 new candidates, 19 contacted support with issues, most issues were resolved with a simple browser update.
Within 150 Days of Launch
Within 150 days of launch: 83.9% increase in users and 19.1% decrease in bounce rate.
Reception
Quotes from Koya Team Members
“[The Talent Profile] is AMAZING! Thanks to everyone involved!”
“Thanks Steve! The final product looks fantastic!”
“We’ve been getting really great feedback from the team on the Talent Profile.”
“I just completed a test run (for IT) of the new Talent Profile page, and it is beautiful. The following pages [pronoun and gender slides] made me smile. Major kudos to the team!”
Next Steps
Candidate Portal
Create a portal for the candidate where they can update their information, search and organize job opportunities, create notification preferences, and search an FAQ.
Incorporate Machine Learning
Have the AI compile a list of existing job opportunities while the candidate is completing the Talent Profile.
Upon completion, the user sees a handful of relevant opportunities along with all other open opportunities.
LinkedIn Import
Automatically pull LinkedIn info into the Talent Profile.