A DESIGN SPRINT

Overview

As Companies are continuing to grow their teams, many are investing in their employer branding efforts. However, many candidates don’t get a chance to interact with some of these employers without the framework of an open job opportunity.

Talent Communities is a space designed to build these relationships as initiated by interest and not job posts.

I was the main designer working on this new feature in Summer/Fall 2020.

The Problem

Problem #1: Enterprise companies face challenges building effective talent pipelines that aren’t just framed around job opportunity timelines. Often, even before a new role is posted recruiters want to engage in employer branding activities to increase interest in the company.

Problem #2: Many recruiters resort to “cold calling” or messaging individuals online who may not have interest in their company.

Problem #3: Potential job seekers may be interested in working in “dream” companies in the future and want to convey interest to recruiters of that company. However, they may fear that their current employer will find out if they show too much interest in these companies.

Problem #4: Glassdoor currently has the right audience but doesn’t have the necessary tools for employers to find and engage with highly motivated job seekers on a deeper level.

Enterprise Employers:
Have ongoing relationships with interested job seekers.

Glassdoor Users:
Show interest to companies they want to work at, without fearing about their current employers.

Product:
Connecting this new feature with the currently existing Glassdoor product ecosystem.

Design Sprint

To make sure stakeholders were aligned in the goals and expectations of this project, the Talent Relationships PM and I led a week-long design sprint. For our design sprint, the problem statement was:

How might we create tools for employers to connect with and engage this audience as a means of providing transparency and establishing an effective talent pipeline.

Through this problem statement, we established a framework where we sought to build empathy with our 2 main user groups: Glassdoor users and Glassdoor enterprise company clients.

A snapshot of our design sprint agenda

A snapshot of our design sprint participants’ solutions

Concept Test Prototypes

For concept testing, we had 2 prototypes: one for the Job Seeker POV and the other for the Employer POV. Both prototypes were created in black and white so that the main focus was on the concept validation for research.

Prototype 1: Job Seeker POV

Community Homepage

Job Seeker POV Prototype Interactions

Prototype 2: Employer POV

Community Homepage

Employer POV Prototype Interactions

User Research

Phase 1: Glassdoor Users

Methodology

Research was done in 2 phases. Phase 1 was completed by concept testing with Glassdoor users. The goal of this concept test was user validation of the design.

Through unmoderated testing, we had our research participants complete tasks and answer some scripted questions. The tasks were centered around specific features we prioritized in getting feedback on such as interacting with a Q&A forum.

Results

The NPS score for the Talent Communities Employer Concept was 80. None were Detractors, 20% were Passives, and 80% were Promoters.

This talent pool audience found this Employer Community concept very appealing. Most could imagine joining a few communities for their dream companies and “cool” tech companies.

More clarity is needed around anonymity, membership, and participation, but the design concept was perceived as a useful and user friendly way to network their way towards their next job opportunity with the help of Glassdoor.

Phase 2: Employers

Methodology

Phase 2 was completed by concept testing with Employers who were Glassdoor customers. Similarly to phase 1 of the research, the goal of this concept test was validation of the design.

Through unmoderated testing, we had our research participants complete tasks and answer some scripted questions.

The main question we wanted to answer through our testing was: Would Employers find value in using something like the GD Talent Community concept?

Our hypothesis for testing was: EB & TA professionals find Glassdoor Talent Communities to be an effective way to actively engage with candidates and are willing/able to manage a Glassdoor Talent Community on top of their other recruiting & pipeline management practices.

Results

The NPS score for the B2B Talent Communities Concept was 70. None were Detractors, 30% were Passives, and 70% were Promoters.

This audience of employers was very impressed and intrigued by the Talent Community product concept. Nearly all envisioned using it daily or weekly to feature open jobs, direct message, source candidates, and post content.

The overall architecture of the product was appealing and intuitive. It felt familiar to users who compared it to “social media” platforms and “forums.” 

Common ROI calculations for hiring solutions (e.g. “cost per hire,” “retention rate”) in conjunction with a “trial” period were mentioned as expected ways of measuring the product’s success internally, particularly if it were a paid product.

Designs

Member Profile Selection

Community Selection

Community Homepage

Community Events and Skill Challenges

Notifications

Member List

Final Thoughts and Next Steps

High NPS Scores: From our research, we were able to validate our users’ needs through our solution. With the encouragement of high NPS scores from both research sessions, I was able to continue to ideate for our users’ needs with additional findings.

B2B & B2C: Through this project, I was given the opportunity to design for a unique space that directly involved both B2B and B2C users. Going forward, I’m excited to continue to work with stakeholders on both sides of the Glassdoor ecosystem.

Stakeholders: This project involved working with numerous stakeholders- the most I have ever been a part of. Managing and leading the design, while also involving a large number of stakeholders was definitely one of the biggest skills I learned through this project.

Current Glassdoor Ecosystem: How this project fit and worked with some of the currently existing Glassdoor products was a caveat of this project that I will be continuing to focus in the next steps I take. This will also influence product priorities in the future possibly.

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