Context
Litespace is a B2B SaaS platform that provides HRIS and EOR solutions to SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises). They also provide AI-driven solutions for HR tasks such as resumes screeners, candidate profilers, and AI interviews and assessments.
Task
Designing a Performance Reviews module, specifically for SMEs, by incorporating existing features in the platform.
Problem
Optimizing the overall review process, while maintaining functionality and addressing user needs.
Outcome
A tailored Performance Review module that cuts down the overall process duration by approximately 50%.
TEAM
ZS
MY RESPONSIBILITIES
Product Analysis
Secondary Research
Product Design
TIMELINE
Jul '24 to Aug '24
(3 months)
Review Writing Screen
First steps
Performance reviews is a fairly vast and complex process, and when I joined Litespace I had no knowledge about how the process works.
My first step involved understanding how performance reviews work from a high-level perspective and how they integrate with other process in an HRIS.
Simultaneously I also analyzed the competitors to understand the practical digital implementation of this complex workflow.
Competitors
High-level process: Performance reviews
Research file
Finding Clarity
After spending considerable time studying the performance review process, I prepared the feature architecture, by preparing a functional inventory which focused on pages and major tasks. The feature architecture and the functional inventory served as the foundations for the user flows, providing a clear picture of the digital process.
Functional inventory (Pages & Tasks): Performance reviews
Feature architecture: Performance reviews
User flow example: Editing a submitted response
User needs
I also did some desk research to understand what problems the target audience might face, mainly those who write reviews and those who receive them.
PAIN POINT 1
Reviews take loads of expensive staff hours and do not incorporate valuable historical context for fairness.
Read Article
PAIN POINT 2
Reviews fail to support employee growth, due to the absence of a clear feedback and goal alignment phase.
Solution
Along with delivering 15+ flows in 4 distinct modules that covered the entire performance reviews module, I designed 3 key solutions that directly addressed the pain points.
SOLUTION 1
AI Context for fair review writing assistance.
SOLUTION 2
Post-review feedback meetings.
SOLUTION 3
AI assisted questionnaire builder and review templates.
Design Process
Being in a fast-paced start-up, delivery needs to be quick and this module had to be done by the end of Q3. I followed a 3-phase, wireframe to mid-fidelity to high-fidelity approach in close connection with the co-founder which gave me enough time to gather feedback and improve designs over 2 iterations.
Design Process
AI Context
Litespace generates AI context through meeting data captured by a meeting agent. The context provides a summary from all meetings in the review cycle between an employee and their manager to ensure fairness through incorporation of data from real conversations, capturing the full picture.
I also integrated the existing shoutout module that highlights praises an employee gets from other employees at the workplace to capture positives from work.
How Shoutouts and AI context work together
Prototype: Viewing Praises and AI context
Solves pain point 1
AI Questions & Templates
Review cycle set up get's fairly exhausting sometimes, due to having to prepare a questionnaire that helps cover the review process. We provided pre-built templates for various use-cases, so teams could focus on what matters, which is writing the reviews. I also added a question generator, to help customize templates or build better questionnaires from scratch.
Mockup: Selecting a template
Solves pain point 1
Prototype: Preview and use template
Solves pain point 1
Post-review meetings
A review cycle is incomplete, if it doesn't positively help employees at the company. Post review meetings are advocated to make the most out of a review cycle, to address mismatch in employee and manager perspectives and reassess and realign goals for employees to help them grow.
Post-review meetings are automatically scheduled by the system if not within 5 business days of getting results, moreover the employee is prompted to schedule one when they view their results.
Prototype: Scheduling a post-review meeting
Solves pain point 2
Overall structure
Along with the above solutions, I designed flows for every sub-module within the scope of the project, which included:
Cycle Management
Templates
Review Writing
Prototype: Cycle settings
Prototype: Editing a template question
Prototype: Review writing & submission
Extra mockups: Analytics screens
Impact
Through deep secondary research, and Litespace's AI capabilities, I was able to improve and optimize the traditional implementation of performance reviews, significantly reducing the overall process duration and tailoring it for SME's.
IMPROVEMENTS
Quick AI Questions & Templates
AI Review Writing Assistance
Post-Review Feedback
PROCESS DURATION
approx.
Next Steps
Design and integrate the Goals & OKR module to complete the overall workflow.
Provide actionable insights, potentially AI-assisted, based on collected review data to simplify calibration.
Develop the combined Performance Reviews & Goals module.
Key Learnings
Desk research and competitor product analysis are essential skills for understanding processes from the ground up and translating them into digital solutions.
Real-world projects are far more complex than conceptual case studies.
Journaling and thorough documentation help provide clarity when navigating complicated and dense projects.
Other Projects
Toronto, Ontario, Canada