Background
This project was conducted as part of an OCAD University's service design course in collaboration with TD internal service design team members, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period marked by swift changes and the urgent need for innovative solutions to adapt to the evolving circumstances. The aim of this project is to facilitate a more human-centered onboarding experience at TD. By seamlessly integrating new employees into the organization, TD can improve employee retention and cultivate meaningful coworking relationships.
The Problem
The Solution
Our solution is a nine-point plan that introduces new touchpoints and artifacts, aiming to create a more human-centered onboarding experience. This approach is designed to better integrate new hires and improve long-term retention.
Duration
Role
Collaborators
Tools
Illustrator
Research Methods
Our research approach was multi faceted, beginning with an in-depth review of common onboarding challenges for office employees and gaining insights into TD. We conducted initial interviews with three employees within their first two years at TD, gathering firsthand accounts of problems faced during their onboarding. We than completed subsequent interviews with key onboarding stakeholders: IT technician, HR representative, and a manager. They provided diverse perspectives on employee challenges, revealing potential barriers and their views on the onboarding experience.
Industry Onboarding Statistics
Onboarding is crucial yet costly in welcoming new hires, marking both an introduction to the company and a daunting phase for employees. Our research underscored the necessity of investing in onboarding enhancements, using findings to validate this need.
Needs Clustering
Leveraging insights from our employee interviews, we started categorizing our findings into distinct themes to clearly define the problems. Among the numerous insights gathered, we managed to organize them under six key categories. For each category, we selected the most representative interview quotes to substantiate the identified issues.
User Journey Map
We developed a user journey map to identify the touchpoints across various stakeholders and pinpoint where issues arose. This ensured that our solutions were targeted and introduced at the optimal moments, preventing misaligned implementation.
Stakeholder Map
We created a stakeholder map to visualize how different elements interconnected within the onboarding process, incorporating our research insights. This allowed us to identify key stakeholders' goals, frustrations, and insights, each supported by a relevant quote from individuals in those roles, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the onboarding ecosystem.
Opportunity Output
Our research efforts culminated in identifying three key opportunity outputs, representing the primary issues we discovered. These opportunities are an amalgamation of the six main categories identified during our need clustering exercise, highlighting the critical areas for intervention and improvement.
Opportunity A
Our first opportunity focuses on digital innovation. As a well-established bank, we encounter issues with fragmented technology, resulting in new employees often lacking access to essential software or facing restrictions on its use. This challenge, frequently highlighted by our interviewees and regularly reported to IT, underscores the need for a more thorough review of software provided to employees.
Opportunity A:
Digital Innovation:
Employees have a hard time gaining access to and navigating the vast number of TD systems and resources. They want a less convoluted workflow that will give them greater insight and access online.
Promise
Delivery
TD aims to shape the future of banking in the digital age
"I need better access to all the programs and files required for me to do my job"
Opportunity B
Our second opportunity addresses the isolation new hires experience in remote work settings. They reported feeling disconnected from colleagues and excluded from established in-office relationships. This issue was particularly pressing due to the uncertain future of remote work at the time.
Opportunity B:
Humanizing Digital Transformation:
Connecting with coworkers online is very difficult. There is a dissociation between coworkers in the virtual space. They want to create and foster supportive relationships from day one.
Promise
Delivery
TD posits itself as a "Human Bank"
"Remote working makes it hard to build relationships with my colleagues, I wish I could get to know them better"
Opportunity C
Our last opportunity identified concerns the difficulty new hires face in quickly accessing HR support. Despite TD offering multiple channels for communication, the easiest methods often resulted in the slowest responses. Conversations with an HR representative revealed that new hires frequently have questions about benefits and job-specific details.
Opportunity C:
Bridging HR:
Employees have a hard time getting in touch with Human Resources regarding position, compensation and workplace inquiries. They want immediate guidance and support to maximize every opportunity on their hiring and onboarding journey.
Promise
Delivery
TD aims to be available to their employees when they need their support
"Support and guidance from HR would have been helpful, but HR is too difficult to get a hold of"
The next phase in our design process involved brainstorming solutions for the identified opportunities. We then shared our initial design concepts with employees to gather their feedback, embracing a co-creation approach to refine our ideas.
How Might We Questions
We started or co-creation process by formulating 'How Might We' questions. This approach enabled us to transform identified problems and insights from our research phase into clear opportunity areas. By reframing challenges into HMW questions, we opened up a space for creative thinking and innovation. This approach helped us reframe problems into potential solutions, sparking creative thinking and guiding our exploration of new ideas to improve user experience.
How might we design a centralized database that allows new TD employees to easily access the tools and resources they need?
How might we ensure TD effectively transitions into a digital workplace, while also balancing a human connection?
How might we create better ways for TD employees to communicate with HR?
How might we design a system to better connect employees with the resources and tools they need to enhance ease of workflow?
How might we foster personal connections between employees in a hybrid and/or online work environment?
How might we ensure all TD employees have access to information regarding their pathway opportunities, benefits, etc?
How might we make a centralized service that allows TD employees to find resources to make them more efficient?
How might we enable seamless communication between employees and HR beyond recruitment?
How might we balance TD's digital transformation with the need for human connection in the workplace?
First Version of Improved Onboarding Journey
Our initial strategy involved a comprehensive 10-step plan spanning the 90-day probation period for new hires, aimed at mitigating the challenges identified in our opportunities. This plan was organized into three progressive phases: 'Walk', 'Run', and 'Fly', each tailored to support new hires at different stages of their integration. I will give a more detailed explanations of each phase and step in the end results section below.
Stakeholder Interaction Overview
Additionally, we got feedback on key stakeholder touch points incorporated in our design solution, consulting HR and managers to assess the impact on their workload and the feasibility of our approach. The feedback from managers was positive, while HR expressed concerns about the resource demands of numerous touch points. Upon further discussion, HR suggested that a mid-way check-in meeting during the onboarding process was unnecessary and redundant, prompting us to reconsider that aspect of our plan.
Our co-creation process yielded valuable feedback, including HR's concerns regarding the frequency of touch points. Additionally, we were advised that our section naming convention, specifically using terms like "walk" and "run," was considered ableist. This prompted us to rethink our language to be more inclusive and sensitive.
New Employee Onboarding Journey
Our refined solution unfolds across nine steps, organized into three distinct phases, throughout the probation period. This approach is designed to foster a human-centered onboarding experience, seamlessly integrate new employees into virtual teams, and nurture co-working relationships to enhance employee retention.
Seed Overview
The initial phase, "Seed," lays the foundation for a productive workplace for new hires, beginning in the first few days on the job. During this stage, new employees complete and sign all necessary documentation and receive a welcome kit, which includes essential technology and company merchandise. A key aspect of this phase is a one-on-one meeting with an HR representative, who introduces the onboarding schedule and addresses any questions, fostering a personal connection early on. Additionally, a session with an IT technician ensures that all logins and technology work flawlessly, preventing common system issues from hindering the new hire's start to productive work and learning. The "Seed" phase is critical for easing the transition into the workplace through timely support and a strong emphasis on human connection, reflecting TD's commitment to a positive onboarding experience.
Sprout Overview
The subsequent phase, "Sprout," unfolds during the initial weeks of employment, providing new hires with the chance to familiarize themselves with their team and grasp their role's nuances. This phase begins with a team introduction activity, either a structured provided card game or an existing team ritual, depending on team preference. Following this, the new employee spends several days shadowing a colleague, which serves not only as a chance to build relationships but also to understand the detailed aspects of their new position. "Sprout" is designed to facilitate meaningful interactions between the new hire and their colleagues, ensuring a smoother integration into the team and fostering a sense of belonging.
Bloom Overview
The culminating phase, "Bloom," marks the end of the 90-day probation period, signifying a pivotal moment in the new hire's journey with TD. This phase kicks off with a strategic meeting with a manager, who outlines the career advancement opportunities within TD, setting clear goals and pathways for progression. This ensures employees see a future beyond their current role, fostering motivation and long-term commitment. Following this, a session with an HR representative takes place to unlock and review the full range of benefits available to employees. This comprehensive benefits overview is designed to enlighten new hires about the support and resources at their disposal, underscoring TD's commitment to employee well-being and satisfaction by offering transparency on how to utilize these benefits effectively.
Change Overview
This is our final solution a comprehensive nine-part strategy that addresses the unmet expectations previously identified. It focuses on humanizing touch points to smoothly transition employees into their roles, fostering connections among team members to facilitate rapid learning and integration, and establishing clear pathways for career advancement to enhance employee retention. This approach not only improves the onboarding experience but also contributes to a more cohesive and supportive work environment.
Service Wireframe
We also developed a service wireframe to visualize the interaction and flow between each artifact and touchpoint. This helps clarify the sources of information and delivery, providing a clear understanding of how each component connects and leads into the next.
Service Blueprint
To finalize our project, we created a service blueprint detailing the onboarding process, including key touchpoints, required actions, and how new hires are introduced to each step. This visual guide illustrates the orchestrated flow of activities and interactions to ensure a smooth onboarding experience.
Next Steps
The next steps for this project involve initiating test trials to validate that the anticipated outcomes align with real-world results. This phase is crucial for verifying the effectiveness of our strategy and will lead to further iterations of the process. Our aim is to refine our approach continuously, ensuring that it fully meets our design objectives and effectively addresses the identified needs.
Learning
This project was an invaluable learning experience, marking my largest service design project. It offered a unique glimpse into a professional design process, enriched by the opportunity to interview TD employees and gain insights from members of the TD service design team. This experience deepened my understanding of corporate project workflows and highlighted additional challenges to consider in design. It was an exceptional chance to bridge theoretical knowledge with practical, real-world application.
