Mighty Kingdom, 2023

Graduate Program Portal

Description

Mighty Kingdom took great pride in its long-standing graduate program, offering valuable opportunities to recent graduates. However, we recognised the need for improvement. Our previous communal evaluation method, while well-intentioned, proved to be time-consuming, costly, and confusing for applicants.

My Role
As a UX Designer my role was to oversee requirements gathering and help map the solutions to the business requirements. This involved research and planning, user interviews, prototyping and usability testing.

Context

How do we bring back the magic?

Our goal was to create an efficient, transparent, and supportive experience that enabled us to effectively identify and engage with applicants without compromising their well-being or burdening our resources.

Business Requirements

Mighty Kingdom’s graduate intake process was cumbersome. Over the years it led to both staff and applicants feeling frustrated and disheartened by the arduous process

Working with stakeholders we able to outline key business requirements for the applicant portal tool.

  1. A way to communicate key information about the program to applicants e.g. application progress stages

  2. Reduction in time commitment for staff to review applicants

  3. Bring back the feeling of excitement over the graduate program and what it meant to applicants and staff

The new graduate portal aimed to address many of the issues that we facing applicants and staff

Research

Discovering the scope of the problem at hand

For such a large overhaul of a process we needed to make sure we did the right research to help us understand what to fix and most importantly, why. Here is detailed information on each of the steps we took to reach our solution.

  • We conducted an internal audit of how the process was being undertaken from an internal perspective. How were employees finding their commitments to the program? Did they enjoy it? How was the work being carried out? We found that due to the current review process, employees were encouraged to review applicants using a questionnaire and star rating system. This system required there to be at least 5 reviews for each applicant for each discipline. It was convoluted and time-consuming. We saw an opportunity to not only reduce the time commitment but to greatly simplify the process for all involved.

  • We interviewed previous users of the graduate portal who were the graduates we had taken on board in previous years. We asked them to give us insight into their experience with the overall process as well as how we handled their applications. The information gained was used to collate recurring issues and pain points. We found that applicants felt confused, staff felt burnt out from the time commitment required to participate, and the overall feeling of excitement about the program was gone. We needed to find a way to bring that back.

  • After we had gathered stakeholder assumptions and risks and plotted those against the business requirements for the program, combined with the data from users, we felt we had the information we needed to continue. We mapped assumptions and how risky we thought they were. This would give us a clearer picture of how to prioritise the issues facing our users and how those overlapped with business requirments.

The current portal was cumbersome and required a complete overhaul.

Solution

A portal website made for everyone

Our requirement gathering led us to the solution of a tailored web solution in the form of a custom-made portal. We called this the Graduate Portal. The portal served as a centralised platform where staff members could easily access applicant requirements and essential deadlines, while applicants themselves could log in, view timelines, upload CVs, and communicate directly with our team. By implementing this innovative portal, we aimed to address the the frustration of applicants, reduce staff resource requirements, and provide clarity and convenience for the incoming graduates.

  • With the requirements and assumptions mapped, plus the outline of what exactly we were building, we moved to creating a low-risk test of our idea using Figma. Interactive prototypes allowed us to quickly template our idea out and make testable prototypes that could be used to gather more data on how users behaved.

  • Once we had a prototype of the portal we moved into early usability testing. This was to help with the information flow and use cases we knew were causing issues. These use cases allowed us to gauge success of the information architecture, screen flows and where potential new issue may have arisen. Once testing was complete, we analysed the data for user problems, revised our layouts and re-tested, ensuring all of the kinks in our solution were ironed out before development started.

  • With all of the previous work completed we were free to start development. This involved all of the technical work and backend requirements to make the system function properly. At this stage, the UX team were not required to add anything additional.

The graduate portal was a great success, streamlining the process for both applicants and staff.

Impact & outcomes

The portal system had a transformative impact on the Mighty Kingdom graduate program application process, reducing staff time commitments by double, promoting transparency, and improving the sense of accomplishment for applicants and staff alike.

The changes brought about increased efficiency and productivity by centralising important information and streamlining communication channels. Staff members were able to easily access applicant requirements and deadlines, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual tracking and follow-ups. This not only saved valuable internal resources but also improved the overall management and organisation of the process.

Happy applicants and a 66% reduction in staff time commitments

Clarity for applicants

The portal system provided applicants with much-needed clarity and transparency. By allowing them to log in and view timelines, upload CVs, and communicate directly with the company, it empowered applicants to actively participate in the process and stay informed about their progress. This enhanced transparency reduced confusion and frustration, ultimately creating a more positive and engaging experience for applicants. Follow up surveys allowed users to express their thoughts on the overall process in order to help us iterate for the following year. And the consensus was that we had made many steps in the right direction.