Applicant Tracking System

Introduction

As a Senior Product Designer at YoungCapital, I was responsible for all internal staff applications. One of the pivotal projects I undertook was the creation of an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), a fundamental component of our business with significant implications for enhancing and streamlining recruiter workflows. The project lasted one year for the main features and is still ongoing. I led the design process, facilitated workshops, mapped user flows, and conducted user testing.

Timeline

  • July 2019 - main features completed in 2021

Role & Team

  • Role: Senior Product Designer.

  • Team: Product Manager, recruiters, development team, stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

  • Mapped out user flows and identified necessary features.

  • Conducted regular user testing and feedback sessions.

  • Implemented structured development sprints.

Problem Statement

The ATS project aimed to enhance and streamline recruiter workflows, which are crucial for YoungCapital’s operations. The primary challenges were understanding recruiters' workflows deeply, creating a versatile ATS that accommodates various workflows, and designing an intuitive, user-friendly interface. The goal was to develop an ATS that allowed recruiters to manage candidate information efficiently and perform most tasks from a single interface, providing a comprehensive overview of customer job requirements, job details, and vacancies in the pipeline.

Research & Discovery

To tackle these challenges, I initiated a series of workshops with recruiters and their managers to gain insights into their workflows. YoungCapital works with three distinct types of recruiters, each dealing with diverse customers and unique workflows. Through engaging discussions, we identified common elements across these processes. Collaborating with recruiters, we brainstormed and outlined the optimal user flow. Over three months, the Product Manager and I mapped out the entire user flow and identified necessary features while assessing the relevance of existing functions to either replace or omit.

Strategy & Planning

We analysed the research results and aligned them with business goals, leading to actionable strategies. I single-handedly created a brand-new YoungCapital Design System for all our internal products, starting with the ATS project. The key guidelines of this system included simplicity, clarity, reduction of cognitive load, and prioritizing functionality.

Design Process

Facilitating workshops and brainstorming sessions with recruiters and managers allowed us to identify common workflow elements and outline the optimal user flow. Regular feedback sessions were held to refine the design. We developed prototypes and iterated on them based on user feedback. By dividing the project into smaller segments, we improved development efficiency and the user feedback loop.

Implementation

The final product, Candidate Workflows, featured an interface that allowed recruiters to manage candidate information efficiently. The design provided a comprehensive overview of customer job requirements, job details, vacancies and candidates in the pipeline. The implementation process was managed by the Product Manager of the development team I was allocated to at the time. I facilitated numerous workshops with him and stakeholders to ensure our understanding of the recruitment processes of each business line was accurate and that the ATS processes met all recruiters' needs. We faced significant challenges working with inflexible monolith legacy systems, but we went through many iterations to get the UI right.

Validation & Testing

Regular usability testing ensured the designs were usable and clear. Feedback from these sessions was used to refine the user interface, eliminating unnecessary complexities. Through several iterations, we improved the user interface, making it more intuitive and user-friendly.

Outcome & Impact

The project resulted in increased confidence and trust in our internal systems, enhanced reporting capabilities, and improved recruiter key performance indicators (KPIs). With the implementation of this brand-new product, we significantly reduced shadow administration and reduced the time-to-hire for job seeking candidates from 4 to 1 week.

Reflection

This project taught us valuable lessons about finding common elements in diverse workflows to create a versatile and efficient system. Regular user testing and iterations are crucial for refining the user interface and ensuring it meets user needs. Working with legacy systems posed significant challenges that required flexible and creative solutions. Looking ahead, we plan to simplify the ATS by gathering data to identify which features are no longer needed or are not being used as intended and can be deprecated.