Challenge
Design a collaborative support service for the future of work in a hybrid workplace which leverages AI to help individuals and teams with work well-being.
Solution
A tablet-optimized software that uses AI to help new hires socialize, seek help, and network with other employees during the onboarding process.
Team
Samira Cohanim, Sandhini Ghodeshwar, Yong Hee Yoo, Kavya Rai
Enhancing Employee Well-Being in the Age of Hybrid Work
NEC Corporation, a multinational information technology and electronics corporation, came to the Institute of Design’s Multidisciplinary Prototyping course looking for a future of work solution that promotes employee well-being.
Due to the increase in hybrid and remote work, teamwork, collaboration, and working environments have had to quickly adapt. However, this shift has not manifested in a smooth transition in many areas. As a result, workplace stress becomes a threat to the employee experience.
My team and I spent 14 weeks discovering and prototyping a solution to address hybrid work well-being using AI technology.
Research: the Impact of Communication
Lack of meaningful social interaction and clear communication with leadership leads to trust deficit impacting employee turnover.
Trust in leadership has declined after the height of the pandemic. (source)
Organizations where employees have trust and confidence in leadership tends to retain employees for a longer period of time. (source)
Employers need to build trust with employees and show care and concern for their needs in order to not to lose good talent.
Through interviews with 6 employees and employers and card sorting sessions, we found that team bonding, open communication, and time management are some of the more important aspects that the participants value post-pandemic/now, more so pre-pandemic when work was mostly in person.
Results from card sorting
In order to understand a wider landscape of hybrid work habits today, we created and sent out a survey to 1000+ respondents. Through the results, we discovered the top 5 factors impacting employee working life a great deal, including exhaustion, less social interaction, and lack of transparency from their organization. These factors are very communication dependent which is where we see the biggest gap.
Survey - Top 5 factors impacting employee working life a great deal
Onboarding: bridging the communication gap from day one
After analyzing all of our research and finding trends surrounding the communication, connection and support discrepancies, we thought… What if we could solve these problems starting at the beginning of the employee’s journey at a new company?
Only 12% of employees feel that their organization provides a good onboarding program. (Gallup)
“Onboarding to a new team, it's harder to learn team specific stuff, which cannot be learnt through common knowledge. You depend on other people to figure things out.” – Entry level employee
Journey Map
A human-centered approach to onboarding solutions
Currently there is a gap in the market for onboarding products that are more human centered that also prioritize social interactions within the company. This is where our client, NEC, and specifically our solution could fill that gap, with a solution that focuses on bridging the communication gap and building human connections starting at the onboarding process.
Competitive Landscape in job onboarding solutions
We imagined that our solution would act as a desk buddy that could be easily transferrable from home to the office in hybrid work scenarios. Additionally, we wanted to implement some charming facial features/expressions to bring the humanistic aspect into the experience.
introducing preeby
Based on these design principles, we came up with a solution that can make onboarding new employees a more integrative and enjoyable experience that facilitates networking, socialization and collaboration among teams in a hybrid work setting.
Design Principles
Sara is starting a new job and is worried about the onboarding process, until she’s introduced to Preeby.
Storyboard
Wireframes
Strategic Roadmap
Prototype
Reflection
Throughout the 14 weeks, we had several check-ins with the folks from NEC where we received their feedback. Our initial focus on workplace well-being was broad, but when we saw the need in the onboarding process and narrowed our focus to it, my team as well as the client were very pleased. Feeling isolated and overwhelmed is common for many people when working remotely, let alone when embarking on a new job. I’m happy that we designed a solution that can alleviate those pain points and foster human connection so that employees can feel connected and supported.
Role
I took the lead on gathering participants, conducting interviews and card sorting activities. I also created the design principles, storyboard, and presentation + mockup materials. As a team, we all contributed to secondary research, and collaborated well through analysis and synthesis.