Employer Onboarding
Improving the onboarding experience for Enterprise employers using Indeed to hire
Company
Indeed
Role
Product strategy
UX/UI Design
User Research
Team
Product Manager
Engineering team
User Researcher
Content Designer
Timeline
Q4 2022
Impact
99.4% Accuracy in correctly linking new accounts (compared to previous 64.2%)
85% Reduction in fraud with new flow compared to traditional signup experience
$1M Revenue gained from unblocking 3 high profile Enterprise clients
Overview
Context
Indeed for Employers is a platform that helps businesses find and hire talent. Indeed’s signup experience was initially designed with small business owners in mind, who were coming to the platform to set up an account and post a job for the first time. As our largest customer base shifted to Enterprise employers, this approach failed to support their needs to join existing accounts and access shared company resources.
To address this, my team launched new flows to identify users with corporate emails and link them to existing company accounts.
Problem
What was the current state?
Current options for adding new users to existing accounts on Indeed were problematic and relied heavily on assistance from admins and internal support from Indeed:
Email invites: Users could only join an existing company by receiving an email invite from an account admin (an inefficient process for bulk adding new users).
Signup flows: Most new users created accounts directly from Indeed.com, resulting in unlinked duplicate accounts and preventing access to shared hiring resources.
Sales & CS assistance: Sales and Customer Success Representatives could help add users at scale, but the process was manual and time-consuming.
Solution
What was our goal?
Our goal was to streamline the onboarding process and reduce burden on admins and internal reps by allowing users with corporate email domains to find and join their organization during signup.
Approach
Process Overview
Alignment
Setting expectations
Product, Engineering, UX and Product Strategy teams met to discuss client and internal issues with the current onboarding process and brainstorm ways to make it more self-service.
After our initial kick-off, I facilitated several discussions to align on requirements, address questions, and agree on next steps.
What were others doing?
Once I had a better understanding of the problem space, I decided to look across various products to see how others were tackling the concept of joining a “team” or organization during signup.
User flows
After aligning on requirements, scope, and personas, I created a high-level user flow for our team review. It was essential to consult with Engineering early in the process before delving into designs to confirm technical feasibility. This approach also allowed us to anticipate various edge cases and inform designs.
Understanding our users
After our kick-off, I met with the Product Strategy team to understand our end-users better. Since they interact with clients daily, they shared valuable insights on various Enterprise users and their needs.
Design
Initial explorations
After agreeing on user flows, I drafted several design iterations in close collaboration with my team. During this process, I conducted multiple review sessions to gather internal feedback and address questions. Based on this input, I refined designs and built an interactive prototype for user research.
Research
Usability Testing
I collaborated with our UX Researcher and Content Designer on a research plan to get feedback on our proposed flows through 1:1 moderated sessions with 10 Enterprise clients.
Research goals
Understand how new users interpret multiple options to join an existing account.
Observe if new users can select the correct option to join based on an example scenario.
Capture feedback from account owners on settings and approval process.
Learnings
Set expectations
Users were unclear about the distinction between joining an existing group and creating a new group within an organization.
Context is key
New users struggled to determine the type of access they needed during sign-up, as they couldn't reference their organization's current account structure.
Account owners desire control
Participants appreciated settings to manage how users can join their account and the ability to review and approve and modify requests before new users receive access.
Prioritization
After reviewing research findings with stakeholders, the UX Researcher and I met with our Product Manager to discuss the usability issues. Together, we prioritized the most severe issues to address.
Final solution
“As an admin, I need control over how others at my organization can access my account."
Admin settings
Admin settings give account owners control over how new users join existing accounts. This provides flexibility in structuring their organization on Indeed and linking new users or accounts. Admins are notified of new requests via email.
“As a corporate recruiter, I need access to collaborate with my team on existing jobs and candidates”
New user flow: Join an existing group
Users signing up with a corporate email domain are asked to identify their group within an organization and select the type of access they need. Once confirmed, a request is sent to account admins via email for approval.
“As a franchise owner, I need to set up an account to hire for my new store location.
New user flow: Create a new group
If enabled by an admin, users also have the option to create a new group within their organization. This option is ideal for setting up a new franchise, location, or team within a larger organization.
Documentation
Onboarding at Indeed is complex, involving many teams. To increase visibility of our team's onboarding work and its place in the larger system, I created a visual guide of all signup flows. This resource has been accessed by dozens of teams and stakeholders, serving as a foundation for onboarding initiatives.
