employee benefits Access
From paper to online. A health and retirement benefits organization created operational efficiency and improved customer satisfaction by staying true to their users.
2011
The strategic initiative is identified to build self service benefits access.
2012
Research, design, and feature roadmap. Iterative delivery of functionality and content begins.
2016
The delivery of a flexible platform to support more dynamic experiences begins.
Situation
- Imagine joining an IT department at a non-profit in the midst of two enterprise software implementations—and a rebranding effort—with the simple goal of creating functional online portals for employees and employers in under a year. That's where I found myself.
- The company lacked online features for accessing and managing employee benefits.
- There was low engagement with the benefits due to manual processes.
- Self-service was needed to improve operational efficiency and strengthen relationships with employers and members.
- With no design system or clear vision and a minimal emphasis on UX.
Task
- Define the project objectives and user experience (UX) approach.
- Gather stakeholder input through internal workshops.
- I wore multiple hats: information architect, interaction designer, user researcher, persona developer, content strategist, and brand steward.
- Collaborate on business requirements and define ongoing development processes.
- Design and maintain user interface elements like site maps, task flows, wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity designs.
- Conduct usability testing through card sorting, tree testing, moderated interviews, test design, recruiting, logistics, and facilitation.
- Approve research details for external facilitation.
- Define naming conventions, functional messaging, and directional marketing messaging.
Action
- Led the project with a focus on user needs and achieving business goals.
- Conducted extensive user research to understand user pain points and needs.
- Designed a secure and user-friendly platform with features for:
- Updating information
- Viewing and paying bills
- Receiving benefit information
- Making strategic benefit decisions
- Communicating with the company
- Receiving updates and requests
- Defined a roadmap for iterative releases to prioritize high-value features and content within a year-long timeline.
- Established brand guidelines and content strategy to ensure a consistent user experience.
- Fostered collaboration among cross-functional teams (IT, content developers, etc.)
Result
- Launched a successful Phase 1 in 8 months, with subsequent releases adding 6 major functions and all benefit-related content within 4 months.
- Achieved a 70% employer and 20% member adoption rate within the first year.
- Received top-box satisfaction scores of 80%+.
- Established a stable foundation for the platform's ongoing development and feature expansion.
The life-cycle of these sites is ongoing. At present, these secure sites support hundreds of thousands of transactions for an estimated 50,000 member users and 10,000 employer users.
Learnings
- Initial workshops revealed a larger scope than anticipated, leading to prioritization for essential features and iterative releases.
- Full automation required close collaboration across the organization for functionality, experience, and content alignment.
- User registration provided valuable user insights not previously available about employers.