Enhancing Transparency and Efficiency in Recruitment

My role:

UX Research, Visual Design

Project:

Retail Management System Localization (Kenya)

Goal:

Improve user retention and adoption by simplifying and localizing a complex Chinese- developed retail system for Kenyan Market

Outcome:

Increase Client retention, improved system effeciency, reduced training time

The Problem

The candidate portal was redesigned to improve the job application experience while simultaneously reducing the workload for recruiters.

The system needed to be more than a place to submit resumes—it had to be a centralized hub where candidates could manage applications, track progress, and communicate seamlessly with recruiters.

On the recruiter side, the goal was to minimize back-and-forth emails by enabling them to upload documents, manage candidate pools, and collaborate efficiently within the system.

Why a Streamlined Application Process is Crucial for Candidate Retention

Applicants often became frustrated and abandoned the application process midway due to the system's clunky interface.
Hiring Managers had to manually send emails and schedule interview meetings with applicants, making their work more cumbersome and time-consuming.

Scattered Communication :Updates were buried in email threads, making job status unclear.
No Real-Time Visibility: Teams lacked an overview of who’s doing what and what’s urgent
Inefficient Task Flow: Assigning and updating jobs required too many manual steps.

Problem Statement:

The recruitment system’s clunky interface and fragmented communication led to applicant drop-offs and inefficiencies for hiring managers, who had to rely on manual emails, unclear updates, and disjointed workflows without real-time visibility or streamlined task management.

Objectives

For Candidates

Provide a user-friendly portal for managing applications end-to-end.
Offer transparent tracking at every stage (submitted → reviewed → interview → final decision).
Enable seamless communication with recruiters (interviews, updates, feedback).
Simplify profile and resume management.

For Recruiters / Hiring Managers

Streamline candidate pool management (search, filter, shortlist, notes).
Visualize hiring pipelines with drag-and-drop functionality.
Automate repetitive tasks (emailing, reminders, interview scheduling).
Collaborate effectively with internal teams on hiring decisions.

Who is it for?

Recruiting Manager

Candidate/ Applicant

Gaining Insights into System Pain Points with User Research

I had a sit down with the Company’s hiring managers and current employees that had used the system during their job application process to further understand their needs. I carried out Usability testing with the team as well.

The Core Problem: Why Job Tracking Feels Messy

Job Seekers: Desired a more intuitive interface for tracking applications, better communication channels with recruiters, and timely updates on application status.

Recruiters: Needed a more efficient way to manage candidate communications, schedule interviews, and provide feedback

Direct Feedback

“I don’t want to go back and forth just to check status — I want application details and progress in the same view.”

“Too many clicks. If you want to do more than one action, you have to go through multiple threads.”

Key Findings

Teams don’t just need job tracking—they need a dynamic, living system that keeps everything in sync without micromanagement.

Pain Points

Manual entries → high error rate, wasted time.
Too many clicks → slow, frustrating workflows.
No duplication checks → candidates applying to the same role multiple times.
Missing workflow integration (requisition approvals, offer letters, onboarding).
No communication tracking (email delivery, reminders, feedback requests).

Persona

Through interviews with hiring managers and job seekers, I identified key pain points and needs.

Job seekers desired a user-friendly interface for application tracking, easy communication with recruiters, and timely updates.

Recruiters needed streamlined processes for candidate management, interview scheduling, and feedback. These insights informed the creation of targeted user personas, guiding the development of a system addressing both groups' goals and challenges.

The Breakthroughs: Making Job Tracking Effortless

Rather than following a traditional "step-by-step process," we focused on three key design wins that transformed the experience:

The Change: Re-engineered the most common and complex workflows.

Before: A simple task like "Adding a new Product" took 6-7 distinct steps

After: The process was streamlined into a maximum of 3 clicks using a single, mu lti-step modal guided by progressive disclosure, saving valuable time during peak hours.

1. A Centralized Dashboard for Instant Clarity

Challenge: Users struggled with fragmented tools and outdated status updates.
Solution:
✅ Designed a clean, card-based dashboard with clear job progress indicators.
✅ Implemented real-time updates—so everyone sees the latest job status instantly.
✅ Added custom filtering options to let users quickly find urgent tasks.

The Result: No more digging through emails—just a single source of truth for all job updates.

The Change: Re-engineered the most common and complex workflows.

Before: A simple task like "Adding a new Product" took 6-7 distinct steps

After: The process was streamlined into a maximum of 3 clicks using a single, mu lti-step modal guided by progressive disclosure, saving valuable time during peak hours.

2. Fewer Clicks, More Productivity

Challenge: Excessive clicks and cluttered navigation were slowing down workflows and reducing efficiency.

Solution:
✅ Streamlined the user interface to minimize clicks and enhance usability.
✅ Redesigned search functionality for faster access to relevant information.
✅ Integrated email threads within candidate profiles for a smoother hiring experience.

The Result: Increased efficiency, reduced distractions, and a more seamless hiring process.

The Change: Re-engineered the most common and complex workflows.

Before: A simple task like "Adding a new Product" took 6-7 distinct steps

After: The process was streamlined into a maximum of 3 clicks using a single, mu lti-step modal guided by progressive disclosure, saving valuable time during peak hours.

3. Preventing Incomplete Data with Stage-Lock Solutions

Challenge: Incomplete or incorrect data was causing reporting inaccuracies and disrupting workflows.

Solution:
✅ Implemented a stage-lock feature to ensure users complete all required data before progressing.
✅ Designed validation checks to flag missing or incorrect entries in real time.
✅ Introduced guided prompts to help users enter accurate information efficiently.

The Result: Improved data accuracy, reduced errors, and seamless workflow progression with reliable reporting.

The Change: Re-engineered the most common and complex workflows.

Before: A simple task like "Adding a new Product" took 6-7 distinct steps

After: The process was streamlined into a maximum of 3 clicks using a single, mu lti-step modal guided by progressive disclosure, saving valuable time during peak hours.

Other Sxreens

Result & Impact

To address these challenges, we focused on streamlined workflows and modular design:

End-to-End Workflow: Requisition approval → Application → Interview → Offer → Onboarding.
Automation: Interview invites, email reminders, and duplication checks.
Stage-Lock Feature: Ensures completeness of data before moving to the next step.
Integrated Email & Search: Candidate profiles include threaded communications and improved search filters.

35%

Improved onboarding process

10 secs

Time to Complete "New Sale" (Core Task)

84%

Increase in time spent on website

Final Thought

Managing work shouldn’t feel like extra work. With the Job Tracking System, teams can finally focus on what matters getting things done.

The core lesson was that localization is not just translation; it is an act of empathy. By prioritizing the local user's mental model and workflow, we successfully unlocked the full potential of a powerful global system in a new, vibrant market.

By focusing on creating a user-friendly interface and automating repetitive tasks for recruiters, we learned that simplifying complex workflows for different user types improves engagement and productivity on both ends.
Empathy-driven design, informed by user pain points, leads to more efficient systems and better user satisfaction.

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