The goal of this project was to deliver a seamless and industry ready work scheduling feature. The project spaned more than 8 weeks .
The Betterplace/ Gobetter roster enables enterprises to efficiently manage the schedules and shifts of their frontline workers across multiple locations.
Why redesign it?
The tool for managing shift schedules and employee attendance required significant modernisation to align with contemporary market standards and enhance user experience.
▪️ Poor data synchronization across products increased operational costs, and reliance on Excel sheets and paper records worsened the issue.
▪️ Undiscovered hidden features.
Who are the users
In a dynamic exploration of workplace environments in Bengaluru, we conducted an in-depth qualitative study with a diverse group of users. This hands-on approach allowed us to gain valuable insights from individuals in their professional settings.
Goals
Design-specific
▪️ Create a scalable, user-friendly rostering system with proactive feedback, seamless data integration, and region-specific adaptability (e.g. timesheets).
▪️ Simplify onboarding and streamline workflows for effortless adoption across diverse pay cycles and organizational needs.
Business-specific
▪️ Boost feature adoption (rostering + demand planning) and enhance workforce management efficiency while reducing support and training costs by 40% next quarter.
▪️ Optimize operational processes to improve shift-demand planning and system transparency, driving measurable outcomes.
UX Audit
In a dynamic exploration of workplace environments in Bengaluru, we conducted an in-depth qualitative study with a diverse group of users. This hands-on approach allowed us to gain valuable insights from individuals in their professional settings.
From BFSI executives to delivery workers, most of the Indian blue-collar industry operates under intense pressure. This makes 'time' a crucial factor in how effectively a digital solution can ease their workload and improve workplace efficiency.
Let me illustrate how this works before I share further.
Digital solutions have streamlined much of the process but left some areas entirely manual, leading to inefficiencies.
Insights from the audit
▪️ Inefficient use of design elements like colours, icons, separators, and unclear affordances.
▪️ Lacks scalability, missing edge cases and flexibility for new features.
▪️ Weak discoverability resulting in poor navigation, leaving features unused.
Research
Given that this project needed enhancements at the feature and UX levels, we conducted balanced research to gather both quantitative and qualitative data.
Insights
▪️ Shift assignment takes 20-30 minutes for only 50 employees.
▪️ 85% of client admins found the roster system too complex and time-consuming, prompting them to use alternatives like notebooks or Excel.
▪️ 78% of site supervisors reported frustration with limited computer skills and language barriers, leading to confusion from frequent shift changes not being updated in real-time.
▪️ 82% of in-house operations teams stated that the system's inefficiencies increased their workload, forcing them to manage shifts offline and updates that software should have handled.
Competitor study
To deliver a scalable solution suitable for partnerships in other regions, it was essential to understand and validate competitor solutions and various use cases. Here are a few:
Insights
After discussing with stakeholders, we decided to explore other viable options and deprioritize fully automating rostering. I took the call to enhance the demand planning feature as a usable functionality that fast-tracks our future to an automated solution.
Solution
Functionality improvements and features were prioritized for phased implementation after discussions with product and engineering besides user feedback. The redesign aimed to create a scalable, efficient, and user-friendly tool that addresses core user challenges and improves workforce management. We focused on fixing UX issues since we already had Gobetter Ant Design 5 for UI support.
Feature list
1️⃣ Multiple employee selection and shift assignment
2️⃣ Improved shift-adding process
3️⃣ Consistent icons and colours
4️⃣ Flexible day/week/month selection
5️⃣ Improved template screens
6️⃣ Upload and download the roster
7️⃣ Demand planning integration
8️⃣ Switch sites faster
Tangible results
▪️ And more, save as a template, copy and paste.
▪️ Upload or download roster data experience
Since you have been following along, here's a sneak peek inside a feature file in Figma. That feeling you get when you have seen a designer's file 😊.
Design explorations have been continuing even after handoff since this module is linked to other functionalities of employee work data management. Further insights and user feedback will shape the solution.
Outcomes & reflection
