When service design meets talent acquisition
Imagine you’re driving to a place you’ve never been to before. You pull up your favorite navigation app, punch in the address, and off you go. As you drive, the app not only guides you through turns but also alerts you to traffic jams ahead, suggests quicker alternative routes, reminds you to grab your favorite coffee with a slight detour, and even finds you a parking spot as you near your destination.
This isn’t just about getting from point A to point B; it’s a journey made smoother, more enjoyable, and tailored to your needs and preferences.
That’s where the concept of service design comes into play, but it’s for more than just customer-facing services.
Think about the last time you applied for a job. Did you feel like you were just another applicant in a long line, or did you feel like your journey, from clicking “apply” to getting the offer (or feedback), was designed with the same care and attention to detail as your drive?
Introducing service design in hiring
My friend and colleague, Shira Ben Cohen from Intel, introduced me to the idea of applying service design to talent acquisition. Inspired by her insight, I’ve adapted a lighter version of this concept for Melio, focusing on the ‘why’ rather than the intricate details of the method. I then designed a training session to introduce this concept to the talent acquisition team.
“Service design is the activity of planning and arranging people, infrastructure, communication, and material components of a service to improve its quality and the interaction between the service provider and its users.”
At its core, service design is about creating a seamless and engaging user experience. In the context of talent acquisition, it means reimagining the journey not just for candidates but for hiring managers and recruiters too.
It’s about shifting our perspective from processing applications to crafting micro-experiences.
Micro-experiences are key. The candidate’s experience can be a deal-breaker in a competitive job market. A well-designed hiring process can set your company apart, making candidates feel valued and engaged. But the benefits continue beyond. For hiring managers, a service-oriented approach means more straightforward communication, better-fit candidates, and smoother transitions. For recruiters, it’s about efficiency and satisfaction in connecting the right people with the right roles.
Step #1: Empathy session
We embarked on a transformative training program to integrate service design into Melio’s talent acquisition process. The training session aimed to introduce the team to the concept and empower the team to think critically about every micro-experience we craft in our hiring journey.
Through the lens of familiar experiences like using navigation apps, we explored how service design goes beyond transactions to crafting memorable journeys. This analogy helped illustrate the importance of considering every micro-experience in hiring.
We started with an empathy session. By drawing on empathy maps, we delved into the perspectives of our three primary use cases: candidates, hiring managers, and recruiters. This exercise aimed to surface insights into their desires, thoughts, feelings, and actions.
What do candidates want? Say? Feel? Think?
What do hiring managers want? Say? Feel? Think?
What Do we, the recruiting team, want? Say? Feel? Think?
For 45 minutes, we pinpointed essential needs and desires. For deeper insights, I’d advise surveying hiring managers, candidates, and recruiters about their needs. Focus on the top 3 needs per group and map them to specific hiring process stages where they can be addressed.
Our goal was to make candidates feel strongly connected to Melio, sparking a desire to advance their careers with us. We also aim to help hiring managers experience a seamless hiring process, viewing us as trusted advisors at every step. Additionally, we sought to ensure our recruiting team felt both appreciated and integral, contributing significant value at each stage.
Step #2: More than 15 touchpoints with each candidate
Next, we mapped the hiring journeys at Melio per function. Each recruiter identified every touchpoint in the hiring process, from application to offer, looking for opportunities to surprise and delight, just as your navigation app suggests a scenic detour.
We utilized colored sticky notes to simplify our strategy. Each color represented a different touchpoint, helping us understand the unique approach needed for each. To maintain focus, we conducted three 10-minute rounds, dedicating each session to mapping out strategies for one color assigned:
- Blue sticky notes represent the interview stages (application, phone screen, first technical interview, etc.).
- Every pink sticky note represents one touchpoint with one candidate. Either throughout the interview stage or in between stages.
- Every yellow sticky note represents one engagement with the stakeholders (we focused on hiring managers. It’s Worth having a different color for interviewers’ engagement).
The team focused on the small moments that make a big difference. Whether a personalized email update or a virtual tour for remote candidates, these moments can enhance the overall experience. Every interview is a touchpoint to get to know Melio, but engagement between interviews is also crucial. We aimed to find micro opportunities to adjust the current processes to make the magic happen.
We aimed to simplify the mapping process to ensure ease of action. Making it too complex would prevent our team from taking the necessary steps.
Step #3: Putting theory into practice
Through this mapping, we pinpointed several key areas where candidates and hiring managers might feel lost, frustrated, or disengaged. Without delving into the specifics of each touchpoint, we recognized patterns of pain points and opportunities for improvement. This step was crucial for setting the stage for innovation and enhancement in our hiring process.
To put theory into practice, I asked the team to focus on one specific stage of the candidate journey (aka one interview). The goal was to enhance that stage by improving touchpoints, thereby elevating the overall experience for candidates, hiring managers, and recruiters. They had two weeks to come up with a new approach for that specific stage.
When two disciplines intersect
Adopting service design in talent acquisition is more than a strategic shift; it’s a mindset change. It demonstrates how methodologies from one domain can revolutionize practices in another, fostering innovation and empathy.
As we’ve seen at Melio, focusing on the ‘why’ behind each micro-experience can significantly impact the hiring process, making it more human-centric and engaging for all parties involved. Yonatan’s post explains this further.
By sharing our journey, I hope to inspire you to consider how service design principles can enhance your talent acquisition strategy. Just as a navigation app transforms a drive into a journey, service design can transform hiring into an experience that resonates with everyone it touches.
