My experience working as a UX Designer at a global organisation in the Netherlands versus a startup in Nigeria.

Before moving to The Netherlands, I had been working as a Product Designer for four years at different startups in Nigeria that provided financial, bookkeeping and invoicing solutions to people in Africa. Currently, I work as a UX Designer at Randstad, a Dutch multinational firm that operates across 39 countries and I work with the global team to design products that provide job seekers and prospective talents with jobs while also helping them achieve their true potential throughout their working life.

As you can imagine, a strong dichotomy exists between working at a startup in Nigeria versus working at a global Dutch firm like Randstad. In this article, I will be comparing how the work culture between these two environments differ from each other based on my experience.

Onboarding

When joining a new company or team, it’s important to go through an onboarding process in order to learn about the team’s culture, goals, processes, and expectations, and how they work together. Onboarding can help new team members understand the organisation better and be more aligned with its values.

My onboarding process at Randstad took about 3 months. The process was formal and structured. The focus was on ensuring that I understood the business, company culture and values; this set a good foundation for success in my role. Randstad also has an online university portal where I took courses pertaining to the business structure and rules. I also had scheduled orientation calls with my team mates and stakeholders to get to know them and familiarise myself with the way they work and how things are done.

On the other hand, in the startups where I worked in Nigeria, the onboarding process was much shorter and less formal; the focus was on me getting up-to-speed quickly so that I can start contributing to projects in the company as soon as possible.

Unlike my experience when I joined my previous companies, the onboarding process at Randstad helped me adjust better in my new role. When I first joined Randstad, it was quite daunting for me because I wasn’t used to such a formal setting. I was new to working in a multinational organisation and I felt overwhelmed by the sheer size and scale of the company. After my onboarding, I felt more comfortable and confident in my role, and I was able to set up clear expectations from the start.

Understanding business context

In order to design user experiences that are relevant and effective, it is important to have a good understanding of the business context in which they will be used. It helps to ensure that design meets the needs of all users, regardless of where they are located. This will help to create a positive user experience that will ultimately lead to improved business results.

One of the biggest differences I noticed is that in a global firm like Randstad, that operates in several countries, it is important to understand how the product scales across different countries and taking into account users in different markets. I needed to understand the cultural and language differences in these markets; I accomplished this by studying how the product is used in each market, and what needs to be done in order to adapt the product to serve global use-cases. This can be a time-consuming process, but it’s important to get it right.

At the startup, I mostly focused on designing for a specific kind of user. The users exhibit similar kinds of behaviour. I had one or two markets that I was focused on, that made my work move much faster.

While both organisations have different focus areas, there are benefits and drawbacks to both approaches. At Randstad, we have the benefit of scale. We can reach more customers and tap into new markets more easily than startups. This can be both a benefit and a drawback. This makes the company to be bureaucratic and slowly adapt to change. It can also lead to a lack of focus on one particular market or area.

On the other hand at the startup, because I was focused on a single market and region, I had a more intimate knowledge of that area. However, this focus can also be a drawback, as the startup did not have the resources and knowledge to expand into new markets. They also lacked the resources of larger organisations, which can make it difficult to scale.

Way of work

Another key difference I’ve noticed is the way of work. In my previous companies, there was a strong emphasis on meeting deadlines and working quickly. The work pace was quite fast and intense, which can be challenging for some people. However, it also meant that I had to be very organised and efficient in my work.

Whereas, at Randstad, the work pace is usually more relaxed; there is still an emphasis on meeting deadlines, but the overall tone is more relaxed. There are often more layers of bureaucracy, which can make things move more slowly; there is more emphasis on process and procedure. However, this gives me more time to complete my work and to do it well.

I believe the way of work in each type of organization has its own strengths and weaknesses. While the way of work at Randstad ensures that tasks are completed efficiently and effectively, it can also be restrictive and stifle creativity and innovation. Whereas, at the startup there is room to create a more dynamic and exciting environment that is conducive to creativity and innovation. However, it can also lead to more chaos and confusion, and make it difficult to get things done in an efficient and effective manner.

Level of autonomy

Level of Autonomy is an important consideration for any design team because it can have a significant impact on the team’s ability to execute its vision and goals.

At Randstad, there are already well-established processes and workflows. A side effect of this is that it is more difficult to bring about change or make an impact. There are more layers of management and bureaucracy which sometimes slows down decision making and limit the team’s ability to act independently.

However, at my previous companies, there were more opportunities to take initiatives and be autonomous in my work and I had the chance to make a real difference in the company. This is because startups are typically much smaller and more flexible, and they often have a flat organizational structure with fewer hierarchical levels.

There are certain learnings that a global company like Randstad can take from a start up culture so they can have a more flexible level of autonomy. For one, they can learn to be more agile and adaptable to change by moving quickly to take advantage of opportunities. They can also learn to be more flat and decentralised in their structure, which can lead to greater creativity and innovation as employees are given the freedom to experiment. And finally, having a flexible structure can lead to better employee engagement and satisfaction, as employees feel like they have a greater say in what they do.

Team structure

Team structure is important because it can help to ensure that communication and collaboration are effective. A well-structured team can also help to promote creativity and innovation.

At my previous companies, the UX team was smaller and more focused. I was the only UX designer wearing many hats (research, UX, UI and copy writing). Sometimes, things got overwhelming and I couldn’t put in my best in some of the roles.

In Randstad however, the UX team is much larger and more specialized. There are separate teams for research, UX design, UI design, copy writing, development and testing. A typical project team has a dedicated researcher, UX designer, UI designer, UX writer, product manager and product owner.

I understand that when it comes to team structure, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. The best team structure for a design team depends on the specific needs of the organization. However, I preferred the structure of my team at Randstad. The structure of the team allowed for the pooling of resources and knowledge, and it provided a way for people with different expertise to work together on projects.

Standard UX processes

At my previous companies, the focus was often on moving fast and getting things done. This meant that there was less focus on following traditional UX processes. This doesn’t mean that we didn’t care about quality or good design — we definitely did — but it’s not always the first priority. Often, our focus was on getting a product out the door quickly, and then iterating based on user feedback. This approach works well in a fast-paced environment where the goal is to get something out quickly and then improve it over time.

However, In Randstad, there is more focus on following UX processes because there are more resources available. This allows for a more polished final product, but it also means that it can take longer to get the product out of the door.

Overall, working as a UX designer in a global Dutch organisation and a startup has its own unique challenges and differences. Despite the challenges, I’ve enjoyed my experiences in both kinds of firms and have learned a lot from each one.

Personally, I would prefer to continue working in a global organisation . I really enjoy working on large projects with colleagues from different countries and cultures; it’s great to be able to share ideas and learn from each other. I also appreciate the stability and structure that a global organisation can provide, it is nice to know that there are clear expectations and guidelines in place. This helps me to feel comfortable and confident in my work.

I may change my mind again, who knows!

If you are a designer at a startup, looking to work in a global organisation in the Netherlands (or anywhere in the world) or vice versa, I hope you found my experience useful! 😊

Have you worked at a global organisation or a startup? I would love to hear about your experience. Which of the organisation types would you prefer to work at?

Thanks for reading!