Talent audit for Skilltype v1

Closing product experience gaps to increase conversion

Contributions

Research

Research

Research

Strategy

Strategy

Strategy

Product Design

Product Design

Product Design

collaborators

Founders

Founders

Founders

2 SW Engineers

2 SW Engineers

2 SW Engineers

Duration

July 2021 – October 2021

July 2021 – October 2021

July 2021 – October 2021

Business problem

Trial periods are the final step in Skilltype's enterprise activation process. As such, it plays a critical role in converting library organization leaders into paying customers.

However, despite investing significant time and effort during this period, working closely with prospects, Skilltype continues to struggle winning new enterprise customers. Often, deals are lost after months of engagement.

outcome

We learned that Library Leaders felt let down by Skilltype's core functionality: insights that allow them to manage talent, and create effective employee training plans to achieve their strategic goals.

Using pre-existing datapoints, we created a new form of insight that provide library leaders with meaningful and actionable insights at every step of their journey—cutting most of the unnecessary tech hurdles they originally had to go through.

impact

Three months after launch, we observed massive improvements in our target areas. Despite its simplicity, Talent Audit was a turning point for Skilltype—marking the start of a clear and accelerated upward trajectory. The momentum we gained through Talent Audit eventually led to our first statewide deal and a successful seed funding round.

+500%

+500%

+500%

New enterprise customers / Month

New enterprise customers / Month

New enterprise customers / Month

+300%

+300%

+300%

New Demo Requests / Month

New Demo Requests / Month

New Demo Requests / Month

-84%

-84%

-84%

Time Closing Deals

Time Closing Deals

Time Closing Deals

Process

discovery

Understanding the problem space

I started the discovery phase aiming to identify potential root causes and to bring clarity around the problem space.

While we were aware of the problem, we had no clarity as to why it was happening. I started with a discovery phase aiming to identify potential root causes and to bring clarity around the problem space.

methodology

Stakeholder Interviews

experience review

User Journey Mapping

Key Insight 01

Although helpful to a certain extent, Skilltype insights lack the depth library leaders need to help them answer more nuanced questions.

Although helpful to a certain extent, Skilltype insights lack the depth library leaders need to help them solve more complex problems

Key Insight 02

To distill deeper insights, library leaders are advised to rely on hack solutions—using external tools to manually analyze the data surfaced by Skilltype themselves.

To distill deeper insights, library leaders are advised to rely on hack solutions—using external tools to manually process and analyze data themselves.

Key Insight 03

To track and observe to the insights they manually distilled, they have to repeat the same steps and endure the same laborious tech hurdles again.

To track and observe to the insights they manually distilled, they have to repeat the same steps and endure the same laborious tech hurdles again.

We learned that library leaders' frustrations mostly revolved around one of Skilltype's core enterprise feature—providing insights that allow leaders to manage talent, and create effective training plans to achieve their strategic goals.

They understand that Skilltype is in its early stages, and therefore tolerate other aspects of the product that feel unpolished. However, they have high expectations that Skilltype will deliver in its promise to make their jobs easier—and in this context, most prospects are disappointed and walk away after trying out the product.

define

Reframing the problem

While we were aware of the problem, we had no clarity as to why it was happening. I started with a discovery phase aiming to identify potential root causes and to bring clarity around the problem space.

design problem

How might we help library leaders make meaningful strategies around talent and employee training with ease?

Jobs to be done

What insights do library leaders seek about talent within their organization to inform employee training?

Insight 01

A single source of truth for expertise data within the organization

A single source of truth for expertise data within the organization

Knowing the breadth of talent available in their org helps ground their actions to facts, reducing susceptibility to bias.

Insight 02

Uncovering where talent gaps exist

Uncovering where talent gaps exist

This knowledge gives them an idea where to direct their training efforts.

Insight 03

Knowing which areas to prioritize training

Knowing which areas to prioritize training

Help allocate resources more effectively—giving library leaders the ability to do more with less.

ideation

Solution Concepts

User Testing insights

We leveraged Skilltype's monthly town hall event to quickly gather feedback and validate our design assumptions by having our users and prospects in the same room and presenting our ideas, and facilitating conversations around getting their needs met.

Insight 01

Make quick views worthwhile

Deliver valuable information without need to dive deeper into details. Sometimes users only want a quick status check.

Insight 02

Pay attention to deeper nuances

There's a difference between the having 2 people and 30 people acquire a desired skill or product knowledge. Make sure this context isn't lost by oversimplifying.

Insight 03

Surface people behind the data

Elevate mutual interests in learning and training specific expertise. Library leaders prefer to train and develop employees to fill skill gaps as much as possible.

Insight 04

Decrease cognitive load

The density of information paired with the repetitive UI causes cognitive overload when users scan through the page.

ideations

Concept ideation and validation

methodology

Stakeholder Interviews

JOBS-TO-BE-DONE

outcome

Solution Highlights

Talent Audit captures the current state of talent within the org with regards to their talent needs—surfacing talent gaps and unique opportunities to train their people.

Key Skills & Key Products

Skills and product knowledge that an organization determines necessary to have in order to run effectively and reach their strategic goals—whether currently, or in the future.

Skills and product knowledge that an organization determines necessary to have in order to run effectively and reach their strategic goals.

How it works

Talent Audit overlays the organization's key skills and key products with the talent-related data aggregated from their employee's profiles

Identify talent gaps and track your progress in real-time.

Talent Audit visualizes an organization's talent data into segments, identifying which of their assessed talent needs already exist in their organization, which ones are missing, and which of the missing talent have people interested in learning them.

Get to know your people

Get to know the capabilities and interests of your employees. Identify opportunities where their learning interests align with the organization's strategic interests.

Want to work together? Get in touch!

© William Tigno 2023