CTgoodjobsDesign Leadership2021 - 2023
Cultivating Design Maturity from the Ground Up
Overview
Years ago, CTgoodjobs transitioned from a print recruitment newspaper to an online recruitment platform. However, adapting to the digital world within a traditional corporate culture posed challenges. Legacy structures made it difficult to create truly user-centric products.
As the first UX Design Manager at CTgoodjobs, I established design management practices from scratch. I focused on streamlining processes, empowering the design team, and advocating for user needs. This included creating the first design system, developing a project kick-off template, organising regular team and one-on-one meetings, and more.
My goal was to raise UX awareness, foster a user-centred culture, strengthen the design team, and optimise workflows to deliver more impactful products that added greater business value to CTgoodjobs.
Productivity
Meeting Time
Reusable UI Components
🙋🏻♀️My role - Design manager
- Transformed the design team from a support function to a strategic partner
- Pioneered design management practices to streamline the design process
- Mentored the team to elevate their skills and foster continuous growth
- Advocated for user-centred design and cultivated UX maturity
Challenges
Lack of dedicated design leadership
Initially, the design team was managed by the product director. Without dedicated design leadership, designers were seen as task-oriented contributors rather than strategic partners. As the team grew without a specialised manager, we faced the following challenges:
⚙️Inefficient design process
Our design materials and project information were scattered, slowing productivity and creating friction during development.
🎨Uncontrolled design quality
Inconsistent processes led to varying design quality, affecting productivity and lowering team morale.
👀Being overlooked
Despite our ability to drive impact, the design team was often undervalued and excluded from key decisions.
🧠Low UX maturity
Without a focus on user-centred design, the importance of UX wasn’t well understood or prioritised within the company.
Inconsistent designs across different CTgoodjobs products
Personal Challenge
Working from 0 to 1
Pioneering design management meant creating processes from scratch. This involved extensive planning, implementation, iteration, and gaining stakeholder support. At the same time, I had to keep up with increasing project demands and maintain consistent design output. Balancing these responsibilities under tight deadlines was my biggest challenge.
Problem Identification
Exploring team challenges together
To identify the core challenges faced by the design team, I organised a collaborative workshop using FigJam. Through affinity diagramming, we pinpointed the following key areas for improvement:
Poor collaboration and communication
Lack of recognition and impact
Inconsistent design standards
Issues with project management and requirements
Difficulty advocating for UX improvements
FigJam workshop with the team
Exploration
How might we ... 🕵🏻
After our workshop to identify challenges, I led a “How Might We” session with the team. The goal was to turn pain points into actionable opportunities. Here are some key questions we brainstormed:
Streamline Design Process
Building a collaborative workspace
To improve communication and streamline our workflow, I created a shared workspace in Notion. The goal was to centralise all project materials in one place for easy access by the team.
- Better transparency: Centralising materials allowed the team to track updates easily and resolve issues faster, reducing delays caused by disorganised information.
- Organised records: By keeping materials well-organised, we could quickly find what we needed, which improved project handoffs and efficiency.
CTgoodjobs' shared workspace on Notion
Streamline Design Process
Pioneering the adoption of new collaborative design tools
Originally, our team used tools like Photoshop and Illustrator to create interfaces. However, as the team grew, sharing materials and maintaining consistency became increasingly difficult.
To improve productivity and cross-functional collaboration, I introduced Figma and FigJam as our primary design tools.
- Increased productivity: Building reusable components in Figma helped us work faster and maintain consistent design quality.
- Enhanced collaboration: FigJam allowed for real-time group brainstorming and design workshops, improving team engagement and alignment.
Working in Figma
Streamline Design Process
Crafting the first design system
To ensure consistency and scalability, I established CTgoodjobs' first design system during our revamp project. I created over 50 reusable components in Figma, setting the foundation for our new design theme and future revamp phases.
- Streamlined workflow: Reusable components sped up our design process by reducing repetitive tasks and enabling faster iterations.
- Maintained consistency: The design system standardised UI patterns and styles, ensuring consistent design and experiences across products.
- Enhanced design impact: By advocating for the design system, I improved design quality and demonstrated its value in creating a more efficient design process.
Part of the first design system of CTgoodjobs
Grow the Team
Strengthening team culture with regular meetings
To address the issue of isolated work, I set up weekly design team meetings to encourage collaboration and strengthen our team culture.
- Improved transparency: Regular meetings gave designers a chance to share challenges early, allowing us to address issues before they caused delays.
- Proactive risk management: Frequent check-ins helped me spot potential problems and offer support before they became bigger issues, ensuring smoother project progress.
Notes taking during design team meeting
Grow the Team
Initiating 1:1 meetings for personalised guidance
To support professional development, I introduced regular 1:1 meetings with each designer for more personalised feedback and guidance.
- Skills assessment and development: I assessed each designer’s skills and created custom development plans to help them excel in creating user-focused solutions that align with our business goals.
- Retention and morale: By supporting their growth, I strengthened relationships, built trust, and helped reduce turnover, boosting overall team morale.
Mindmap for analysing soft skills
Grow the Team
Organising sharing sessions for continuous growth
To promote continuous improvement and knowledge-sharing, I organised sessions on the following key areas:
- Workflow and collaboration: I shared best practices for smooth design processes and effective collaborations with other teams.
- User-centred design: I emphasised how to align our designs with both user needs and business goals to increase the impact of our work.
- Design communication: I discussed strategies for clearly presenting design ideas and addressing feedback from stakeholders and other teams.
Sharing on CTgoodjobs' design workflow
Streamline Collaboration
Introducing project kick-off template for team alignment
To improve alignment and clarity at the start of projects, I developed a standard project kick-off template for the design and product teams.
- Focus on users: The template ensures a clear understanding of user needs from the start, reducing the risk of misaligned solutions.
- Streamline process: It reduces confusion and miscommunication, saving time and preventing rework.
- Identify risks early: It helps identify potential issues early so they can be addressed before becoming bigger problems.
Project kick-off template
Data-driven Design
Transforming design with data access
Initially, our team did not have access to critical data, which made it tough to make fully informed design decisions. I worked with product managers to highlight the need for data-driven design and successfully secured independent access to data for our team.
- Data-driven design: We incorporated data analysis throughout the design process, leading to stronger and more effective solutions.
- Increased impact: With data supporting our designs, we were able to make more persuasive arguments and established ourselves as key strategic partners in the company.
Product reports received after requesting for data access
Impact
Increased design maturity and empowered the team
Our collaborative efforts resulted in significant improvements in CTgoodjobs' design maturity and team dynamics:
Productivity
Meeting Time
Reusable UI Components
Reflection
Pioneering design maturity in a traditional landscape 🌿
In traditional companies, the value of a dedicated UX design manager is often overlooked. Recognising this gap, I took the initiative to advocate for and elevate the design function at CTgoodjobs, driving meaningful changes as a proactive leader.
Cultivating design maturity within an established company culture was challenging. It required patience, persistence, and a clear demonstration of how good UX design can drive business impact.
I am grateful for the trust and support from my direct manager and team, which empowered me to initiate transformative changes in the design process. While foundational design management elements may seem standard in other organisations, they were a significant step forward for CTgoodjobs, helping foster better design maturity and creating more user-centric products.
My brillant team 💛