Reducing repetitive admin tasks for payroll administrators
Reducing repetitive admin tasks for payroll administrators
Improving worker registrations with Finity
Improving worker registrations with Finity
Overview
Overview
Finity’s product strength lies in it’s payroll engine: fast, powerful and reliable. But before they get to payroll, a few things need to happen. The biggest of those things is actually getting the data required to pay those workers in the first place, a task that takes up 40-60% of our user’s time each week.
Finity’s product strength lies in it’s payroll engine: fast, powerful and reliable. But before they get to payroll, a few things need to happen. The biggest of those things is actually getting the data required to pay those workers in the first place, a task that takes up 40-60% of our user’s time each week.
Team
Team
Product
Product
1
1
Engineering
Engineering
2-3
2-3
Design
Design
1
1
The problem
The problem
When we talk about onboarding workers at Finity, we’re no longer talking about office 9-5’ers changing jobs and following an onboarding process with HR. Finity sits within the temporary recruitment industry.
When we talk about onboarding workers at Finity, we’re no longer talking about office 9-5’ers changing jobs and following an onboarding process with HR. Finity sits within the temporary recruitment industry.
We’re talking about builders waking up at 4am, saying their good mornings and goodbyes in a language that isn’t english with barely a coffee in their system before pulling a 12 hour shift. We’re talking about not-so-stay-at-home parents taking odd substitute shifts at the local school when their teachers are going through rounds of the flu, returning home to a busy 'school' of their own.
We needed a way for our users to avoid the miscommunications and late collection of important documents from a group of people who struggled to answer the phone at any given time.
We’re talking about builders waking up at 4am, saying their good mornings and goodbyes in a language that isn’t english with barely a coffee in their system before pulling a 12 hour shift. We’re talking about not-so-stay-at-home parents taking odd substitute shifts at the local school when their teachers are going through rounds of the flu, returning home to a busy school of their own.
We needed a way for our users to avoid the miscommunications and late collection of important documents from a group of people who struggled to answer the phone at any given time.
Image
Vision
Vision
We wanted to enable our users to invite workers to self-onboard themselves. This means that instead of asking for information to be transcribed over the phone or via email, they could drop in and out and complete it at a time that suits them.
We wanted to enable our users to invite workers to self-onboard themselves. This means that instead of asking for information to be transcribed over the phone or via email, they could drop in and out and complete it at a time that suits them.
Research & insights
Research & insights
In the early phases, we spoke with our 5 of our users to understand their workflow and pain points. We had no direct access to the workers we would be designing for. Empathy profiles were built from interviews with our direct users instead.
In the early phases, we spoke with our 5 of our users to understand their workflow and pain points. We had no direct access to the workers we would be designing for. Empathy profiles were built from interviews with our direct users instead.
Users wanted a way to separate onboarding workers from active employees. They wanted to validate worker data that was self-entered before a payroll run. Competitor research demonstrated this was a common pattern in software that already had this feature.
Users wanted a way to separate onboarding workers from active employees. They wanted to validate worker data that was self-entered before a payroll run. Competitor research demonstrated this was a common pattern in software that already had this feature.
Many workers are ESL speakers and are not on their phone for a lot of time.
Many workers are ESL speakers and are not on their phone for a lot of time.
Workers often start working before completing onboarding, this needs to remain.
Workers often start working before completing onboarding, this needs to remain.
Users self-report 40-60% of payroll administrator time is spent manually collecting worker data over the phone or via emails.
Users self-report 40-60% of payroll administrator time is spent manually collecting worker data over the phone or via emails.
They often face language barriers, workers that are hard to reach and transcription errors.
They often face language barriers, workers that are hard to reach and transcription errors.
Constraints & solutions 1
Constraints & solutions 1
Timelines: Embedding the feature into our existing worker portal would be time hungry, enough so that we needed to explore other options.
Timelines: Embedding the feature into our existing worker portal would be time hungry, enough so that we needed to explore other options.
Proposal: I suggested we build a standalone experience that looked and behaved like the worker portal, this would also avoid sign up friction for our busy workers. We would send them a magic link for simplicity and funnel the user to the full portal once they were done onboarding.
Proposal: I suggested we build a standalone experience that looked and behaved like the worker portal, this would also avoid sign up friction for our busy workers. We would send them a magic link for simplicity and funnel the user to the full portal once they were done onboarding.
Constraints & solutions 2
Architecture: Our backend architecture has legacy patches. Workers needed to be classed as ‘unemployed’ to avoid being submitted for payroll, but this would block the ability to add hours (and therefore start employment before onboarding was complete). We needed a way around this.
Architecture: Our backend architecture has legacy patches and is problematic. Workers needed to be classed as ‘unemployed’ to avoid being submit for payroll, but this would block the ability to add hours (and therefore start employment before onboarding was complete). We needed a way around this.
Proposal: I suggested the re-use of our existing ‘hold’ feature that prevents payroll submissions even when a worker has hours, and proposed recycling this to auto-apply whilst worker’s were onboarding. This would maintain all functionality with zero payroll risk. Admin approval of their data would set the system to take the worker off hold, and ready for payroll!
Proposal: I suggested the re-use of our existing ‘hold’ feature that prevents payroll submissions even when a worker has hours, and proposed recycling this to auto-apply whilst worker’s were onboarding. This would maintain all functionality with zero payroll risk. Admin approval of their data would set the system to take the worker off hold, and ready for payroll!
Execution: Payroll administrators
Execution: Payroll administrators
We created an integrated self-onboarding experience for our users and workers.
We created an integrated self-onboarding experience for our users and workers.
Within the admin portal, I designed an onboarding area inline with the expectations that surfaced during the research phase. The record that they access is the same record they access when the worker is fully onboarded, but provides a clear divide between onboarding and payroll statuses. There are clear indicators of what’s missing and an easy approval flow for worker data.
Within the admin portal, I designed an onboarding area inline with the expectations that surfaced during the research phase. The record that they access is the same record they access when the worker is fully onboarded, but provides a clear divide between onboarding and payroll statuses. There are clear indicators of what’s missing and an easy approval flow for worker data.
Execution: Workers
Execution: Workers
I designed a flexible, simple, non-linear onboarding experience that allows users to skip and return to tasks as it suits them. The design focuses on clarity, with simple language and visual indicators of completion. Users can drop in and out, save their progress and easily return to the flow with their magic link.
I designed a flexible, simple, non-linear onboarding experience that allows users to skip and return to tasks as it suits them. The design focuses on clarity, with simple language and visual indicators of completion. Users can drop in and out, save their progress and easily return to the flow with their magic link.
Results
Results
The average time on the worker record reduced from 45 minutes to 34 minutes, indicating a drop in the time spent collecting worker data.
The average time on the worker record reduced from 45 minutes to 34 minutes, indicating a drop in the time spent collecting worker data.
73% of eligible workers self-onboarded themselves within the first 3 months. We received strong positive qualitative feedback and users felt they experienced less errors than were originally caused by incorrect data.
73% of eligible workers self-onboarded themselves within the first 3 months. We received strong positive qualitative feedback and users felt they experienced less errors than were originally caused by incorrect data.
Actual qualitative feedback: “HELLA USEFUL”
Actual qualitative feedback: “HELLA USEFUL”
HELLA USEFUL
Impact
Impact
This frees up payroll administrators to be able to manage more clients and opens up capacity for higher value work, reducing compliance risks and improving their worker experience.By designing with empathy for inaccessible users and finding creative solutions to technical constraints, we drove the vision and shipped a feature based on real-world usage, reducing an admin burden on both workers and payroll administrators.
This frees up payroll administrators to be able to manage more clients and opens up capacity for higher value work, reducing compliance risks and improving their worker experience.By designing with empathy for inaccessible users and finding creative solutions to technical constraints, we drove the vision and shipped a feature based on real-world usage, reducing an admin burden on both workers and payroll administrators.