Enterprise app
HD Career Progression
The path forward existed. Nobody could see it.
- Client
- Hastings Deering
- Role
- Product Design
- Key responsibilities
- Discovery, Facilitation, Usability testing, Design
- Timeline
- 4 weeks
Applications completed in 2 months
Average response time
Completed without errors
Most companies say they invest in their people. Then they hand them a multi-page paper form and wish them luck.
The reality
Buried in paper, held together by informal knowledge.
For operational employees at Hastings Deering, career progression was paper-based. Buried. Confusing to complete. Most employees didn't know where to start — some didn't know a process existed at all.
People who wanted to grow either gave up, or relied on whoever happened to know the informal process. That's not a career pathway.
The employee union had raised it repeatedly. When the union brings it to the table, it's not an edge case.
There is a lack of accessible information on career advancement pathways, leading to confusion and frustration.
The first wrong move
The initial instinct was simple: digitalise the form.
Take the paper process, put it online, clean it up. Then we looked at the existing form. It was dense, multi-page, built for administrators, not employees.
A digital version of the same thing would've been a faster version of the same confusion.
The form wasn't the problem. The model behind it was.
What we found
A discovery workshop with the product team and four subject matter experts.
01
No clear path forward
Many employees didn't understand the process or where to begin without relying on their leading hand.
02
Paper-based and painful
Employees had to print the full application — sometimes over 16 pages — and attach photographic evidence.
03
A game of pass the parcel
Each application required multiple approvals and could pass through up to seven different roles.
The turning point
Mapping the journey is what killed the plan.
I mapped the existing journey end to end through the eyes of Tom, our persona for the operational employee. Tom wants to progress in his career but has no clear starting point — just a vague direction to “look it up on SharePoint.” Laid out in full, the process spoke for itself: 16 pages of paper, photographic evidence, approvals bouncing through up to seven roles. You don't digitise that. You replace the model underneath it.
The solution
Rebuilding the experience for the employee.
Three main experiences: employees land on a status view — where they are, what's needed, no ambiguity. Managers get a single consolidated view with notifications that surface actions at the right time. And one digital form — logical, completable without calling anyone for help.
Easily find all the job models. Employees can clearly see where they are in their career and what's needed to progress.
One digital form. The 16-page paper application, reimagined as a fully digital, seamless experience.
Real-time updates. Employees stay informed at every step — no more wondering where an application went.
Approving on the fly. Managers, supervisors and leaders can review and approve submissions with ease and efficiency.
What really happened
90% completed without errors — on a process that previously offered 16 pages and no guidance.
Applications completed in 2 months
Average response time
Completed without errors
Having everything in one place has made it so much easier. It's clearer, faster, and more consistent.
When can we have this?
Key takeaways
01
Establish a baseline before launch
The post-launch numbers are strong — but strong compared to what is harder to answer without a starting point.
02
Bring leadership into discovery earlier
It was an afterthought in the initial process. With many stakeholders affected, the right people needed to approve the new process from the start.
Sometimes the fastest way to show people they're valued is to stop making things harder.
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