CrunchTea
AI-powered Recruitment Platform
Company: The Beryl Consulting Group
Role: Product Research & Designer, Team Lead
Duration: June - September 2022
Scope: User Research, Interface Design
Tool: Figma
About
Beryl Consulting Group is a hedge fund advisory firm that operates both a technology unit and a global alternative investment conference. During my time as a Product Design intern at Beryl, I developed CrunchTea, an AI-based tech recruitment platform. My design process began with extensive online recruitment market research, as well as attendance at multiple offline recruitment events. This enabled me to refine the online recruitment process and tailor it to the needs of employers. By collaborating with engineers and product managers, I designed optimal strategies and created interface designs that improved the overall recruitment experience for users.
Talent Acquisition Process
Talent acquisition is a multifaceted process comprising six functional stages: planning, recruiting, screening, selecting, offering/closing, and onboarding. Each of these stages is critical to the ultimate goal of identifying, hiring, and retaining new employees who can contribute to the success of the organization.
Successful talent acquisition relies on a series of interconnected processes that build on each other, including planning, recruiting, screening, selecting, offering/closing, and onboarding. However, many talent acquisition departments lack a systematic approach to optimize these processes and drive better results. In particular, there is often a lack of understanding of how effective recruitment is linked to overall performance improvements in the organization. To achieve positive recruiting outcomes, it is essential to set clear metrics for each stage of the process and to manage relentlessly towards those metrics, in order to continually improve the quality of talent acquisition within the company.
According to a report from Harvard Business School, there are several factors that impede people from securing jobs, with automated recruiting software ranking among the most significant. Currently, these software programs are utilized by 75 percent of U.S. employers and nearly all Fortune 500 companies. Their adoption stems from the rise of digital job applications since the 1990s. While technology has made applying for jobs more accessible, it has also made it easier for companies to reject candidates without ever having direct contact with them.
Industry Challenge
The main challenges that small and mid-sized companies face when hiring include:
Recruiter Interview Report
To gain a deeper understanding of the recruiting process used by professionals in the financial services industry, my team and I conducted both online and offline user interviews. Through these interviews, I aimed to gain insight into the recruitment software and websites commonly used, as well as the concerns these professionals have throughout the process. I asked a series of questions, and the answers were compiled and analyzed to create graphs. These graphs provided valuable insights into the recruitment process and helped inform the development of our recruitment platform.
What is your recruiting process like?
What are your main criteria when looking for ideal candidates for a particular role?
Which applications do you use to search for potential candidates (ex. LinkedIn)?
PAIN POINTS (RECRUITING)
What are some problems you face when you look for potential candidates?
What difficulties do you experience when using applications to look for potential candidates?
HABITS (APPLICATION TRACKING)
How do you track and organize applicants for a particular role?
Have you experienced any challenges when it comes to organizing the applications and potential candidates for a specific role? If so, what were these difficulties?
Do you use any applicant tracking software? If yes please name.
PAIN POINTS (APPLICATION TRACKING)
Is there anything that frustrates you about the software you use to track applications?
Is there anything you would like to see added/ changed?
Following the interviews, the feedback from the recruiters highlighted several issues with the current recruitment sites. Specifically, many recruiters found that the talent search function on these sites was too simplistic, and the job boards did not provide a complete picture of the recruiting data, resulting in confusion for the recruiters to manage the recruitment process effectively. Furthermore, many recruiters expressed that the sites lacked an automated service that could offer the best solution for recruitment. Lastly, recruiters identified a problem with the shift in identity between recruiters and job seekers that sometimes occurred on these sites.
CrunchTea Mission
At CrunchTea, we believe that the success of our recruiters is directly linked to our own success. Our primary objective is to provide a cutting-edge platform that seamlessly connects top talent with the best employers. Our end-to-end, fully customizable solutions are tailored to meet the specific needs of our Recruitment Partners.
Our Lead Generation and Matchmaking Automation tools are designed to streamline your workflow and help you save both time and money. Our advanced algorithmic solutions take care of routine yet essential tasks, allowing you to focus on more important matters. With CrunchTea, the recruitment process is made faster, smoother, and more efficient.
CrunchTea Services
CrunchTea vs. Other Recruitment Platforms
Business Model & Process Flow
Brand Identity
Before
After
Typeface
Color Palette
Wireframes
Throughout the project, my team and I placed a strong emphasis on incorporating user feedback to drive the design process. We conducted several iterations, each one informed by feedback from our interviewees, to refine and improve the product.
Additionally, we recognized the importance of collaboration between designers and engineers in bringing our ideas to fruition. By working closely with our engineering colleagues, we ensured that the final product not only met the needs of our users but was also technically feasible and efficient.
Our focus on user-centered design and collaboration resulted in a final product that we were proud of, and we plan to continue gathering feedback and iterating on the design to ensure its ongoing success.
Landing Page
Before
The registration process has some areas that require improvement. Specifically, the status register is unclear and could benefit from further clarification to help users better understand the process. Additionally, we have received feedback that the two button styles are too similar, which can cause confusion for users.
After
We refined the design of the employer and candidate buttons to help users better understand the difference between the two statuses with various design options that can help visually distinguish the two buttons from each other.
Sign-In/Up
Before
There were no guidelines or related questions provided to users before the registration process, which may have caused confusion and frustration.
After
We have introduced AI-generated questions that focus on recruitment. These questions are designed to help users find the ideal candidate more accurately by identifying the specific skills and qualifications they are looking for in a candidate.
Dashboard
Before
The information on the dashboard is not always clear and the interface is primarily text descriptions, which can be overwhelming and confusing for some users.
After
To improve the user experience on our platform, we created a chart that provides a visual representation of the data, allowing users to easily identify trends and patterns. The chart is designed to be user-friendly and intuitive, providing an at-a-glance overview of the most important data points. Users will be able to customize the chart to display the data in the way that best suits their needs, such as by date range, applicant location, or other relevant factors.
Candidate Tracking
Before
Users have found the candidate information on our platform to be unorganized and have expressed frustration with the limited ability to manipulate the interface.
After
Personalized filters were implemented to improve the efficiency of the candidate selection process for users. We also implemented features that allow users to conduct customized searches for the best candidates by adding keywords and categories, as well as easy access to candidate information; which helps users to better perform related actions in the recruitment process.
Job Posting
Before
Recruiters were not able to update and modify company and position information.
After
We added detailed steps to build up connection and empathy with users, as they tend to prefer more details in the job posting.
Overview
By applying a supply chain model approach to our recruitment site, we are working to ensure that the right talent is placed in the right position at the right time. This approach helps to create a closer connection between recruiters and candidates, resulting in a more efficient and effective hiring process.
To achieve this, we are adopting a user-centric approach that prioritizes the needs of our users. By designing the platform with user experience in mind, we can help to uncover hidden talent and better meet the needs of our clients.
Our supply chain-centric mindset also emphasizes the importance of scientific business strategy in the hiring process. By gathering and analyzing data on candidate skills, qualifications, and experience,
we can identify trends and patterns that help us make more informed hiring decisions. This not only helps us to increase the efficiency of the hiring process but also enables us to tap into the hidden talent market and identify candidates who may have been overlooked using traditional recruitment methods.
We are committed to leveraging the power of technology and data
to improve the hiring process and provide our clients with the best possible talent solutions. By focusing on user experience and implementing a supply chain model approach, we believe that we
can help our clients achieve their recruitment goals more effectively and efficiently.