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ROLE

Lead UX/UI Designer

TIMEFRAME

January 2022 to today

Summary / Solution 🌱

We were looking for the perfect designers to hire and assign to the various teams at DCS. It was important for us to find designers who were not only interested in the field, but were also more genrealistic.

  • Identification of 3 main rules for hiring designers and also by sharing it with HR

  • Fully internalization of the UX department

  • Increase of UX maturity from level 1 to level 3 within 9 month

  • Decrease of external UX agency costs for internalization

  • Increase of UX awareness in the company

Copyright disclaimer: The copyright remains to the respective owners of this project!

ROLE

Lead UX/UI Designer

TIMEFRAME

January 2022 to today

Summary / Solution 🌱

We were looking for the perfect designers to hire and assign to the various teams at DCS. It was important for us to find designers who were not only interested in the field, but were also more genrealistic.

  • Identification of 3 main rules for hiring designers and also by sharing it with HR

  • Fully internalization of the UX department

  • Increase of UX maturity from level 1 to level 3 within 9 month

  • Decrease of external UX agency costs for internalization

  • Increase of UX awareness in the company

Copyright disclaimer: The copyright remains to the respective owners of this project!

ROLE

Lead UX/UI Designer

TIMEFRAME

January 2022 to today

Summary / Solution 🌱

We were looking for the perfect designers to hire and assign to the various teams at DCS. It was important for us to find designers who were not only interested in the field, but were also more genrealistic.

  • Identification of 3 main rules for hiring designers and also by sharing it with HR

  • Fully internalization of the UX department

  • Increase of UX maturity from level 1 to level 3 within 9 month

  • Decrease of external UX agency costs for internalization

  • Increase of UX awareness in the company

Copyright disclaimer: The copyright remains to the respective owners of this project!

The Problem

When we decided to further increase the UX team as the DCS didn't we had any UX process & hiring strategy in place regarding selection of candidates, writing of the job description and the way we do the UX challenges.

The Problem

When we decided to further increase the UX team as the DCS didn't we had any UX process & hiring strategy in place regarding selection of candidates, writing of the job description and the way we do the UX challenges.

The Problem

When we decided to further increase the UX team as the DCS didn't we had any UX process & hiring strategy in place regarding selection of candidates, writing of the job description and the way we do the UX challenges.

My 3 rules for hiring and allocation

Doing my time in hiring the right UX/UI designers for the DCS, I was more focussed on the technicial skills where my colleaque Jakob Winkler was more for a lookout of the perfect cultural team fit.

"The lower the UX maturity in a team or company, the higher should the seniority of the designer be"

An experienced and more senior designer is stronger in pushing UX/UI related topics, improves awareness for UX more efficient and is good in various stakeholder management and negotiation compared to a more junior designer. This is important depending on the goal of the UX department and company.

"The smaller the team, the more generalist should the designer be"

If your team is smaller than 3 designers, it is better hire generalists first to get the job done and to establish the operational UX/UI activities in the company before jumping into more strategic directions that need more specialist designers like UX researchers or UX writers.

"The more specialized the area in which the UX/UI designer will be working, the more specialized the experience of the UX designer should be."

If you are looking for a position which is related to specific area of your product, like registration, pricing and payment or so, you should hiring a designer with experience in this field to make sure he efficiently solves these issues, knows how to craft the right questions for the user and which design patterns are important.

Deep dive into the solutions

Why every team and company is different and why it's important when hiring

The hiring strategy is mostly based on business, team and skill need. This is why you can often not apply the same strategy for every company or team.

Collaboration with the HR team is key

Collaboration with the HR team is very important when it comes to hiring new designers, it was important to sit down with the HR team regularly, answer questions from candidates and discuss the process and status. The goal was that the candidates should always feel that they were being listened to and valued. Doing the full hiring process, we had over 300 application and I had to do around 45 interviews while I was reviewing around 120-150 portfolios of candidates doing that time. And all at the same time while full production, internalisation of our design systems and leading and guiding the external designers.

First generalist and then specialists

When I started to hire the first candidates, it was clear that we need to stick to generalist until we are at least 4 designers in the team before we can start hiring specialists like researchers, writers etc. The plan was that we need to internalise until December 2023 which means we need to replace 5 external designers with 3 internal one. If we would hire specialists then we would lose our current momentum we gained doing the internalisation of our processes and design systems.

A job title makes a good filter

When we started to look for condidates, it was important for me to define a job title that not only discribes thet role of the designer, but also where he/she will be located as well, this makes it easier for the candidates to apply for a job they really want to do, at this time, we where on the look to find 2 designers for our B2C and one designer for our B2B business lines. This information needed to be included to find the right candidates as anyone know what some people like it to work in B2B, but some don't like it.

Why every team and company is different and why it's important when hiring

The hiring strategy is mostly based on business, team and skill need. This is why you can often not apply the same strategy for every company or team.

Collaboration with the HR team is key

Collaboration with the HR team is very important when it comes to hiring new designers, it was important to sit down with the HR team regularly, answer questions from candidates and discuss the process and status. The goal was that the candidates should always feel that they were being listened to and valued. Doing the full hiring process, we had over 300 application and I had to do around 45 interviews while I was reviewing around 120-150 portfolios of candidates doing that time. And all at the same time while full production, internalisation of our design systems and leading and guiding the external designers.

First generalist and then specialists

When I started to hire the first candidates, it was clear that we need to stick to generalist until we are at least 4 designers in the team before we can start hiring specialists like researchers, writers etc. The plan was that we need to internalise until December 2023 which means we need to replace 5 external designers with 3 internal one. If we would hire specialists then we would lose our current momentum we gained doing the internalisation of our processes and design systems.

A job title makes a good filter

When we started to look for condidates, it was important for me to define a job title that not only discribes thet role of the designer, but also where he/she will be located as well, this makes it easier for the candidates to apply for a job they really want to do, at this time, we where on the look to find 2 designers for our B2C and one designer for our B2B business lines. This information needed to be included to find the right candidates as anyone know what some people like it to work in B2B, but some don't like it.

Why every team and company is different and why it's important when hiring

The hiring strategy is mostly based on business, team and skill need. This is why you can often not apply the same strategy for every company or team.

Collaboration with the HR team is key

Collaboration with the HR team is very important when it comes to hiring new designers, it was important to sit down with the HR team regularly, answer questions from candidates and discuss the process and status. The goal was that the candidates should always feel that they were being listened to and valued. Doing the full hiring process, we had over 300 application and I had to do around 45 interviews while I was reviewing around 120-150 portfolios of candidates doing that time. And all at the same time while full production, internalisation of our design systems and leading and guiding the external designers.

First generalist and then specialists

When I started to hire the first candidates, it was clear that we need to stick to generalist until we are at least 4 designers in the team before we can start hiring specialists like researchers, writers etc. The plan was that we need to internalise until December 2023 which means we need to replace 5 external designers with 3 internal one. If we would hire specialists then we would lose our current momentum we gained doing the internalisation of our processes and design systems.

A job title makes a good filter

When we started to look for condidates, it was important for me to define a job title that not only discribes thet role of the designer, but also where he/she will be located as well, this makes it easier for the candidates to apply for a job they really want to do, at this time, we where on the look to find 2 designers for our B2C and one designer for our B2B business lines. This information needed to be included to find the right candidates as anyone know what some people like it to work in B2B, but some don't like it.

I am not a fan of UX tests - so let's change their purpose

UX testing seems to be very common when new UX/UI designers or product designers are hired for the team. Usually these tests are very negative as there are companies that take advantage of this to get new ideas or features designed. It was important to me to completely change the purpose of these tests.

Purpose change ⚖️

Normally, UX tests are there to test the skills and abilities of a designer and to see if the approach fits the team. I wanted to change this and thought it made sense to see this test as a small "trial exercise". UX designers should do the work they will be expected to do in daily business, so they could see if this is for them or not. The disadvantage was that I had to create a separate challenge for each vacancy and its area, but it was worth it to me. At the same time, these tasks should have nothing to do with the actual product and be something completely independent and not reusable for the DCS.

Be transparent in the hiring process 💎

Collaboration with the HR team is very important when it comes to hiring new designers, it was important to sit down with the HR team regularly, answer questions from candidates and discuss the process and status. The goal was that the candidates should always feel that they were being listened to and valued.

Not only skill check but also a check for the hire 💡

This new approach of the challenges supported me also to hire the right people for the team, because I can also directly ask for feedback how they liked the challenge and if this is something they really want to do. But anyway, the candidates also had to present and show they process similar to a normal challenge, even if the skill wasn't the main focus of it. But if you want to hire someone who needs to push UX topics and defend their solutions, then it's important that they at least can tell and show why they came to the solution.

New hires are more likely to choose us at the end

The probability of a candidate choosing the DCS was more than twice as high as if we had only done normal challenges and tests with the designers. One candidate even actively decided against hiring from another company and came to DCS specifically because our hiring process was clearer and more open than other companies.

I am not a fan of UX tests - so let's change their purpose

UX testing seems to be very common when new UX/UI designers or product designers are hired for the team. Usually these tests are very negative as there are companies that take advantage of this to get new ideas or features designed. It was important to me to completely change the purpose of these tests.

Purpose change ⚖️

Normally, UX tests are there to test the skills and abilities of a designer and to see if the approach fits the team. I wanted to change this and thought it made sense to see this test as a small "trial exercise". UX designers should do the work they will be expected to do in daily business, so they could see if this is for them or not. The disadvantage was that I had to create a separate challenge for each vacancy and its area, but it was worth it to me. At the same time, these tasks should have nothing to do with the actual product and be something completely independent and not reusable for the DCS.

Be transparent in the hiring process 💎

Collaboration with the HR team is very important when it comes to hiring new designers, it was important to sit down with the HR team regularly, answer questions from candidates and discuss the process and status. The goal was that the candidates should always feel that they were being listened to and valued.

Not only skill check but also a check for the hire 💡

This new approach of the challenges supported me also to hire the right people for the team, because I can also directly ask for feedback how they liked the challenge and if this is something they really want to do. But anyway, the candidates also had to present and show they process similar to a normal challenge, even if the skill wasn't the main focus of it. But if you want to hire someone who needs to push UX topics and defend their solutions, then it's important that they at least can tell and show why they came to the solution.

New hires are more likely to choose us at the end

The probability of a candidate choosing the DCS was more than twice as high as if we had only done normal challenges and tests with the designers. One candidate even actively decided against hiring from another company and came to DCS specifically because our hiring process was clearer and more open than other companies.

I am not a fan of UX tests - so let's change their purpose

UX testing seems to be very common when new UX/UI designers or product designers are hired for the team. Usually these tests are very negative as there are companies that take advantage of this to get new ideas or features designed. It was important to me to completely change the purpose of these tests.

Purpose change ⚖️

Normally, UX tests are there to test the skills and abilities of a designer and to see if the approach fits the team. I wanted to change this and thought it made sense to see this test as a small "trial exercise". UX designers should do the work they will be expected to do in daily business, so they could see if this is for them or not. The disadvantage was that I had to create a separate challenge for each vacancy and its area, but it was worth it to me. At the same time, these tasks should have nothing to do with the actual product and be something completely independent and not reusable for the DCS.

Be transparent in the hiring process 💎

Collaboration with the HR team is very important when it comes to hiring new designers, it was important to sit down with the HR team regularly, answer questions from candidates and discuss the process and status. The goal was that the candidates should always feel that they were being listened to and valued.

Not only skill check but also a check for the hire 💡

This new approach of the challenges supported me also to hire the right people for the team, because I can also directly ask for feedback how they liked the challenge and if this is something they really want to do. But anyway, the candidates also had to present and show they process similar to a normal challenge, even if the skill wasn't the main focus of it. But if you want to hire someone who needs to push UX topics and defend their solutions, then it's important that they at least can tell and show why they came to the solution.

New hires are more likely to choose us at the end

The probability of a candidate choosing the DCS was more than twice as high as if we had only done normal challenges and tests with the designers. One candidate even actively decided against hiring from another company and came to DCS specifically because our hiring process was clearer and more open than other companies.

Mentoring and motivation of UX designers

Once the UX designer is hired, it is important to motivate them and also to mentor them by their daily challenges.

Regular check-ins & continous supports

Mentoring UX designers is an important part as everyone wants to get support on things that blocks them from working. As every designer is also a human being, it is important to challenge them as well as support them. For example, my expactation is that senior designers are more able to push topics as well as working on bigger topics compared to junior designers. When I have a regular 1:1 with a senior, I want to solve their issue first themselve before interropting them compared to a junior who gets a more clear guidance as well. Besides the 1:1's it is important to have a weekly feedback session with the whole team to improve everyones presentation skills and also to foster collaboration between the different designers even if they are in different cross-functional teams.

Regular Retro Sessions

Regular retros supporting the team spirit to solve problems within a team and also to identify gaps within the overall collaboration. It can also support to identify new initiatives within the team. Here I especially recommend to do only onsite retros where everyone is in the same room. This can improve communication and trust to each other by solving the teams issues.

Foster Domain expertise

To support the growth of each designer and also to support the business and team as a whole, it is important to strengthen the designers skills by letting the designers choose where to get deep domain/competency. That means that I give designers ownership about specific topics like owning a specific part of the research process or owning a design system. Besides their daily business can they grow in these fiels and get experience in it to further improve their skills. This not only brings hoepfully joy, but also because they really do what they love and like at the end. That is very important for me.

Mentoring and motivation of UX designers

Once the UX designer is hired, it is important to motivate them and also to mentor them by their daily challenges.

Regular check-ins & continous supports

Mentoring UX designers is an important part as everyone wants to get support on things that blocks them from working. As every designer is also a human being, it is important to challenge them as well as support them. For example, my expactation is that senior designers are more able to push topics as well as working on bigger topics compared to junior designers. When I have a regular 1:1 with a senior, I want to solve their issue first themselve before interropting them compared to a junior who gets a more clear guidance as well. Besides the 1:1's it is important to have a weekly feedback session with the whole team to improve everyones presentation skills and also to foster collaboration between the different designers even if they are in different cross-functional teams.

Regular Retro Sessions

Regular retros supporting the team spirit to solve problems within a team and also to identify gaps within the overall collaboration. It can also support to identify new initiatives within the team. Here I especially recommend to do only onsite retros where everyone is in the same room. This can improve communication and trust to each other by solving the teams issues.

Foster Domain expertise

To support the growth of each designer and also to support the business and team as a whole, it is important to strengthen the designers skills by letting the designers choose where to get deep domain/competency. That means that I give designers ownership about specific topics like owning a specific part of the research process or owning a design system. Besides their daily business can they grow in these fiels and get experience in it to further improve their skills. This not only brings hoepfully joy, but also because they really do what they love and like at the end. That is very important for me.

Mentoring and motivation of UX designers

Once the UX designer is hired, it is important to motivate them and also to mentor them by their daily challenges.

Regular check-ins & continous supports

Mentoring UX designers is an important part as everyone wants to get support on things that blocks them from working. As every designer is also a human being, it is important to challenge them as well as support them. For example, my expactation is that senior designers are more able to push topics as well as working on bigger topics compared to junior designers. When I have a regular 1:1 with a senior, I want to solve their issue first themselve before interropting them compared to a junior who gets a more clear guidance as well. Besides the 1:1's it is important to have a weekly feedback session with the whole team to improve everyones presentation skills and also to foster collaboration between the different designers even if they are in different cross-functional teams.

Regular Retro Sessions

Regular retros supporting the team spirit to solve problems within a team and also to identify gaps within the overall collaboration. It can also support to identify new initiatives within the team. Here I especially recommend to do only onsite retros where everyone is in the same room. This can improve communication and trust to each other by solving the teams issues.

Foster Domain expertise

To support the growth of each designer and also to support the business and team as a whole, it is important to strengthen the designers skills by letting the designers choose where to get deep domain/competency. That means that I give designers ownership about specific topics like owning a specific part of the research process or owning a design system. Besides their daily business can they grow in these fiels and get experience in it to further improve their skills. This not only brings hoepfully joy, but also because they really do what they love and like at the end. That is very important for me.

RESPONSIBILITIES

UX hiring strategy

Preparation of UX job description

Challenging of new UX designers

Selection of candidates and onboarding

Off-boarding of external designers

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