Optimizing Organizational Awareness
for Account Managers
Timeline
Sept. 2024 - Dec 2024
My Role
UX/UI Designer
UX Researcher
Team
Sriya Ventrapragada
Eason Xinran Wang
Joon Kum
Insight Global Partners
Insight Global (IG) is a leading staffing agency specializing in recruitment, staff augmentation, and talent acquisition.
Problems to Solve
Limited CRM Capabilities
The current CRM has limitations in tracking key decision-makers & historical contracts in client organizations.
Scattered Data
AMs navigate multiple platforms to gather client information, leading to inefficiencies and redundant efforts.
Workflow Inefficiencies
Manual processes & inconsistent data disrupt productivity, leading to wasted time and higher operational costs.
Target User
Insight Global's Account Managers (AMs) are responsible for managing client relationships, identifying decision-makers within potential client organizations, filling open requisitions, and building lasting partnerships.
Stakeholders
Results
New CRM Features
Designed new organizational chart, activity timeline, and competitor chart, projected to significantly reduce account manager preparation time and improve workflow efficiency.
Centralized Data & Contact Ownership
Addressed redundant outreach by incorporating features to centralize client data and streamline contact ownership, reducing salary costs tied to duplicated efforts.
Improved Usability & Client Management
Improved usability & client relationship management by integrating actionable data & user-friendly workflows tailored to account manager needs.
Initial Research
Method 01
Literature Reviews
Secondary Research
Findings
CRM Efficiency
Operational CRMs streamline workflows, while Analytical CRMs leverage data for strategic decision-making. (Rababah et al., 2011)
Artificial Intelligence in CRMs
AI can support data structuring and accuracy, optimizing CRM processes. (Chatterjee et al., 2021)
Business Impact:
82% of companies use CRM for automation and sales reporting. (ScienceSoft)
CRMs yield an average ROI of $8.7 per dollar spent. (Nucleus Research)
Method 02
Semi-Structured Interviews
Analysis
Affinity mapping & Thematic Analysis
Method 03
Surveys
13 Participants
We then deployed a survey to industry contacts outside of IG to validate interview data, identify trends, and assess the generalizability of our findings.
Method 04
Analysis
IG CRM Walkthrough
CRM Information Architecture
CRM User Journey Map
What did we learn from our initial research?
Fragmented Data & Inefficient Workflows
AM's rely on multiple platforms—LinkedIn, HubSpot, and ZoomInfo—to identify key decision-makers. This scattered data creates inefficiencies, requiring manual research and redundant outreach. Without centralized tools, AM's waste valuable time verifying information across sources.
Lost Opportunities Due to Limited Engagement Tracking
AM's struggle to track internal employee-client interactions, leading to duplicated efforts and missed opportunities. Missing historical engagement data also makes it harder to tailor outreach and establish credibility with potential clients.
A CRM That Didn't Fully Support AM Workflows
While the CRM offered activity snapshots, it lacked real-time updates and automation, requiring AMs to verify data manually. They needed a system that actively supported workflow—prioritizing outreach, reducing redundancy, and surfacing actionable insights.
What can we learn from other industry tools?
Comparative Analysis
5 Systems
Through a comparative analysis of five systems (HubSpot, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Microsoft Teams Metrics, Salesforce, and ZoomInfo), we identified that IG’s CRM could benefit from data visualization & analytics, AI-powered automation for real-time updates & alerts, improved inter-team communication, and customizable dashboards.
Ideation & Concept Development
User Persona
Empathy Map
Idea Generation
6-3-5
We conducted 4 sessions of 6-3-5 ideation to identify potential solutions for 4 different themes
Scamper
We also utilized insights obtained from interviews and surveys to curate SCAMPER ideas and derive a solution
Creating Early Sketches & Wireframes
Early Sketches
Feedback
Historical Contract Categories
Feedback: AM's emphasized the need for detailed categories to inform pitches and demonstrate past successes.
Action: Wireframes must offer AMs direct access to historical contract details and placements with partner organizations, enhancing credibility during pitches.
Credibility & Contextual References ("Name-Dropping")
Feedback: Stakeholders valued the ability to reference IG’s past placements to establish trust and authority during client interactions.
Action: Wireframes should include features that provide AM's with immediate access to relevant historical contracts and partner organization data to support their pitches.
Indicator for Interaction History
Feedback: Users wanted clear visibility into which contacts IG had interacted with previously, along with identification of new contacts within an organization.
Action: Wireframes should visually differentiate new contacts from those with established histories to streamline workflows and improve outreach strategy.
Wireframes
Feedback
Thematic analysis
User Journey Map- Organizational Chart
Narrowing Our Scope -> Expanding the Org Chart
After analyzing our wireframe feedback sessions, we decided to narrow our focus down to the organizational chart while expanding on its features. We determined the following prototype requirements:
Integrated Org Chart Features
Combine the activity timeline and competitor panel within the organizational chart for more cohesion.
Dashboard Usability
Enable quick, one-click access to essential documents and historical data, reducing unnecessary navigation.
Intuitive Terminology
Use industry-aligned language that resonates with AMs and stakeholders, enhancing feature accessibility.
Accessibility Improvements
Implement a legend with distinct visual patterns in replacement of color-coded indicators on the org chart.
Information Architecture & User Flows
Org Chart
Information Architecture
Org Chart
User Flows
Feedback
Design related insights
Following the feedback session of our organizational chart prototypes, we gathered the following final feedback insights to guide development of the high-fidelity designs.
Real-Time, Front Facing Contact Ownership Visibility (via badge or label)
Contact Claim Option
Connection Pathways Feature to list internal IG contacts who can help AMs reach target decision-makers.
Action-Focused Contact Cards
Revise Information Architecture: Redesign flow & layout to increase visibility of the assigned AM, latest interaction details, and any internal connections that can help reach the target contact. Reduce the number of clicks required to access this information.
Conduct User Testing on New Design
High Fidelity prototypes
IG’s CRM -> Accounts Tab
Org Chart
This page in Insight Global's CRM helps Account Managers (AMs) track key contacts, understand hierarchies, and identify business opportunities.
IG’s CRM -> Accounts Tab
Contact card coding
Contact Side Panel
"Drop" coded contact
This side panel appears when a user clicks on a contact card in the organizational chart, providing detailed contact information and facilitating streamlined communication.
Contact Side Panel
"Build" coded contact
Contact card in the organizational chart with no AMs assigned. It provides detailed information about the selected contact, including their role and contact information. Features and purpose are the same as “Drop”.
Activity Timeline
This panel provides a chronological view of past interactions and upcoming tasks for a specific contact, helping AMs review engagement history, identify and act on high-priority tasks, and prepare for client interactions.
Contract Placements
This panel provides a centralized list of contractors and employees within a client organization, organized by roles. AMs use it to monitor placements, track talent allocation, and access profiles for contract fulfillment, renewals, and client communication.
Org Chart Toolbar
Version History
This panel provides a chronological record of changes made to the Organizational Chart within the account. It allows Account Managers (AMs) and other stakeholders to track updates, review past versions, and restore or analyze changes over time.
Org Chart Toolbar
Edit Mode - Contact
Edit Mode enables real-time adjustments to the organizational chart, allowing AMs to add, remove, or update contacts to maintain an accurate and up-to-date hierarchy.
Org Chart Toolbar
Edit Mode - Add Contact
Edit Mode enables real-time adjustments to the organizational chart, allowing AMs to add, remove, or update contacts to maintain an accurate and up-to-date hierarchy.
Org Chart Toolbar
Show/Hide
The Show/Hide filter allows users to toggle the visibility of specific departments, roles, or criteria in the organizational chart, improving usability by focusing on relevant data and reducing clutter.
Org Chart Toolbar
List Mode
List view provides a text-based view of the organizational chart, allowing users to browse contacts by roles and departments in a compact, searchable format. This feature caters to users who prefer a list layout over a visual hierarchy.
insightglobalcrm.com
Prototype Success Criteria
Clarity in Visual Representation
Ensure visual elements (org chart, contact cards, statuses) align with account managers' cognitive models.
Flexibility of Use
Test the tool's adaptability for tasks like editing hierarchy levels and tracking multiple AM interactions.
Improved Functionality & Usability
Verify if features —contractor details, AM insights, direct report indicators— streamline workflows.
Efficiency
Determining whether the new features and data structure are saving time and reducing redundant clicks for the user.
Evaluation
Method 01
Moderated Usability Testing
4 Account Managers
30 Minutes each
Goal
Gather data on users' interaction patterns with the design while considering quantitative measures like number of clicks, time taken, and task completion rate.
Tasks evaluated
Locate and Manage Contacts
Find Robert Green in the organizational chart, view his hierarchy, add a new colleague contact, and add a previously not contacted client to your leads.
View and Update Contact Information
Review Robert’s interactions and account manager, update his profile, and identify any dropped contacts.
Review Org Chart Edits
Check the details of the latest edit made to the org chart, including who made the changes and when.
Data
Analysis
Thematic Analysis
Findings
Navigation and Search Efficiency
The navigation and search functions were mostly effective, but some users experienced delays or desired clearer search results. Further optimization is needed for faster, more intuitive navigation.
Version History and Contact Management
Version history was useful but lacked clarity, requiring additional steps to access essential information. Contact management, including adding/editing contacts, was effective but time-consuming, suggesting potential for streamlining.
Activity Timeline and Contract History
The activity timeline helped track interactions but could be better integrated with other features for faster updates. Contract history was less intuitive, and clearer details would help users make more informed decisions.
Personalization and Real-Time Notifications
Users requested real-time notifications for updates and features like personal note-taking for better organization. Enhancements in these areas would improve workflow personalization and keep users informed more efficiently.
Method 02
Goals
Identify usability issues adhering to task flows specifically for new users
Highlight mismatches between design intent and expert expectations
Assess the learnability of key functions
Tasks Demonstrated
Preparing for a cold call
Tailor Sales pitch for follow up meeting
Update client data after meeting
Data
Findings
Clarity and Consistency in Information
Inconsistent terminology and ambiguous color coding confuse users. Clearer terms and replacing colors with tags or filters will improve clarity.
Actionable and Up-to-Date Contact Information
Contact profiles lack actionable insights and recent interaction summaries. Adding these features will provide relevant information for better outreach.
Improved Data Management and Editing
Users cannot transfer contacts between charts, and version history lacks detail. Allowing transfers and adding detailed version history will improve data management.
Personalization and Real-Time Notifications
There's no note-taking feature or real-time notifications. Adding these will personalize the experience and keep users informed of updates.
Conclusion
Prototype Successes
Addressed Problem Space and Design Requirements
Professional Presentation and Clear Visual Hierarchy
Intuitive Navigation and Efficient Workflow
Enhanced Data Management and Accessibility
Facilitation of Inter-Team Collaboration
Improved Data Accuracy
Alignment with Insight Global’s Business Objectives
Next Steps
Develop design iterations to address current usability issues and incorporate new design recommendations.
II. Conduct individual heuristic evaluation sessions with executives to gather detailed feedback on the updated prototype.
III. Perform usability testing and A/B testing with target users to compare the effectiveness of different design iterations.
IV. Collaborate with Insight Global’s Product and Engineering teams to implement the design solutions into the CRM.
V. Conduct usability testing and evaluations for the implemented design to ensure its effectiveness and alignment with user needs.