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O V E R V I E W
Rewarding employees through loyalty currency.
Rewarding employees through loyalty currency.
Ultimate is an employee loyalty and engagement platform designed to recognize and reward employees for their efforts. There are 2 interfaces - admin and employee. HR admins send "Stars" (loyalty currency) to employees to reward them and employees redeem these Stars on the reward store. The case study showcases my contribution in the product.
Duration: Dec 2022 - Feb 2024
Design Team: 1 Sr. UX Design Consultant and Me
My role: User Researcher, Interaction, Visual and Motion Designer
Tools Used: Figma, Hotjar, Google Analytics, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effects, Chat GPT, Jira, Confluence, Teams, Outlook
T H E P R O B L E M
Employees don't feel valued.
Employees don't feel valued.
In today’s work culture, professionals seek personal fulfillment and recognition. However, many employees feel their contributions go unnoticed and undervalued due to a lack of acknowledgment, leading to decreased motivation and engagement. This disconnect between employee expectations and employer actions affects retention, team dynamics, and overall company culture.
Key challenges
Key challenges
Decreased motivation: Lack of effort acknowledgment leads to disengagement.
Higher turnover: Employees are more likely to leave organizations where they feel undervalued.
Misalignment of expectations: Employees expect personalized recognition, but traditional methods fail to deliver it.
T H E S O L U T I O N
A reward platform to celebrate employee efforts.
A reward platform to celebrate employee efforts.
A system that celebrates employee efforts, behaviors, moments, and achievements, both big and small, to foster a sense of belonging, helps employees feel valued.
Platform features
Platform features
Admin
Allocate Stars for efforts, moments, and achievements.
Track employee engagement metrics on the platform.
Employee
Redeem Stars for physical and digital rewards.
View received recognitions.
Admin platform
Admin platform
Employee platform
Employee platform
P R O J E C T G O A L
Creating a reward experience platform.
Creating a reward experience platform.
Create a visually delightful and celebratory experience for employees.
Develop an intuitive interface for admins to manage recognition seamlessly.
Foster a culture of personalized appreciation through the platform.
G E T T I N G S T A R T E D
What should we focus on to make employees feel valued?
What should we focus on to make employees feel valued?
The Discover phase was critical to understanding the root causes of employee disengagement and crafting a solution that resonated with both employees and HR administrators.
Objective: To uncover the key pain points and unmet needs in employee recognition and identify opportunities to create a platform that fosters a culture of acknowledgment and appreciation.
Secondary research
Secondary research
I began by exploring existing industry reports, and case studies to understand the broader landscape of employee engagement and recognition.
🧠
Recognition psychology
Studies show timely recognition boosts dopamine, driving motivation and productivity. Recognized employees are 4.6 times more likely to stay engaged and committed.
💼
Impact on business metrics
Companies with effective recognition programs report higher productivity, improved team morale, and 31% lower turnover rates.
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Generational preferences
Newer generations, such as Gen Z, value recognition and purpose-driven work more than previous generations.
Primary research
Primary research
To bridge the gap between existing knowledge and specific user needs, we conducted extensive primary research.
User surveys
User surveys
I collected quantitative data to identify common patterns and trends with a diverse group of 40 employees and 10 HRs from various departments.
65%
65%
Employees reported that they rarely or never receive acknowledgment for their efforts.
80%
80%
Employees preferred personalized recognition tailored to their contributions.
90%
90%
Employees indicated that consistent recognition would improve their motivation and engagement.
User interviews
I interviewed 10 junior to mid-level employees, 5 team leaders/managers. and 5 HR professionals to gain deeper insights into the emotional and practical aspects of recognition through personal stories and experiences. We identified the following themes:
🥺
Emotional impact
Employees felt demotivated when their efforts were overlooked.
⏳
Timeliness matters
Delayed recognition often felt less meaningful.
😎
Authoritative recognition
Top-down recognition was seen as more impactful than peer-to-peer acknowledgment.
Competitor analysis
Competitor analysis
I conducted a detailed competitive analysis of leading recognition platforms to design a platform that truly addresses the gaps in employee recognition and engagement. This analysis helped to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) in the existing solutions and informed the development of our unique value proposition.
SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis
Synthesizing insights
Synthesizing insights
I synthesized the research data & insights to find 10 crucial pain points.
Key insights
Key insights
Based on the research findings & pain points, I narrowed down to the critical criteria to focus on.
User Personas
User Personas
Using insights from user research, I developed three detailed personas to represent the varying needs, goals, and frustrations of employees, team leaders, and HR managers.
Prioritization matrix
Prioritization matrix
The prioritization matrix and its detailed breakdown focus primarily on features for the Admin platform and the employee platform. I decided on the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) features for the product.
Components wireframes for employee platform
Components wireframes for employee platform
I brainstormed and defined the interactive components for the store during the wireframing stage. I defined the content guidelines, such as word limits and image overlays for each component.
Dynamic/automatic content guidelines for API setup
Dynamic/automatic content guidelines for API setup
To have pre-defined sets consisting of elements such as section heading, image, image overlay, card/banner title(s), card/banner subtitle(s), points value (copy as “x points”, “Starting from x points” or “x-y points”), CTA, brand logo, tags
Images must have overlays that fit all layouts
One or more elements of a set can be hidden
Interface wireframes
Interface wireframes
I create wireframes of multiple design variations for user testing, feasibility checks & stakeholder feedback.
Admin platform
Admin platform
Employee platform
Employee platform
Design system
Design system
I created the design system using the Atomic Design methodology. You can view the complete design system here.
Banner gudelines
Banner gudelines
Visual Design Iteration
Visual Design Iteration
Final interface designs
Final interface designs
Admin platform
Admin platform
Create account
Create account
Buy stars
Buy stars
Send moments
Send moments
Send stars
Send stars
Default
Manual
Bulk
Bulk
Default
Manual
Bulk
Bulk
Manual
Bulk
Create coupons
Create coupons
Default
Manual
Bulk
Manual
Bulk
Default
Manual
Bulk
Bulk
Manual
Bulk
Account settings
Account settings
Dashboard
Dashboard
Notifications
Notifications
Transaction history
Transaction history
Employee platform
Employee platform
Core product pages
Core product pages
UltimateWin
UltimateWin
UltimateMiles
UltimateMiles
Quick checkout
Quick checkout
Shopping cart checkout
Shopping cart checkout
Dark theme
Dark theme
Micro interactions
Micro interactions
Button hover animation.movButton hover effect
Screen Recording 2025-01-31 at 12.18.28 PM.movMenu icon hover effect
Screen Recording 2025-01-31 at 1.18.54 PM.movAdmin platform loader
Screen Recording 2025-01-31 at 1.13.00 PM.movEmployee platform loader
Screen Recording 2025-01-31 at 1.38.46 PM.movNotification motion design
Brand Name Hover Effect.movBrand name hover effect
Impact & outcome
Impact & outcome
Metrics for success
Metrics for success
Engagement scores: Increased by 30% post-implementation.
Recognition frequency: Monthly recognitions rose by 50%.
Retention rates: Turnover improved by 20%.
Preliminary results
Preliminary results
After a 3-month pilot with 100 employees:
Positive feedback on workplace culture.
Increased participation in recognition activities.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The Ultimate Experience Store successfully addresses the challenge of undervaluation in the workplace. By creating a platform that celebrates employee contributions, it fosters motivation, productivity, and loyalty.
Future steps
Future steps
Phased release for gamification & peer-to-peer recognition features.
Refine existing features based on user feedback.
Explore AI-driven personalization for recognition.
Expand integrations with additional workplace tools.
O T H E R W O R K
O T H E R W O R K
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