Overview
Team
Figma, Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, Webflow, Mixpanel
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The challenge
At the time when Huntly (formerly known as Headhunters.digital) was in its initial stages, it operated in a very manual manner, managed through an environment created within Salesforce. As it evolved, the primary challenge for the product team was to create a product that delivered significant value to all three user groups (freelance recruiters, companies, and job seekers) while also establishing a scalable business model.
Business model
Following the initial discussions with stakeholders and freelance recruiters, we crafted our initial documents: user personas and a value proposition canvas.
Subsequently, we formulated several hypotheses regarding the business model. The primary one was:
'Can we generate value for users and establish a scalable business model through a marketplace where freelance recruiters offer their services for a fee, and companies can hire them for their projects?'
With this hypothesis in place, we developed the initial prototype and proceeded to conduct user research.
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User Researches
Research - Recruiters
We conducted both qualitative and quantitative research, which revealed that freelance recruiters were interested in pricing their services. However, through usability tests, we identified that they didn't know how to do it. This led to a sense of fear about losing potential clients and frustration, which caused them to lose interest in participating on the platform.
Furthermore, recruiters were also concerned about the exclusivity of job listings. They wanted a one-to-one relationship between recruiters and job listings, meaning each job would have only one dedicated recruiter.
Research - Companies
Through qualitative research with companies, we discovered that:
They had no interest in receiving and evaluating offers from recruiters.
They weren't concerned about the financial transactions involved in paying recruiters.
They preferred simply posting a job listing and relying on Huntly to handle all the administrative operations (selecting the responsible recruiter, alignment, monitoring, shortlist validation, etc.). Consequently, the company would only need to assess the candidates presented by the recruiter at the end of the process.
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Solution Mapping
After defining the research findings, we initiated the ideation phase of solutions and the creation of new hypotheses. We began with a team dynamic to construct a CSD matrix. Using this matrix, we made adjustments to the prototype based on the validated research insights (certainties). We also formulated new usability proposals to test with users, centered around assumptions and uncertainties.
Following the matrix's creation and defining the next steps, we mapped all the pages and features for the recruiter and company interfaces that would be developed and tested.
Additionally, we structured the payout system for recruiters, utilizing Stripe as the payment service that manages the entire financial flow of the application.
High fidelity
Implementation and Impacts
After validation, we proceeded to build the web app in collaboration with the development team. During this process, we divided tasks into pitches, often led by a product manager and a squad consisting of developers.
In a span of 8 months following the product development and implementation, we achieved:
200 recruiters registered on the platform
57 registered companies
124 completed job listings
3129 registered job seekers"
Next steps
After several months of testing the model outlined above, we received a lot of feedback and learned a great deal from our users. Based on this feedback, we are developing "Allocation 3.0", a new version of the product with the following objectives:
Reduce process friction
Optimize recruitment to increase the rate of completed job listings
Enhance control over the process
Improve visibility of stages
This new version is currently under development and is expected to be launched in May 2023.
