Smart onboarding with human results case study

Designing an onboarding system that scales without losing the human focus

A human-centred approach that reduced admin complexity, saved over 2,000 hours each year, and supported 79 tailored user journeys

Data Logic
Design → code
Persona strategy
product designer and creative technologist
nda-Compliant

Scaling onboarding without losing the human touch

Product designer and creative technologist (journeys, UI, prototype build)

Blended creative design with technical precision, using code and database logic to deliver a seamless user experience

Context

The number of relocations and introductory meetings was growing. Staff juggled diaries, repeated the same lines, and burned hours they didn’t really have. Multiply that by hundreds of users, and the small team was drowning

The challenge: scale onboarding without scaling workload

Brief

Create a scalable onboarding experience covering transfers, policies and relocation support

Deliver a solution that was smart, relevant and sustainable without increasing operational workload

Approach

Discover

Research and prototyping uncovered dozens of edge cases

Multiply

Personas exploded into 79 unique journeys, each with overlaps and quirks

Balance

The challenge: serve only what mattered, without overwhelming users or breaking the system

Build

Iterated toward a dual solution: a dead-simple admin panel + seamless personalised video app

Outcome

Transformed onboarding from manual coordination to a scalable system

Removed operational bottlenecks that previously limited growth

Enabled the team to scale confidently without increasing complexity

2,000+ hours saved

No more offline Excel fixes → errors resolved right where they happen

Admin dashboard for generating personalised onboarding links

79 unique personas

One system, countless personal journeys: tailored, not templated

Portal with personalised content and custom videos

Live app impact

Users rated the experience 100% positively

Persona image

Mandy Liu, Managing Director → San Francisco

  • Why Mandy cares: She needs a seamless, exec-level overview that respects her time and focuses on the essentials
  • Why it matters: Cuts through complexity so she can focus on big-picture strategy, not logistics
Impact: Focused on strategy, not admin
Persona image

Peter George, Business Design Lead → Sydney (6 months minimum)

  • Why Peter cares: On a six-month project, he needs clear, role-specific steps to get productive quickly without wading through noise
  • Why it matters: Early clarity keeps projects on track and stakeholders see results sooner
Impact: Clear steps, faster outcomes
Persona image

Heath Richardson, Technical Program Lead → Amsterdam (3 months)

  • Why Heath cares: Needs precise, role-specific briefings to hit the ground running in a new office
  • Why it matters: Delivering only critical modules prevents overload and keeps his project on schedule
Impact: Priorities clear, no overload
Persona image

Marta Rodriguez, Account Handler → Dubai (6 months)

  • Why Marta cares: Relocating for six months, she must quickly understand local policies and housing rules
  • Why it matters: Tailored content builds confidence and compliance from day one, reducing relocation stress
Impact: Confident, compliant start

Impact

Personalised onboarding at scale reduced admin and built trust

"Ian was able to simplify complexity into workable solutions, making collaboration easy, which is exactly what allowed us to achieve such an impact."

Amy Montague Global Mobility Manager

2,000+ HR hours saved

Automated onboarding → freed staff from repetitive admin

79 unique personas

Tailored journeys → faster, more personal onboarding experience

100% positive feedback

Employees rated the platform highly → smoother relocations, less friction

What was built

Service design to align UX flows with HR operations and internal tools

Smart personalisation

Targeted content delivered dynamically, shaped by user needs and context

Admin experience

HR team could spin up onboarding flows in seconds via internal panel

Seamless user flow

Personalised video journeys delivered via a consistent UX pattern

System tracking & insight

Embedded analytics revealed what worked, across people, content and timing

Design decisions

What guided the design

Scalable system supporting 79 personas, ensuring every employee received a coherent experience despite highly varied relocation scenarios

Guidance-first onboarding, helping users understand what to do and when rather than relying on opaque automation

Light personalisation over automation, making journeys feel tailored without becoming intrusive or overly complex

Trade-offs

Scalable video content over hyper-specific journeys, allowing the system to support many destinations without creating hundreds of bespoke variations

Operational simplicity over runtime personalisation, reducing technical overhead and reducing technical overhead and keeping the system easier to maintain

Flexible journeys over rigid destination content, so the same structure could support different relocation contexts without breaking the experience

Deliberately omitted

Heavy personalisation that risked feeling artificial or intrusive during a sensitive relocation process

Automation that complicated the experience, where hidden logic could make journeys harder for users to understand

Speculative features like AI-driven onboarding, which conflicted with the considered, high-touch nature of a relocation service

Learnings

Smart data and clear journeys reshaped the experience

Smart data

Clean data + code can make even complex needs feel simple and human

Flip approach

Next time, tag videos by persona for lighter maintenance

Resilience

System handled complex use cases smoothly, proving scalability

Stakeholder insight

Data revealed hidden opportunities

Tools

Figma
Premiere
After Effects
Vimeo
VS Code
WordPress

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