How design helped monday.com employees celebrate life events
Though I was very excited and highly motivated to join monday.com, I was also nervous about starting a new role as a product designer. Since I previously worked in a completely different role and industry–as a motion designer in a broadcast studio–I expected a steep learning curve. Coming from a small studio, the sheer number of people was overwhelming. However, the first thing that waited for me on my new desk was a cool printed card accompanied by a bunch of little surprises, all to welcome me to monday.com. It’s incredible how much a small gesture can do for morale. It simply made me feel seen.
I later worked with HR to recreate the warm feeling that I had for other new joiners. The HR team developed an idea to help employees celebrate important moments in life. However, establishing a seamless process to accomplish this was quite another challenge in and of itself.
I later worked with HR to recreate the warm feeling that I had for other new joiners. The HR team developed an idea to help employees celebrate important moments in life. However, establishing a seamless process to accomplish this was quite another challenge in and of itself.
We thought about different concepts, and we tried to analyze the emotional journey behind each event. We discussed the first day at a new job, holidays, weddings, work anniversaries, births, returning from maternity, illnesses, suffering a loss, and even going back-to-school. In the next section, I am going to present our process for mapping life-cycle events for monday.com employees:
How do you even start to map life-cycle events?
I started by breaking down each brief to a few questions so I could focus my attention.
- First, define the goal. The main goal in our case was clear and measurable: design a new employee greeting card that would be fun and empowering.
- The second step was a technical one and therefore more straightforward. Determine the format. In this case, the traditional format would be the vertically folded card delivered in an envelope. However, in many cases, the format might be untraditional, which provides an excellent opportunity to get more creative.
In this case, the card needed to fit a small box, and the message couldn’t depend on timing or location because it wouldn’t necessarily be delivered either on the first day, or on the person’s desk.
I always tried to keep the employee’s experience in mind when deciding on the format. Should the text be noticeable from far away, or should the card provide a more intimate experience? Would the recipient hold it in one hand or both hands? It’s all part of the emotional experience, and these details will influence the research process outlined in the next steps.
- What is the main intention behind it? It’s a tricky question, because the motive behind a project is often ambiguous. Yet, when you design within brand boundaries, meaning designing within the brand vision and positioning, the intentions need to match the brand’s culture and values as well.
In this case, we wanted to create a sense of excitement and joy with a touch of humor. - What’s the bottom line? This part stating the total profit, the most important consideration. In this matter- to surprise, to support. It’s mainly the active emotional part that we want to achieve.
Finding inspiration Good inspiration opens our eyes to new ideas, color schemes, shapes, compositions, and techniques. There are plenty of great resources for design inspiration: online, the world around us, conversations, and even different fields. With the right inspiration, even the most basic brief starts to look more exciting.
There are plenty of great resources for design inspiration: online, the world around us, conversations, and even different fields. With the right inspiration, even the most basic brief starts to look more exciting.
As time flew by, the complexity and scale of each project got bigger and more extensive, and I had a new challenge to face. Suddenly, I couldn’t define the goal by myself. For example, when redesigning our company’s careers page, I didn’t know the real issues that the user faced when using our website. For instance, I learned that our HR team struggled to get CVs from departments and positions. I didn’t recognize yet the great opportunities for our PR team to communicate our culture and values through articles and employee testimonials. I had to coordinate career page layouts, content, and UX to get a clearer view of the issue at hand.
So, I took one step back from defining the goal and conducted my research more broadly. I interviewed potential applicants, researched competitors, and worked to define the real problem before outlining a solution. When I got my answers, I moved forward, but I always used the goal and KPI (when I had a measurable metric) to guide me. It helped me to make decisions and forced me to focus on my priorities when completing a design.
It takes time and attention to develop a map to track an employee’s major life milestones.
It takes time and attention to develop a map to track an employee’s major life milestones.
As for me, this process was a real lifeline, especially when I felt stuck in the creative process and ran out of ideas. I learned to be more humble, and before jumping into the design itself, I invested in the initial planning process. At times I would think, “I know exactly what needs to get done, and how to get it done,” but I resisted the temptation, and I reminded myself to continue asking questions, keep my mind open, and spend more time planning.
Feel free to try this project yourself and even redesign my designs. Practice with the design of “The first day at work” or “Back from maternity leave” cards and follow the process.
We would love to see your designs! Please share and tag @monday.com.design
