Poolside
Commitment reminder
Culture reflecting job description:
Your one day here looks like...
Less uncertainty while waiting for jobs
Understand the problem that our client has.
Poolside is a marketplace, where hourly workers are matched to jobs based on their availability & location, so they can get the collective hours they need and live the life they want.
Based on the previous research from Poolside, We were divided into groups to target on specific problem that exist before, during, after the job application.
Help workers commit to the Full Job Application
Problem deconstruction
01 Whole journey
Have I done the right thing?
What should I expect next?
Apply
02 Fit
Will I qualify with my current skills? Will I belong to this restaurant?
Waiting period
03 Lack of responsibility
Have I done the right thing?
What should I expect next?
Not knowing what is awaiting them or might be outcomes of their actions, may put applicants in
an ambiguous setting. Feeling uncertain in the decision making process leads hourly workers to feel overwhelmed and causes them to hesitate in their involvement with the process.
While some applicants may be familiar with how and what it is like to work in restaurants, all applicants seek out environments and work cultures that are suitable for them. Not knowing what their job is going to be like creates added uncertainty to the application process.
Remote, virtual, applications create a setting where there is lack of social interaction between restaurants and hourly workers. Lack social interaction doesn’t encourage responsibility.
Waiting period
04 Loss of interest
Applying to multiple jobs, making secondary choice applications are some of the examples that might cause hourly workers to lose interest overtime.
Waiting period
05 External factors
Working in multiple jobs, unexpected hour changes in current job, limited resources, additional responsibilities are some of the possible external barriers.
Our proposal and Consideration for Testing
01 Whole journey
Timeline
Design a step oriented progress chart to clearly guide the applicant on actionable steps under each key stage and orient the applicant to see each key stage of the process as smaller goals to accomplish.
Test Timeline 01
How many steps should be shown under each stage?
What is the right amount of steps so applicants don’t get overwhelmed?
Test Timeline 01
What is the right timing to show each step?
Should applicants be exposed to all the stages in one instance or should stages appear after completion?
What is the right amount of exposure to these steps so applicants don’t get overwhelmed?
Test Timeline 01
What might be an effective format to visualise the steps?
Could checklist be a familiar standard that encourages further action? Could bullet points be as effective as checklists?
02 Fit
Reimagining the job description
Describing work setting such as how working for a week in the restaurant might look like, what kinds of skills might be required, who might be their co-workers,may reduce hourly workers’ uncertainty towards of workplace culture and skills.
Behavior tendency:
We tend to evaluate options seeking out familiarity and a sense of kinship.
Fit 02.1 - “A Day in the Life of…. “
Design job descriptions to include what a typical day looks like rather than a list of skills required - make evident how these skills might be used by the applicant in the job that he/she is applying for. The idea is to humanise the description so that it is easier for the applicant to envision what their day would look like if they were to work for a particular restaurant.
skills we are looking for
your potential co-workers
what does a week in our restaurant look like ?
Fit 02.2 - “Here’s who you’ll be working with“
As they apply for positions, find ways to show applicants who the other individuals they will be working with. Introduce these co-workers not only professionally but socially as well to start breaking down the uncertainty that comes with starting a job in a new place.
Test Fit 02.1
What is the right level of transparency of the job description?
Really honest vs. overview description.
03 Lack of responsibility
Hourly workers’ accountability to restaurants can be encouraged by 03.1 pushing them to go to the interview or pushing them 03.2 to update restaurants that they will not be attending.
your rating
Behavior tendency:
03.1 We tend to keep our promises when are exposed to positive peer pressure. 03.2 We tend to react strongly to losses more than gains.
Lack of responsibility 03.1 - Commitment reminder
Through simple text messaging system, applicants reach out to others like friends/family/ restaurant manager/ poolside, asking to remind their commitment to attend an upcoming interview. By sharing their promise with chosen others, the intent is to raise additional sense of responsibility to show up for their interviews.
Test Fit 03.1
Who would create more accountability, friends, family, restaurant manager, Poolside?
Lack of responsibility 03.2 Accountability rating
“Did Peter show up for her interview?”
Design criteria for restaurants to evaluate accountability of job applicants. Accountability rating measures employees commitment to the interviews. Applicants gain merit (5 stars) when they go to the interview or when they inform restaurants they can't make it. They lose merit (0 stars) when they don’t inform their interviewers of their inability to be present.The intent is to push applicants to take responsibility for their actions and encourage ideal behaviour wherever possible.
Test Fit 03.2
Would it be more effective to start applicants with zero rating and motivating them to build up their rate? or would they be more motivated the start was with the highest rating and lost their rate based on their actions.
Test Fit 02.2
Which profile information is more relatable for applicants?
What is the right mix of skill (education, language, prior experiences) and identity based information (nationality, interests, life outside work)?