A performance product a million people used

Workhuman led the market in employee recognition. Feedback was the natural next step, and performance development was where it mattered most.

Most companies ran performance development as a once-a-year checkbox exercise. Conversations gave employees a way to own their development all year through feedback, check-ins and priorities, and gave managers a way to help them grow.

What I did

I was the principal product designer from before launch. I set the product strategy with product management and engineering, and worked with our research team on jobs to be done, discovery and competitor analysis.

I ran workshops with executives and clients so that what we built reflected what they needed. I oversaw the product’s visual identity and style, which fed into the company’s design system.

As the team grew I hired, managed and mentored its designers. I worked with marketing and customer success on positioning and launch.

The constraint

We had a hard deadline, and customers who were attached to the old way of doing reviews. We kept the work small and iterative, and stayed close to stakeholders throughout.

What happened

Several internationally recognised companies signed up in the first three months. We met our goal of 250,000 users in that time, and the product won UX Achievement in Productivity & Utilities at UX Awards Ireland.

What I would do differently

I would ask for help sooner. Asking for more people is hard when a product is unproven, and I waited too long.