Headstart: Redefining Onboarding for Remote New Hires
Designed a pre-boarding platform that helps remote employees feel prepared, connected, and confident before Day One.
Industry
HR Tech
My Role
UX Researcher & Product Designer
Platform
Web
Timeline
Jan - Apr 2023 | 15 weeks
The Challenge: Isolation in the Remote Workplace
Starting a new job is a mix of excitement and nerves. Now, imagine doing it all remotely - no office tour, no casual coffee chats, no friendly colleague dropping by your desk to help you settle in. Instead, you’re staring at a screen, trying to piece together company culture, expectations, and workflows on your own.
Every year, thousands of employees face this challenge, navigating an unfamiliar workplace from behind a laptop. Companies, on the other hand, struggle with inconsistent onboarding processes, leading to lower productivity, disengagement, and higher turnover rates.
And the problem runs deeper. Workplace burnout has become a growing issue across professions, and in the shift to remote work, emotional exhaustion and loneliness have only intensified. Without structured support, new hires often feel disconnected, invisible, and unprepared - leaving them questioning whether they truly belong.
Guiding question: How might we inspire greater connections and provide social support for remote work environments?
Research & Discovery: Understanding Remote Onboarding Gaps
To understand the experience of remote employees, I conducted 16 semi-structured interviews with professionals across roles and industries. I analyzed their goals, frustrations, and unmet needs using the Jobs-to-Be-Done framework.
Key Insights:
Most employees appreciated the flexibility of remote work, but many felt socially disconnected.
Limited visibility into growth opportunities created uncertainty and disengagement.
Employees wanted role clarity and stronger relationships with colleagues and managers.
The most vulnerable stage was the period between offer acceptance and Day 1. Many employees described feeling “left in the dark” during this gap, with unanswered questions about company culture, policies, and expectations.
This gap revealed a critical opportunity: pre-boarding.
Narrowing the Focus: Pre-boarding
Once I recognized how impactful the pre-boarding phase could be, I reframed our challenge:
"How might we transform the pre-boarding experience so that remote employees feel supported, engaged, and set up for success from day one?"
Through archetypes like The Socializer (thrives on human connection, fears isolation) and The Achiever (values clarity, structure, and visible growth paths), I framed three “How Might We” opportunities:
How might we make pre-boarding fun and engaging?
How might we create transparency and role clarity?
How might we enable mentorship and connection?
Archetypes
Concept Development: Building the Headstart Experience
I proposed Headstart, a pre-boarding platform that prepares new hires through structured tasks, rewards, and meaningful connections.
Early Process:
Wireframing (Balsamiq): Created lo-fi sketches to outline task flows.
Card Sorting (Optimal Workshop): 8 participants grouped content, revealing 7 intuitive categories.
Concept Testing: Gathered feedback via surveys. Users valued the sense of belonging but felt that required tasks tied to rewards created pressure. This helped me refine the value proposition into a curated, flexible task journey.
Prototyping & Testing
Using Figma, I built and tested a low-fidelity prototype. Four usability tests highlighted opportunities to streamline navigation and clarify task language.
What Worked Well | What I Iterated |
---|---|
The personalized dashboard motivated users by showing progress. | Reframed “required tasks” as task list to reduce pressure. |
Task-based navigation felt simple and manageable. | Simplified the task hierarchy to prevent information overload. |
The rewards system boosted engagement. |
Final Design: A Welcoming Start Before Day One
To ensure consistency and a welcoming tone, I created a brand style guide for Headstart. The identity reflects approachability, clarity, and fun - values at the core of the pre-boarding experience.
Headstart creates a seamless pre-boarding journey with features that balance clarity, engagement, and support:
Personalized Dashboard: A clear overview of the journey.
Task List: Guided activities with tokens as rewards.
Rewards Marketplace: Tangible incentives (PTO, gifts).
Resource Library: Policies, culture, and benefits, all in one place.
Virtual Connections: Tools to reach peers, managers, and HR.
Impact & Reflection
While Headstart was designed as a student project, user testing confirmed its value in reducing uncertainty, increasing role clarity, and fostering a sense of belonging before Day 1.
What I learned:
Pre-boarding is not just a formality - it’s an emotional anchor for new hires.
A minimalistic, friendly design ensures new hires don’t feel overwhelmed.
Rewards work best when they feel like surprises and encouragement, not obligations.
If I were to take this project further, I would:
Explore integrations with existing HR tools like Workday or BambooHR.
Add analytics dashboards for HR to measure engagement.
Pilot test with a real company to measure its impact on retention and productivity.