How Deloitte Global Careers Improved Its Online service

The Deloitte Global Careers website receives over 55,000 unique visitors each month. Applications to Deloitte can only be made online, so it is crucial that information is easy to find and that all processes are simple. Ensuring this ultimately guarantees a positive experience for high quality applicants. In order to secure such an optimal experience, the management team decided that a comprehensive global effectiveness study of all the individual careers sites was required.

Issue
Each country had direct control of both their careers site and the technology used to deliver it. Although many shared the same platform, style and structure, several were operating with an independent model.

Deloitte needed to understand which processes, structures and styles were working, as well as uncovering those that were not.

Solution
Phase 1

User centred design (UCD) and usability consultancy CADinteractive, www.cadinteractive.com were selected to conduct a series of user testing sessions.

In order to clarify the capabilities and expectations of the intended user audience, lab based user testing sessions were carried out in the UK and US with over 70 career seekers. Remote testing, using Keynote, was also undertaken in France, Spain, Holland and Australia.

A number of UCD tools were used during this phase of the project, including:

Lab based testing
The entire process, from recruitment, facilitation and results analysis was conducted at CADinteractiveís custom-built facilities in London. Each testing session was led by a senior consultant, setting users a series of real life tasks to accomplish. The sessions provided Deloitte with a benchmark commentary on the usability of the site.

Remote online testing
As well as the traditional one-on-one user testing, a remote online testing project was undertaken involving users, who would otherwise be impossible to study. A total of 70 users, across a diverse range of geographic areas, participated in the study. Each user was asked to review their journey through the site and provide feedback on the clarity of information and overall ease of use.

Card sort
Words and phrases that make up the sites taxonomy were printed on index cards, one per card. Profiled users then sorted them into related groups; they were given a title and then placed in order of importance.

Accessibility compliance
A comprehensive audit of the site was undertaken against the Web Standards Commissionís (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These guidelines - part of the Web Accessibility Initiative - form the basis of all global legislation.

Project management
A transparent communication and close collaboration at all project stages ensured that each stakeholder knew exactly what was being discussed and proposed at all times. Bi-weekly conference calls with all participants and managed feedback channels ensured that timescales and expectations were met.

Success measures
User testing revealed some key issues faced by the siteís audience. A comprehensive report, relaying both the problems and suggested solutions was delivered to Deloitte.

Some of the most significant sections of this report included:

Key Issues pages and Navigation structure.
Best practice mock-ups of key issue pages and the navigation structure, ensured that all stakeholders were left with a clear understanding of the userís requirements and how they should be met.

User journey maps
Clear user journeys were also created for the majority of scenarios; enabling TMPís creative development team to make clear decisions based on real user experiences.

Prototype screens
A full set of prototype screens, demonstrating CADinteractiveís suggested solutions were drawn up, allowing TMP, the creative agency, to successfully revise the website designs and copy.

Phase 2
Following the success of this Phase 1, CADinteractive were invited to lead the Information Architecture development for Deloitte Global.

Timescales and geography initially presented logistical difficulties for this phase of the project, as the Deloitte project management team were based in London, UK and their creative team at TMP were based in Boston, USA.

Key stakeholders included the project management team, the technical team, the global careers managers, and TMPís creative and technical teams.

The launch of the new site was planned for September, the peak time for careers traffic, meaning that time was at a premium.

To ensure a thorough investigation of all scenarios, CADinteractive created a comprehensive list of the siteís typical users and their backgrounds and attributes. These were then developed into full user personas, which were consistently referred to during the development process, enabling the team to understand each journey from a range of different user perspectives. Deloitte and TMP can now use these personas as their benchmark for any further developments to the career site.

The main body of IA work, user flows, site maps and wire frames were developed from CADís UK office in collaboration with the Deloitte team. Having approved the top level work (including the localisation and language options, navigation and main page templates) the CAD team relocated to Boston to carry out a series of workshops with TMP. Working closely with Deloitte and TMPís creative and development teams ensured that the best solution was delivered.

Success Measures
Each wire frame produced, each recommendation and every user journey was reviewed, agreed and signed off.

CAD produced a clear set of wire frame documentation, which enabled TMP to create the branded designs within hours of each template being signed off.

Deloitte received comprehensive project buy-in from each representative country by showcasing the final design concepts.

To-date the new global site template has been adopted by over 85% of their main country practises, and since launch the new site has lead of a 30% increase in the quality of users ñ in other words they have more qualified users year on year.

Winner of Best Corporate Careers website 2005 (ERE ñ Awards) and Global Outlook Winner 2005 (Optimus ñ Workforce management)

Tarek Dawas, Deloitte Global Careersí website manager

CADinteractive was selected from a comprehensive group of highly regarded global usability consultancies to conduct a global website usability project in 6 countries and 4 languages. From the outset, their approach and quality of service confirmed we had made the right choice.î