Improving the State Transit driver recruitment experience

Project Background

Drive with State Transit had its inception in an innovation incubator run in partnership between Symplicit and Transport for NSW. My role in the incubator program was to lead a team of TfNSW stakeholders through a 2 week cycle of research and design activities aimed at solving a specific problem with recruitment of bus drivers for Sydney's Northern beaches region:

Design Sprint Week 1

The first week of the cycle aimed to validate the problem statement through stakeholder workshops (including Lean Canvas and CVP Canvas activities), interviews with SMEs and potential candidates for the role of bus driver and an Observation Day at Brookvale Bus Depot:

The research led to the synthesis of clear themes that began to redefine the original problem statement and allowed the team to develop personas and map the current customer journey highlighting the pain points for customers in the application process:

By the end of Week 1 of the cycle, the team was better able to better understand the problem to be solved and redefined the problem statement:

Design Sprint Week 2

Rapid ideation early in the second week resulted in an initial roadmap of solutions which aimed to expedite the application process through early and constant engagement with applicants and candidates:

A value proposition and a concept were developed for testing which aimed to engage candidates through new online channels by registering for an in-depot experience which would include a simulated driving experience for early driver assessment and an initial job offers on the day:

Showcase

Showcasing the proposed solutions and CVP resulted in the project quickly finding a sponsor within State Transit, leading to the formation of a project team comprised of Transport crew and Symplicit designers and developers:

Both online and offline experiences were planned simultaneously with digital channels being key to initial engagement with potential candidates. Taking the website from concept into first iteration required a structure that was optimised for search. Content had to be organised and presented around a multipage site structure while integrating third-party CRM tools:

Delivering Results

Rapid iterations of the website design factored in responsive layouts, accessibility compliance and State Transit brand guidelines:

The Drive With State Transit website was launched in early September 2017 to support and manage the rollout of the Open Day program. The site immedicately exceeded expectations in its ability to generate leads and expedite recruitment of bus driver candidates soon after launch:

Drive With State Transit has now been integrated with the State Transit website, maintaining the original value proposition, IA and features. The site continues to perform well for State Transit, helping recruitment teams get the right people behind the driving wheel faster.