Say Don't Go

Our Team, Our Culture, & Retention

  OVERVIEW

17% of our UX staff had left in one month, 40% by mid-year.

The UX industry had become very competitive in cities like Toronto and Ottawa. Outside of retaining talent, our internal processes handcuffed our capacity to fill these openings. 

HMW: Stem the bleeding of talent?
HMW: Address the competitive market with tools and restrictions we face internally?

  DISCOVERY

We conducted exit interviews and analyzed insights to understand team attrition and UX professionals' evolving expectations. This included talking to current team members and benchmarking industry trends.

These insights helped us design retention strategies to address the unique needs of our workforce.

Methods used:

Surveys
Audits
Competitive analysis
Interviews
Reverse engineering

1

Hiring & Attrition
Audit

3

Employee Engagement
Surveys

50

Industry Research
& Education Artifacts

100

Staff & Exit
Interviews

Shocking Discovery

Over $400K was being spent on HR agency fees per year 

  APPROACH

After clustered ideas around CPC's mission to Deliver a Stronger Canada we focussed on those we could influence

The Tactics We Used

Collaborated with our HR agency to boost their dedicated staff and streamline hiring processes.

Created and maintained a single source of truth for the candidate pipeline.

Established a weekly review and innovation meeting with HR agency to discuss candidates and processes.

Advocated for and expanded our remote-first team structure, aligned with CPC's mission.

Enhanced job descriptions and socialized opportunities more effectively.

Revamped onboarding and offboarding processes, setting clear expectations and tasks for our UXMs.

Cut the request-to-first-day staffing duration by almost 50%.

Maintained a single source of truth for current and past staff. Targeted boomerang past colleagues.

Set new UXM trigger points for discussing a contractor's future with CPC to get ahead of career hunting.

Worked with internal HR to create a tenured contract option, removing the cool-off period.

Financially optimized recruiting efforts by streamlining communications and milestones.

  RESULTS

260x

Team Growth
in 7mths

100%

Retention Rate

1/2

Our Attrition Rate
vs. Industry Rate

Flexible Work Model
We grew our remote-first work model allowing team members to work remotely or in-office, catering to diverse preferences and improving work-life balance letting us hire talent from all over Canada, not just tech hubs.

Professional Growth Opportunities
We introduced mentorship programs, training sessions, and skill development workshops to foster continuous learning and professional growth.

Streamlined Onboarding
We enhanced our onboarding process to help contractors quickly integrate into the team. Surveys ranked this as one of the top reasons to join --- highlighted as an industry-leading experience.

One Team Approach
We encouraged contractors to share their skills and perspectives while working closely with full-time employees. This cross-functional collaboration enriched projects and enhanced the overall skill set of the UX team.

"In 2022, UXDO was instrumental in stemming the attrition of-, recovering from-, and ultimately doubling the talent on the UX team, all inside 8mths"

- HR, CPC

"There's no more guessing and job hunting on the side. I know where I will be in 2 years [with Canada Post's UX team]. I worry less about this all, and can focus more on my craft."

- Nik, Contractor

  REFLECTION

This project highlighted the need to understand full-time employees' and contractors' unique needs. Recognizing their contributions, providing stability, and fostering open communication were key to furthering our team culture.

Key Takeaways

Tailored Solutions address contractors' specific needs for effective retention strategies.

Stability and Recognition offer project stability, open communication, and recognize contributions to foster loyalty.

Long-term Vision show commitment through long-term contracts for professional growth and stability.

Flexibility and Adaptability be responsive to contractors' evolving needs to stay attractive in a competitive job market.

This work also spurred several similar topics to be addressed for full-time staff. Two projects of note include a professional growth resource and a career lattice.

Brendan Good