VEYLEY TECHNOLOGIES
Connecting employers and freelancers in the Gig Market
CHALLENGE
There is a substantial gap between employers not being able to fill shift-based jobs (gigs) and freelancers not being able to find gigs.
MY ROLE
User Research, Ideation, User Experience Design, User Interface Design, Stakeholder Relations
Discovery & Research
Veyley Technologies is a software company that offers the service of connecting businesses and freelancers in the gig market.
Gig Market: A market system in which temporary positions are common and organizations hire independent workers for short-term commitments.
My colleagues and I noticed that there were opportunities to improve the hiring, managing, invoicing and feedback process between businesses and gig workers. We've heard countless times about the struggle of "finding someone to work a shift" or "keeping track of my schedule" and realized this issue might be larger than what we know.
To validate this disconnect in the gig economy, we analyzed third-party research to further educate ourselves about potential opportunities.
Freelancer Opportunities
OPPORTUNITY #1
There are 1.7 million freelancers in Canada
OPPORTUNITY #2
40% of millennials are a part of the gig market.
OPPORTUNITY #3
1 in 10 Canadians in the labour force worked in the gig economy.
Employer Opportunities
OPPORTUNITY #1
48% of small/medium businesses hire freelancers. This includes Construction, Manufacturing, Wholesale & Retail, Supply chain and hospitality.
OPPORTUNITY #2
There are 1.2 million small/medium-sized businesses in Canada
To further validate our third-party analysis, I conducted user research (through interviews and surveys) with 20 individuals who hire and work in the gig industry and discovered the following:
DISCOVERY #1
80% of gig workers connect to employers via referrals
DISCOVERY #2
74% use phone calls/ text messages for shift information
Employers and gig workers use phone calls and text messages as their primary communication.
DISCOVERY #3
70% of employers use third-party software
to track hours, invoicing and admin-related documentation.
DISCOVERY #4
Post shift feedback provided via email and phone call
Competitive Analysis
After analyzing three competitors in the staffing industry, I discovered a few notable workflow processes and design treatments.
COMPETITOR #1
COMPETITOR #2
COMPETITOR #3
Findings
FINDING #1
Prominent in the US, not a large player in Canada or haven't penetrated the market yet.
FINDING #2
Focused on specific industries and limited workflows
Ex. Staffy only focuses on hiring Healthcare workers, and only assist with the hiring and tracking process.
Ideation & Wireframing
The first decision when it came to ideating workflow was to have two dedicated mobile applications; One that will cater to freelancers looking for a gig and another catering to employers looking to hire.
Veyley
Catered to freelancers looking to find gigs
Veyley Hire
Catered to employers looking to hire
*Due to my NDA, I will not be presenting any sensitive information (mock-ups, workflows, etc.) on a detailed level.
After finalizing the user journey, I started working on digital wireframes to see how the applications function on a high level. These wireframes were reviewed, iterated, and approved by the team to move to prototyping.
Approved Veyley (Freelancer) Wireframes
Approved Veyley Hire (Employer) Wireframes
All Approved Wireframes
Style Guide & Design System
Before moving on to prototyping, I created a design system that references the lo-fi wireframes to determine the components needed. Also keeping in mind that the colour and typography need to be accessible and in line with WCAG.
Prototype and Test
I referenced the wireframes to design a high-fidelity prototype referencing the Veyley Mobile Design System. A few design and layout changes were made during the prototyping process (which were presented to and approved by the team).
Approved Veyley (Freelancer) Prototype
Approved Veyley Hire (Employer) Prototype
