Fortress
Boosting HR productivity for remote teams
Company
Dwarves Foundation
Position
Design Consultant
Year
2019
Market
Internal Tool
Problem
In 2019, Dwarves Foundation was scaling, surpassing 100 employees, but its HR operations struggled to keep pace. New hires felt overwhelmed during onboarding, employee data was fragmented across multiple systems, and repetitive tasks consumed significant weekly hours.
Instead of nurturing company culture and strategic growth, the HR team was frequently sidetracked fixing operational errors.
Solution
To tackle these challenges, Dwarves Foundation envisioned Fortress, an internal HR web app that helped boost HR productivity. I joined as a Design Consultant, collaborating with a UX Designer.
My process began with in-depth interviews and observational sessions with HR to uncover their pain points: frequent tool-switching slowed productivity, manual processes led to errors, and onboarding lacked structure, causing unnecessary chaos.
I consolidated all essential HR functions into one easy-to-nagivate dashboard. HR managers could manage employee information, track projects, and streamline onboarding processes. Automation reduced manual errors and reclaimed valuable time. Additionally, employee profiles with skill tracking and career paths supported HR managers to guide growth and performance reviews.
Early prototypes underwent testing with HR and some init. feedback indicated my designs still felt complex, prompting me to prioritize clarity. I also did custom illustrations which enriched onboarding processes into engaging experiences.
Impact
The MVP was successfully launched within just two months.
By the first month, HR teams reported a 25% time reduction on routine tasks. The onboarding experience allowed new hires to transition smoothly, eliminating common errors. This freed the HR team to refocus their efforts on strategic initiatives that further accelerated company growth.
