Discovering the Next Big User Experiences
Reflecting on leading an R&D technology team in the staffing industry and how our creative innovations were years ahead of their time—and surprisingly close to today's AI-powered solutions.
When leading the R&D technology team in the staffing industry, I remember rich ideation sessions where we really stretched what was possible in staffing technology. "What ifs" were abundant, and I truly believe our creative team was years ahead of its time when I look back in retrospect.
Recently, I've had the chance to dive back into staffing technology for a client, and I can't help but feel proud of my team and the creativity we showed nearly seven years ago.
Our R&D Achievements
Our achievements during our short two-year R&D journey included:
- Easy, smart, and intuitive interview and meeting scheduling
- Talent pool systems for displaying, commenting, filtering, and progressing candidates
- Conversation-based UI
- Data analytics to aid operations, complete with reporting tools
- A unified data pipeline across company divisions, powering AI models to make it all happen
Ahead of Our Time
Reviewing the Paradox product suite, I can't help but think we were almost there. Paradox (recently acquired by Workday) is a conversation-based staffing SaaS application that uses LLMs to power the UI and create an engaging experience. Our conversation-based UI didn't have an LLM, unfortunately, but the ideas were already there.
The mobile-first focus, the digital integration, the AI-driven filtering — it was so close. For a small team, we accomplished a lot.
The Power of Design Thinking
Thinking back, what truly shined as our guiding star was our rigorous Design Thinking process. That wasn't my contribution, but I'm grateful to have learned so much from our product team for introducing it.
I've recently found an EdX course on Design Thinking as a refresher and plan on practicing it again. I'm hopeful I'll be able to use it once more to empower my next team to discover the future of user experiences — in whatever industry that may be.
Looking Forward
The experience taught me that innovation isn't just about having the latest technology—it's about understanding user needs, thinking creatively about solutions, and having the courage to pursue ideas that might seem ahead of their time.
As I continue building AI solutions for Canadian businesses, I carry these lessons forward, always asking "what if" and pushing the boundaries of what's possible in user experience design.
Interested in innovative AI solutions for your business? Contact us to explore what's possible.