Creating a digital experience for existing employees to foster a sense of community within a virtual space.
Project Overview
The pandemic reshaped collaborative practices and teamwork dynamics for many employees. In this semi-post-pandemic era, adapting to remote or hybrid work setups pose challenges in fostering connections.
Similar to numerous other companies, Dolby employees encountered challenges in preserving their company culture and fostering connections amidst the significant shifts brought about by the pandemic.
-
Throughout this semester-long project, I assumed the role of Team Lead, spearheading planning and pivotal design choices, fostering the team's development, and liaising with company sponsors.
Collaborating with my Co-lead, I orchestrated class activities and workshops to impart and reinforce UX methodologies. Additionally, my Co-lead and I oversaw final documentation and iterations, ensuring comprehensive project completion.
-
7 UX Designers
-
August - December 2021
-
Literature Reviews, Comparative Analysis, Interviews, Co-Design Workshop, Wireframing, Concept/Desirability Testing, Prioritization Matrixing, Journey Mapping, Lofi to Hifi Designs, Usability Testing
Ultimate Objective
Cultivate a digital environment that organically nurtures community
Understanding the Culture
How does Remote Work impact the employee?
Literature Analysis
Reviewing Dolby’s culture and work life, creating togetherness, and fostering digital collaboration.
Together these topics would help us understand more about Dolby as a company as well as aid us in exploring ways to promote a more comfortable digital space for employees to work.
Action Items
We found that Dolby’s employees use a variety of different tools/platforms to communicate and work digitally.
To further understand the value behind these tools and how they compare to each other we moved to the next activity.
Comparative Analysis
Each team member was assigned a platform to cover basic information such as features, functionality, and value.
Action Items
With our in depth understanding of these platforms, we wanted to learn more on how employees feel about these tools as well as how they navigate through a day of working online.
Interviews
We aimed to identify and understand the challenges of remote work for Dolby employees. To find these pain points we focused our questions on the differences they face when connecting with others in-office vs virtually.
We interviewed a total of 14 Dolby employees, four were team members and ten were team leaders.
To help compile information the team affinity diagrammed the results from the interviews which lead to overarching takeaways.
Some of the takeaways identified:
Without team motivation it is harder to feel driven while completing work
Communication platform is dependent on goals of interaction
Team leaders need social interactions to have casual productive conversations with employees
Dolby has a healthy work culture which promotes a work life balance
Prioritization Matrix
The culmination of our research efforts provided a foundation for ideating potential solutions, leading us to generate a multitude of ideas. To streamline our focus, we utilized a Prioritization Matrix.
The matrix was divided into four categories: high social connectivity to low social connectivity and high effort to low effort.
The team defined:
social connectivity as promoting networking, communication, and personal engagement. For an idea to rank high in social connectivity, it must meet all three criteria.
Effort consisted of stressors, integration into an employee's work schedule, and time commitment. For an idea to be rated low on effort, it must have meet all three criteria.
The team chose to scrap the ideas under high effort:low social connectivity and reevaluate the rest of our ideas based off research, interviews and our co-design session.
These practices led us to create three unique design solutions that addressed Dolby employees' concerns and originated directly from our research.
How do we promote social interactions between employees in a remote setting?
Dolby Communities
Crafted to foster employee interaction and participation in enjoyable events tailored to their interests, our platform features communities—groups of like-minded employees.
These communities facilitate connections among employees with shared interests while serving as an informal employee directory.
Research Connection
Research Connection
Interviews
New employees often struggle to engage during large social events on online platforms, as existing friend groups can appear cliquey and standoffish.
Consequently, many newcomers don't feel fully integrated into the company culture, perceiving their only connection to their employee identity as through their computer screen.
Literature Review
We examined the mechanisms behind social connections within groups and organizations, discovering that shared experiences create a sense of community and culture.
Furthermore, our exploration into organizational communication revealed that a company's culture comprises of various subcultures collaborating and evolving together.
“We don’t have enough engaging events that can foster more cultural connection”
— Dolby Team Leader
How do we maintain and promote Dolby's company culture in remote settings?
Dolby Culture Board
To foster a sense of connection among employees, this platform enables seamless sharing and discussion of company-related topics.
It facilitates cross-team engagement by allowing any employee to create and share posts.
Research Connection
-
Interviews
Remote work often leads to feelings of isolation among employees, highlighting a heightened need to feel integrated into the company community.
Dolby's definition of culture is highly subjective, relying on interpretation by project teams, but the lack of communication across teams exacerbates feelings of isolation.
-
Co-Design
During the session, several participants prioritized curiosity in the workplace.
It also revealed that Dolby newsletters are highly valued by employees as they provide glimpses into the individuals behind departments and projects, humanizing the teams.
Witnessing the success of fellow team members serves as inspiration for other Dolby employees, encouraging them to strive harder.
“Hearing about exciting Dolby news makes me excited to be a part of the company.”
— Dolby Team Member
How do we overcome the constraints remote work is holding on social connection between employees?
Dolby Cubicles
This platform fosters an environment reminiscent of in-person office interactions, including virtual representations of desk decorations and the experience of approaching a co-worker at their desk.
Research Connection
Research Connection
Interviews
Transitioning to the virtual realm was particularly challenging for Dolby employees who joined the company prior to the pandemic, given the prevalent culture of informal communication.
The shift to remote work resulted in all meetings feeling overly formal, requiring scheduling through an app and calendar invites. Employees may feel hesitant to initiate casual chats, perceiving it as an intrusion. The forced and awkward nature of informal communication often leads people to avoid it altogether.
Comparative Analysis
The inspiration for this concept was significantly influenced by our comparative analysis, particularly examining the app Voxer, known for its informal voice communication akin to a walkie-talkie.
Identifying spontaneous communication as a major pain point within Dolby, we found exploring this idea particularly intriguing.
“Important aspects of projects are accidentally discovered with water-cooler talks.”
— Dolby Team Leader
The combination of these three solutions enable Dolby users to stay connected regardless of their geographic location.
Final Thoughts
The experience of collaborating with Dolby was truly unforgettable and served as a valuable platform for honing my leadership, mentoring, design, and research abilities. This project presented an equally challenging and rewarding journey, with the Dolby UX team proving remarkably collaborative and receptive to our inquiries and input. Crafting three distinct hi-fi solutions within a single semester pushed me to leverage my UX design skills, undoubtedly contributing to my growth as a designer and project lead.
Meet the Team (Left to Right): Jason, Bhavya, Veronica, Me, Sarahy, Sophie, and Titan