Building 10x faster
Severance payroll system

Building 10x faster
Severance payroll system

This project focuses on developing a severance payroll product within Flex, the all-in-one HR platform, to deliver a complete payroll service. Through automation, an optimized flow, and an intuitive UX, we made completing the settlement process 10x faster.

As a senior product designer in the payroll squad, I worked on this project from April 2022 to July 2022. I led all the design initiatives, worked with a product manager, three product engineers, a sales team and a payroll outsourcing team.

Challenge

Provide a full-cycle payroll service from joining to leaving

Challenge

Provide a full-cycle payroll service from joining to leaving

To rapidly increase ARR, we need to sell payroll, Flex's highest-priced feature per capita, to mid-enterprise businesses. They asked for full-cycle payroll, including severance payroll, but Flex wasn't offering it, which was a huge obstacle in sales.

* Severance pay is mandatory in Korea

Understanding workflow

Severance payroll takes 30 min per person from data collection to calculation

Understanding workflow

Severance payroll takes 30 min per person from data collection to calculation

I started by interviewing two payroll experts on the team—our main target users—about their processes to understand the severance pay settlement workflow.

1

Collect and rearrange data (20 min)

Collect HR info and payroll records for one year, then rearrange it by individual.

1

Collect and rearrange data (20 min)

Collect HR info and payroll records for one year, then rearrange it by individual.

2

Calculate, double and triple check (~10 min)

Calculate severance pay with HR software, double and triple-check with customized Excel.

2

Calculate, double and triple check (~10 min)

Calculate severance pay with HR software, double and triple-check with customized Excel.

3

Complete settlement and payment (5 min)

Send documents and send severance payments.

3

Complete settlement and payment (5 min)

Send documents and send severance payments.

Problems

If it ain't broke, users don't fix it

Problems

If it ain't broke, users don't fix it

Next, I interviewed more payroll experts – two from our team and three clients – to deep dive into their pain points and the reasons behind them.

Time-consuming, total grunt work

We need to extract and organize one employee's salary data from monthly Excel files – it's time-consuming, total grunt work. Plus, tracking down scattered HR records is another challenge.

Time-consuming, total grunt work

We need to extract and organize one employee's salary data from monthly Excel files – it's time-consuming, total grunt work. Plus, tracking down scattered HR records is another challenge.

One-way door decision

Fixing severance errors once paid is tough. Underpayment risks legal action; overpayment recovery is problematic. That's why double and triple checks are essential.

One-way door decision

Fixing severance errors once paid is tough. Underpayment risks legal action; overpayment recovery is problematic. That's why double and triple checks are essential.

Every severance case is unique

We consider every case unique. Unless you're handling both HR and payroll, you typically only examine HR details at calculation time, which makes spotting special factors early very difficult.

Every severance case is unique

We consider every case unique. Unless you're handling both HR and payroll, you typically only examine HR details at calculation time, which makes spotting special factors early very difficult.

Following questions

Following the interviews, I observed our team's two payroll experts running severance payroll and used contextual inquiries to further investigate the problems.

1

Is every case truly unique?

1

Is every case truly unique?

2

Where do errors typically occur?

2

Where do errors typically occur?

3

Why users stick with this process?

3

Why users stick with this process?

Key findings

1

Unique cases impacting settlement are under 5%.

Severance pay is legally protected, so it's not likely to change unless you're disciplined or take a leave of absence for personal reasons.

1

Unique cases impacting settlement are under 5%.

Severance pay is legally protected, so it's not likely to change unless you're disciplined or take a leave of absence for personal reasons.

2

Calculation errors usually stem from data omissions or mistakes during collection and organization.

Because the formula for calculating severance never changes, the review process is mainly for building confidence in the results.

2

Calculation errors usually stem from data omissions or mistakes during collection and organization.

Because the formula for calculating severance never changes, the review process is mainly for building confidence in the results.

3

Users tend to stick to the existing process, fearing the risks of change more than its benefits.

Users know their current workflow isn't ideal, but they haven't seen a significantly better, more convenient alternative to switch to.

3

Users tend to stick to the existing process, fearing the risks of change more than its benefits.

Users know their current workflow isn't ideal, but they haven't seen a significantly better, more convenient alternative to switch to.

Opportunity

How might we build an error-free, time-saving product that users challenge the status quo?

Opportunity

How might we build an error-free, time-saving product that users challenge the status quo?

Hypothesis

1

If we flag exceptions from the start, users will save time on reviewing every detail.

1

If we flag exceptions from the start, users will save time on reviewing every detail.

2

If we automate data collection and calculation, users can avoid human errors.

2

If we automate data collection and calculation, users can avoid human errors.

3

If we significantly improve settlement speed with an optimized workflow, users will break the status quo and switch.

3

If we significantly improve settlement speed with an optimized workflow, users will break the status quo and switch.

Design exploration

Bridging the familiar and the new

Design exploration

Bridging the familiar and the new

The main design challenge was speeding up settlement without disrupting the familiar user workflow. This meant understanding what builds trust, leading me to explore two directions.

Concept 1

Step-by-step

Takes time, but it's guaranteed

The concept mirrors the current workflow: select leavers, calculate gross pay, then taxes/deductions for the final amount, followed by review. This should be easy to grasp by aligning with the user's mental model.

Concept 2

Working backwards

Rapid and bold, while remaining on point

Show results first, then review individuals, unlike the current, sequential workflow. I thought this was a familiar yet disruptive approach, as it simplifies the process while reflecting the existing mental model of payroll experts who process one-by-one.

Validate explorations

Concept testing

Validate explorations

Concept testing

We conducted user testing with five internal users using lo-fi prototype and asked them which concept they prefer and why they like it better.

Users love Concept 2 ❤️

Perfectly reflects their workflow

Concept 2 really cuts out all the junk and just leaves the stuff payroll experts actually need to do!

Perfectly reflects their workflow

Concept 2 really cuts out all the junk and just leaves the stuff payroll experts actually need to do!

Showing the calculation process builds trust

Even assuming there are no errors, I'd like to see how it was calculated. It gives me peace of mind.

Showing the calculation process builds trust

Even assuming there are no errors, I'd like to see how it was calculated. It gives me peace of mind.

Iteration ideas

1

Need for manual edits

Can I edit the calculation results? HR records are often not up-to-date or missing, so I have to manually update them.

1

Need for manual edits

Can I edit the calculation results? HR records are often not up-to-date or missing, so I have to manually update them.

2

Confirm one by one

Sometimes multiple people handle severance, and reviewing many at once is tough, so they want to check off each one as they go.

2

Confirm one by one

Sometimes multiple people handle severance, and reviewing many at once is tough, so they want to check off each one as they go.

Final outcome

Severance payroll, works like a magic.

Final outcome

Severance payroll, works like a magic.

Flex's severance payroll reduces the previous 30-minute per-person workload to just 3 minutes by offering automated HR and payroll data collection and calculation, a UX optimized for user review and modification, and a low learning curve.

Step 1

Select

Review employees

Users can review who needs severance and any special cases.

1

Auto data collection

Resigning employee data is automatically sent from the Core module to payroll, removing the need to collect it individually.

1

Auto data collection

Resigning employee data is automatically sent from the Core module to payroll, removing the need to collect it individually.

2

Flag exceptional case

To quickly highlight exceptions impacting work period calculation, such as general leave, or disciplinary action, they are shown as chips in the notes column.

2

Flag exceptional case

To quickly highlight exceptions impacting work period calculation, such as general leave, or disciplinary action, they are shown as chips in the notes column.

Step 2

Review

At a glance

Users can review the overall settlement results at a glance and if there are no special cases, they can complete the settlement as is.

1

Editable cell

Users can view formulas per cell and override cell values directly within the grid, just like an Excel.

1

Editable cell

Users can view formulas per cell and override cell values directly within the grid, just like an Excel.

2

Bulk action

Confirm all items at once using a bulk action

2

Bulk action

Confirm all items at once using a bulk action

Individual view

A dedicated individual view focuses on a single settlement, allowing users to review details, edit values, and confirm.

3

Review calculation

Review each step of the settlement process along with the formula.

3

Review calculation

Review each step of the settlement process along with the formula.

4

Manual edit

Correct errors, add anything missing and see the updated result in real-time

4

Manual edit

Correct errors, add anything missing and see the updated result in real-time

5

Confirm one-by-one

Review and double check the result one-by-one

5

Confirm one-by-one

Review and double check the result one-by-one

6

Review and update base data

Review the data underlying your calculations and make corrections, or overwrite it entirely in Excel

6

Review and update base data

Review the data underlying your calculations and make corrections, or overwrite it entirely in Excel

Step 3

Confirm

Completing settlement

This final step summarizes the settlement and outlines what's next: emailing the statement, downloading records, and generating the bank Excel file.

Results

It felt like magic: this easy, this fast, this accurate? I am so impressed.

Results

It felt like magic: this easy, this fast, this accurate? I am so impressed.

1

100+ settlements

1

100+ settlements

2

3 minutes on average

2

3 minutes on average

3

0 blockers in sales meeting

3

0 blockers in sales meeting

* Data from the first 3 months post-launch