In 2015, when Hireology's personas were born, there was a general lack of understanding of the various user types across product. It was hard to understand how to approach designing a feature or solving a problem because we didn't know who we were designing for, much less anything about those users.

Beginning research with internal stakeholders, we explored questions like: who are the different types of users? what are they trying to accomplish? and what are their feelings, frustrations, and expectations during the hiring process?

After creating user flow diagrams and rough empathy maps, we validated internally and eventually followed up with years of ongoing research and findings. I designed an empathy map that focused on human behavior and motivations, as opposed to personal characteristics.

I printed posters of our personas and hung them in the office and communicated to the company about this new tool and how it can help. In addition, I continuously used ongoing research efforts to expand on the personas creating a deeper understanding of their journey and mental models.

When I created Hireology's user personas, I never thought it would get as much traction across the company as it did. It didn't happen overnight, but eventually the entire company was talking in personas. They became a new and very effective communication tool that is still being used today. For example, when the Customer Success team was dealing with a user, they would identify them as an "Ida", giving anyone else they interacted with within the company a clear understanding of the user's role within their company and the product.