The Challenge

Myer had implemented an off the shelf version of Kronos workforce management solution to manage timestamps for employees when clocking on and off their shift. The tool was installed in all stores onto a tablet that was mounted onto a wall where team members go to sign on and off.
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There were a series of usability issues with the off the shelf interface which included:
a design which did not resonate with users, an interface which was not optimised for tablet devices, major performance issues with a noticeable lag between a user tapping an employee number on the keypad and the the input being displayed on the screen and a lack of contextual colours being used and little difference in error states being displayed when a team member had not successfully punched into the system.

In addition to these usability issues, the current application was not extensible. Myer was looking to revolutionise the experience for all store stakeholders, including visitors and brand partners, who had traditionally used a paper based sign in book. This drove not only great operational inefficiencies, especially regarding compensation of partners, but also presented “duty of care” challenges in event of an emergency.

The Solution

Ippon Australia was engaged as a partner to undertake a discovery which included usability testing, user research and a process of iterative design for an optimised tablet interface. This was the key in identifying the true underlying frustrations for store staff and provided insights into the priorities for functionality required in the application. Through rapid prototyping and a rapid development approach, the team from Ippon was able to handover a well tested solution to the Myer team to roll-out into stores. Overwhelming support from Myer and subject matter expertise coupled with Ippon’s team of experts led to a unified team with strong collaboration and trust.Ippon Australia designed and developed a tablet optimised app in React Native over a six week period. The solution focused heavily on the responsiveness of the application during touch and tap interactions. Similarly, the usability of the tool was an important element to ensure adoption within the stores.

Key functionality included:

Online and offline sign in and out functionality for employees and contractors.
An integrated administration solution allowing managers to get a real time perspective of staff movements.
Simple visitor sign in information.

The team leveraged contextual colours and visual cues to reduce cognitive load on store staff. It also assisted in communicating whether an additional action, such as reporting to a manager before the shift, was required or if the team member who has completed mandatory training requirements.

The Outcome

Myer now has a workforce management application that provides a greatly improved user interface to cater for their broad employee group. It is far more responsive, provides a significantly larger keypad and separate colour coded clock-on confirmation screens. In addition, the solution was applauded for the ability to deal with punches even when offline and the flexibility to be used in both kiosk mode or as part of Myer’s point of sale. Following the successful trial, the application was rolled out nationally to all stores.

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