Transforming Reactive HR Into Strategic Partnership
AI Business Partner Helping Business Leaders 10x Revenue
Fount AI
AI business partner helping managers , HR leaders and business executives identify points in their processes causing friction, providing solution recommendations backed by employee feedback data points and industry wide recommended practices.
As the sole designer on the team, I led the end to end design process for this solution. In collaboration with our head of product, product team and engineers. In a span of 3 months.
I aimed to provide an AI agent able to serve as a business partner helping HR leaders 10x their productivity , drive growth and provide measurable impact in little time.
How might we reduce time from issue identification to resolution by at least 60% and increase revenue by 300%+ ROI through reduced turnover costs and improved employee satisfaction?
My Discovery Process
I led a comprehensive research initiative spanning 3 weeks, employing multiple methodologies to understand both user needs and business constraints.
User Interviews
18HR Directors and VPs
12People Operations Managers
9Team Leads and Middle Managers
4C-suite Executives
Key Interview Insights
“
I feel like I'm always putting out fires instead of preventing them. By the time we see patterns in our data, the damage is already done.
People Leader, Manufacturing Company
“
We have so much employee feedback data, but connecting the dots between different sources feels impossible with our current tools.
Team Lead, Early Stage Startup
Competitive Analysis Matrix
I developed a detailed competitive analysis matrix evaluating existing solutions in comparison to us.
This analysis helped me identify the gaps in the market that our solution could address.
Key Insights I discovered
Through careful synthesis of all research data, I identified four key insights that were consistent across organizations:
Data FragmentationEmployee feedback scattered across 5-8 different platforms
Analysis Paralysis73% of HR leaders reported spending more time analyzing data than acting on insights
Reactive ApproachAverage 6-week delay between issue occurrence and identification
Resource ConstraintsLimited HR bandwidth to conduct deep-dive analysis on emerging trends
Meet The Users
Based on my research findings, I developed two primary user personas that represented stakeholders across various organizations:
Sarah, VP People Operations
Strategist, 8 years at current role
Alex, Eng. Team Lead
Analytical, 4 years in management
Design Process
Based on the goals , painpoints and actions defined for the various user personas, i tailored my design process to ensure all of their individual needs are met.
Card Sorting Exercise
Conducted hybrid card sorting with HR professionals to understand mental models around workplace analytics categorization.
Journey Mapping
Putting myself in the users POV, I created a journey map analyzing their journey from problem detection to resolution.
Current State ( Before Fount AI)
Future State ( After Fount AI)
Happy Path User Flow
Design Solutions
After several iterations and feedback from the internal team and prospective users via user testing sessions, here are some of the core design solutions I came up with for our V1 Solution.
User Testing & Iterations
I conducted usability tests on key interaction patterns with 24 employees across different departments and levels at INGKA, as well as internal stakeholders of the solution we were building plus 23 participants from other organizations
Attached below are screenshots of the assumption matrix created to validate my design solution as well as a summary of the findings which helped refine my design solution. This data-driven approach significantly improved the final design.
Business Impact I Delivered
Results delivered after 3 months of platform use
Operational Efficiency Improvements
Issue Resolution TimeReduced from 6.2 weeks to 1.4 weeks (77% improvement)
HR Productivity340% increase in proactive vs. reactive work ratio
Data Analysis TimeDecreased from 14 hours/week to 3 hours/week per HR professional
Employee Experience Outcomes
Employee Satisfaction ScoreIncreased from 3.2/5.0 to 4.4/5.0 (+37.5%)
Turnover Reduction67% decrease in voluntary departures
Engagement Scores29% improvement in periodic pulse surveys
Financial Impact
Cost Avoidance$2.3M annually through reduced turnover and recruitment costs
Productivity Gains$1.8M annually through improved employee satisfaction and reduced friction
ROI312% return on investment within first year
Key Design Decisions & Rationale
AI-First vs. Human-First Interface Design
ApproachChose AI-augmented human decision making over full automation.
RationaleUser research revealed HR professionals needed to maintain accountability for decisions. AI served as intelligent assistant rather than replacement.
ImplementationEvery AI recommendation included confidence scores, reasoning, and human override capabilities.
Prescriptive vs. Descriptive Recommendations
ApproachEvolved from descriptive analytics to prescriptive action plans with outcome predictions.
RationaleUsers consistently requested "what should I do next?" rather than just "what's happening?
ImplementationThree-tier recommendation system: immediate actions, short-term strategies, long-term initiatives.
Conversational Interface and Experience
ApproachMake the interface conversational, so user can feel like they’re being listened to.
RationaleUser research shows that this is the best experience for an AI agent to be productive.
ImplementationThe user interface and experience adopted AI conversational interfaces best principles
Conclusion
Fount AI represents a fundamental shift in how organizations approach employee experience optimization. By combining advanced AI capabilities with human-centered design principles, i created a solution that doesn't just analyze workplace data—it transforms it into strategic advantage.
The success of this project demonstrates the power of designing for the complete user ecosystem, from individual contributors to executive leadership. Most importantly, it showcases how thoughtful UX design can amplify AI capabilities to create genuine business value and improved employee experiences.
This project demonstrates my ability to identify complex organizational problems, design intuitive user
experiences that address multiple stakeholder needs, and deliver solutions with significant business
impact. My leadership throughout the process ensured alignment between user needs and business
objectives, resulting in a product that continues to drive measurable value.
Transforming Reactive HR Into Strategic Partnership
AI Business Partner Helping Business Leaders 10x Revenue
Fount AI
AI business partner helping managers , HR leaders and business executives identify points in their processes causing friction, providing solution recommendations backed by employee feedback data points and industry wide recommended practices.
As the sole designer on the team, I led the end to end design process for this solution. In collaboration with our head of product, product team and engineers. In a span of 3 months.
I aimed to provide an AI agent able to serve as a business partner helping HR leaders 10x their productivity , drive growth and provide measurable impact in little time.
.
Build an AI-powered business partner platform that enables HR leaders and managers at various enterprise sizes proactively identify workplace friction, analyze multi-source employee feedback, and implement data-driven solutions—reducing employee turnover by at least 40% , driving business growth by at least 50%and increasing HR team productivity by 200% within 12 months of implementation.
How might we reduce time from issue identification to resolution by at least 60% and increase revenue by 300%+ ROI through reduced turnover costs and improved employee satisfaction?
.
“When HR Insights Come Too Late, The Damage Is Already Done”
My Discovery Process
I led a comprehensive research initiative spanning 3 weeks, employing multiple methodologies to understand both user needs and business constraints.
User Interviews
18HR Directors and VPs
12People Operations Managers
9Team Leads and Middle Managers
4C-suite Executives
Key Interview Insights
“
I feel like I'm always putting out fires instead of preventing them. By the time we see patterns in our data, the damage is already done.
People Leader, Manufacturing Company
“
We have so much employee feedback data, but connecting the dots between different sources feels impossible with our current tools.
Team Lead, Early Stage Startup
Competitive Analysis Matrix
I developed a detailed competitive analysis matrix evaluating existing solutions in comparison to us.
This analysis helped me identify the gaps in the market that our solution could address.
Key Insights I discovered
Through careful synthesis of all research data, I identified four key insights that were consistent across organizations:
Data FragmentationEmployee feedback scattered across 5-8 different platforms
Analysis Paralysis73% of HR leaders reported spending more time analyzing data than acting on insights
Reactive ApproachAverage 6-week delay between issue occurrence and identification
Resource ConstraintsLimited HR bandwidth to conduct deep-dive analysis on emerging trends
Meet The Users
Based on my research findings, I developed two primary user personas that represented stakeholders across various organizations:
Sarah, VP People Operations
Strategist, 8 years at current role
Demographics42, 8 years in current role
Manages team of 12 HR professionals
Oversees 5,000+ employee organization
BehavioursChecks multiple dashboards daily (avg. 6 platforms)
Relies heavily on Excel for cross-platform analysis
Prefers visual data representations over raw numbers
GoalsProactively identify workplace friction before it impacts retention
Provide data-driven recommendations to leadership
Optimize team efficiency and reduce reactive work
PainpointsSpends 60% of time in analysis vs. 40% in action
Struggles to correlate data across multiple platforms
Pressure from leadership for predictive insights
Alex, Eng. Team Lead
Analytical, 4 years in management
Demographics36, 4 years in management
Direct reports: 25-30 employees
Technical background with people leadership responsibilities
BehavioursChecks multiple dashboards daily (avg. 6 platforms)
Relies heavily on Excel for cross-platform analysis
Prefers visual data representations over raw numbers
GoalsQuickly identify team-specific issues
Receive actionable recommendations for immediate implementation
Maintain high team performance and satisfaction
PainpointsLimited visibility into team sentiment between formal reviews
Generic company-wide initiatives don't address team-specific needs
Time constraints limit deep-dive analysis capabilities
Design Process
Based on the goals , painpoints and actions defined for the various user personas, i tailored my design process to ensure all of their individual needs are met.
Card Sorting Exercise
Conducted hybrid card sorting with HR professionals to understand mental models around workplace analytics categorization.
Journey Mapping
Putting myself in the users POV, I created a journey map analyzing their journey from problem detection to resolution.
Current State ( Before Fount AI)
Future State ( After Fount AI)
Happy Path User Flow
Design Solutions
After several iterations and feedback from the internal team and prospective users via user testing sessions, here are some of the core design solutions I came up with for our V1 Solution.
User Testing & Iterations
I conducted usability tests on key interaction patterns with 24 employees across different departments and levels at INGKA, as well as internal stakeholders of the solution we were building plus 23 participants from other organizations
Attached below are screenshots of the assumption matrix created to validate my design solution as well as a summary of the findings which helped refine my design solution. This data-driven approach significantly improved the final design.
Business Impact I Delivered
Results delivered after 3 months of platform use
Operational Efficiency Improvements
Issue Resolution TimeReduced from 6.2 weeks to 1.4 weeks (77% improvement)
HR Productivity340% increase in proactive vs. reactive work ratio
Data Analysis TimeDecreased from 14 hours/week to 3 hours/week per HR professional
Employee Experience Outcomes
Employee Satisfaction ScoreIncreased from 3.2/5.0 to 4.4/5.0 (+37.5%)
Turnover Reduction67% decrease in voluntary departures
Engagement Scores29% improvement in periodic pulse surveys
Financial Impact
Cost Avoidance$2.3M annually through reduced turnover and recruitment costs
Productivity Gains$1.8M annually through improved employee satisfaction and reduced friction
ROI312% return on investment within first year
Key Design Decisions & Rationale
AI-First vs. Human-First Interface Design
ApproachChose AI-augmented human decision making over full automation.
RationaleUser research revealed HR professionals needed to maintain accountability for decisions. AI served as intelligent assistant rather than replacement.
ImplementationEvery AI recommendation included confidence scores, reasoning, and human override capabilities.
Prescriptive vs. Descriptive Recommendations
ApproachEvolved from descriptive analytics to prescriptive action plans with outcome predictions.
RationaleUsers consistently requested "what should I do next?" rather than just "what's happening?
ImplementationThree-tier recommendation system: immediate actions, short-term strategies, long-term initiatives.
Conversational Interface and Experience
ApproachMake the interface conversational, so user can feel like they’re being listened to.
RationaleUser research shows that this is the best experience for an AI agent to be productive.
ImplementationThe user interface and experience adopted AI conversational interfaces best principles
Conclusion
Fount AI represents a fundamental shift in how organizations approach employee experience optimization. By combining advanced AI capabilities with human-centered design principles, i created a solution that doesn't just analyze workplace data—it transforms it into strategic advantage.
The success of this project demonstrates the power of designing for the complete user ecosystem, from individual contributors to executive leadership. Most importantly, it showcases how thoughtful UX design can amplify AI capabilities to create genuine business value and improved employee experiences.
This project demonstrates my ability to identify complex organizational problems, design intuitive user
experiences that address multiple stakeholder needs, and deliver solutions with significant business
impact. My leadership throughout the process ensured alignment between user needs and business
objectives, resulting in a product that continues to drive measurable value.