Technology
Creating a modern digital workplace experience for the leader in air transport technology
Case Study
At a glance
SITA is the world's leading provider of global information and telecommunications solutions to the air transport industry. In 2017, SITA needed to modernize its internal digital ecosystem to enable employees to do their jobs more effectively and efficiently.
The goal was to create a digital workplace adapted to a very diverse workforce in different locations – at the office, in the airport, on the go – and to build a truly employee-centric and personalized experience.
Client
Sector
Technology
Project
Akumina Digital Employee Experience
Activities
Stakeholder interviews
User interviews
Design Thinking workshops
Personas
User journeys
Chatbot small talk
Chatbot dialog flows
Chatbot training
Functional workshops
Clickable prototype
Usability testing (multiple rounds)
Graphic design
Technologies
Akumina
Office 365
SharePoint
Yammer
Delve
Microsoft Bot Framework
Graph API
Cordova
Creating a modern digital workplace experience
The goals of the project were to drive the adoption of a modern digital workplace experience that suited SITA's global organizational structure and distributed ways of working.
The existing intranet contained enormous amounts of content, often not maintained. For this reason, employees rarely used the intranet, calling it cluttered and outdated. The different teams had resorted to creating SharePoint team sites and even to using WhatsApp groups for collaboration. Meanwhile, Office 365 had been rolled out to all employees in a way that left users complaining of “tool overload”.
Key objectives of the redesign initiative included:
- Encouraging information sharing from the bottom-up as well as clear and measurable engagement with the content
- Ensuring internal communications and HR could get key messages across to the right employees at the right time
- Removing “clutter” and ensuring up-to-date and useful content throughout the intranet
- Creating a truly employee-centric and personalized experience that gives employees rapid and intuitive access to the information and tools they need to do their job
We now have everything we need at our fingertips. No more confusion about which tool to use for what or where a conversation is taking place on a particular topic. It's all there in the Hub. We're working more efficiently now and collaboration is way easier.
User feedback
Infusing DEX with UX
We conducted user research across the organization in over 30 countries, followed by a vision exercise with key stakeholders to ensure that the "core team" was aligned on the project approach and objectives.
Subsequently, we ran a series of Design Thinking workshops where – together with the principal stakeholders from Comms, HR, IT, Sales, Product, and Legal – we defined a vision, co-created personas and user journeys, and developed a communication and engagement strategy.
Next we built prototypes of the responsive website and mobile app, tested them with real users, and iterated our designs.
A chatbot was also part of the initiative. For this, we created a persona, wrote the small talk, and defined core structured dialogues around the most common helpdesk and HR support needs.
The DEX solution was implemented using the Akumina DEX Platform to enable the high degree of integration, personalization, and flexibility required to meet user needs, ensure rapid adoption, and create long-lasting engagement.
Outcomes
Prior to our involvement, the organization had experienced several failed attempts to tackle the issue. Our human-centered approach made the difference, and today, SITA’s digital workplace is humming with collaborative activity.
A key factor in the success of this project was the collaborative and dedicated participation of key representatives from IT, HR, Comms, Legal, Finance, Sales, and the C-suite. Without this cross-functional support, the project would have been far more difficult to get over the finish line.
Another important success factor was the use of Akumina's DEX platform. This platform gives companies the design freedom and robust integration features necessary to build engaging, meaningful, and highly personalized employee experiences.
When this project started, I was skeptical. Why wouldn't this time be any different than any of the other previous failed attempts? You proved me wrong and now I'm a convert. The user-centered design approach helped us get buy-in from key audiences and stakeholders across the global organization, and it was a key ingredient in getting this project over the finish line with relatively low change management overhead.
Stakeholder feedback
Key stats
4200
Employees and contractors impacted
200
Countries and territories
500+
Office locations worldwide
10+
Functional departments consulted
Julia Borkenhagen
Chief Experience Officer
SITA gave us direct access to users of all types across the global organization, meaning that our research efforts were both representative and comprehensive. And designing on the Akumina platform meant we could focus on the user experience and not on the underlying technology.
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