Benefits Portal (Part 1)
Pivot from Gamification to Usability
Project Type → UX Research, Concept Design
Client → The Heritage Group
Industry → HR Tech, Corporate Benefits
Stakeholders → HR Business Partners, IT, MarComm
Role → Lead UX Designer
Duration → 4 months (June - September 2023)
Overview
BACKGROUND
The Heritage Group offers comprehensive benefits to 5,000+ employees across portfolio companies, but very few fully utilize them. Most employees are unaware that the company has a benefits portal.
Leadership believed gamification would solve the problem. They wanted a game board similar to Monopoly or Game of Life with points, badges, and competition to drive wellness adoption.
MY ROLE
I led research and design for this project, working across HR, Marketing, and IT. My job was to test whether gamification would actually work, then design a solution employees would use.
Key Challenge: Leadership wanted a game board. Research showed employees needed basic findability. I had to bridge that gap without losing stakeholder support.
Design Process
Define the Problem
THE TENSION
Leadership wanted a game board to motivate employees. But was motivation really the problem?
THE RESEARCH
I interviewed 9 employees across THG's five companies and reviewed industry benchmarks on benefits utilization.
What I learned:
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Awareness: Most employees didn't know the benefits portal existed
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Usability: Those who found it couldn't navigate it effectively
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Behavior: Industry data shows <7% of employees fully utilize benefits, and ~80% don't open benefits communications
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The real problem:
Employees weren't unmotivated; they couldn't find what they needed.
THE REFRAME
I repositioned gamification as a tool for exploration, not motivation. Keep the engaging visuals and progress tracking leadership wanted, but use them to help employees discover benefits, not compete for points.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
How might we help employees find and understand their benefits when they need them?
Solution
THE APPROACH
I designed a three-step discovery flow instead of a game board:
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Enter → Six benefit categories on the homepage (family, financial, emotional, physical, facing difficulty, lifestyle)
Explore → Each category breaks into subcategories with clear descriptions and visual cues
Learn → Individual benefit pages show eligibility, enrollment steps, and who to contact​
WHAT THIS SOLVED
Awareness → Categories made benefits visible on the homepage instead of being buried in PDFs
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Usability → The three-step flow matched how employees actually look for information
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Search → Clear navigation structure prepared the system for search functionality
THE RESULT
Leadership approved the exploration-based concept. In focus groups, employees said it was "finally easy to see what's available" and "makes more sense".
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The racing theme resonated with THG's Indianapolis Motor Speedway connection, making the design feel culturally relevant rather than generic corporate.
Play with Interactive Prototype
Decision prototype to influence direction. Not the final shipped UI.
What Surprized me!
I expected pushback from leadership when research contradicted their game board ask. Instead, they were relieved.
One stakeholder said, "We knew something was off; we just needed someone to prove it."
What Happened Next
Leadership approved the concept. Employees validated it in testing. Then reality hit.
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THG's benefits ecosystem wasn't built for this kind of experience:
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Six separate portals managed by different departments
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No working search functionality
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Benefits information locked in PDFs, not dynamic pages
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No clear ownership of content updates
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Phase 2 became about translating a user-centered design into a fragmented technical reality—working with legacy systems, political boundaries, and mismatched priorities.
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→ Part 2: Making it Real (coming soon)