01
Ina
Time
03.2022 - 07.2022
Team
Michelle Bauch Xinyi Wang
Role
UX Researcher Service Designer Interaction Designer Motion Designer
Re-experience your business together.
With the COVID-19 outbreak, many workplaces shifted to home offices to reduce infections. However, this led to employees losing connection with their companies and facing communication challenges. Despite these issues, hybrid work remains favored by both employees and employers.
This thesis explores how the pandemic has reshaped the working environment and identifies key factors for the future of remote work.
Our focus is on enhancing employee communication and preserving corporate culture in a mobile work setting.
01
Overview
Ina – Your Smart Assistance System
Ina is an AI-powered assistant designed to handle everyday coordinative tasks, streamline communication, and enhance collaboration within your company. By preserving traditional corporate values while embracing digital innovation, Ina bridges the gap between physical presence and digital transformation. The result A sustainable and engaging employee experience that fosters a cohesive corporate culture.
We believe that...
...tailored analog and digital systems will support communication over distance within companies, strengthening both cohesion and a sense of belonging.
...mobile work will positively impact a company's growth and business operations, while fostering a culture of trust.
02
Problem Statement
This study gathers insights from employees and employers about their home office experiences during the pandemic, focusing on the transition, benefits, and improvements. Interviewees were selected based on:
Employees: New to home office, occasional home office, regular home office before the pandemic, exclusively home office during the pandemic, exclusively home office before the pandemic.
Employers: HR professionals managing remote work policies.
03
Target Audience
Our target users are employees in remote-compatible roles and companies open to flexible work structures.
We focus on new hires for smooth onboarding and existing employees who want stronger connections while working remotely.
04
How Might We？
Communication and Coordination:
How might we improve alignment in companies during remote work?
Company Culture:
How might we maintain and strengthen a sense of belonging in remote work?
05
Discovery
To better understand the typical workday of a remote worker, we collaborated with a project manager from a large company to simulate a standard workweek and a typical workday. This process serves as a blueprint to identify potential problem areas and optimize workflows.
Hypotheses:
A stronger connection between colleagues fosters the sense of belonging even in remote work and enhances employee retention.
Structured and transparent communication processes improve collaboration and reduce misunderstandings in hybrid work models.
Targeted onboarding support helps new employees integrate more easily and promotes early immersion in the company culture.
Flexibility in working methods increases employee satisfaction and productivity without compromising company goals.
The use of digital and analog tools can strengthen and maintain company culture even with physical distance.
06
Solution
To better understand the daily work routine with Ina, we will present some scenarios that exemplify the use case of the digital assistant. These scenarios outline an ideal process to help develop a clear understanding of its functions. Possible deviations due to unknown factors have not been considered.
The scenarios are divided into two areas:
Analog & Digital experience.
This aims to demonstrate how Ina will create an interface between these two worlds in future work processes.
With Ina, we place the employee experience at the heart of the company. Three key factors play a crucial role in creating a positive and meaningful experience.
1. Spaces for Connection: Whether physical or digital, these spaces provide employees with a safe retreat where they can network and engage with others.
2. Technology as a Bridge: In our case, the digital assistant acts as a bridge to the company, facilitating communication and interaction even during remote work.
3. Company Culture: As a holistic framework, company culture enables employees to identify with the organization and build a strong connection. This is achieved through various elements such as internal and public branding, as well as employee benefits. A strong company culture also fosters a sense of belonging and enhances recognition and appreciation.
07
Retro
By exploring the future of remote work, we entered a new field. The pandemic led many to struggle with adapting to remote work and lacking social connections, especially with school and colleagues. However, it also brought positive changes, such as strengthening family bonds and gaining a new perspective on life.
Over time, many wanted to keep working remotely but complained about the lack of interaction. This led us to create Ina, a digital assistant designed to bridge the connection and networking gaps typically found in in-person work. We found that while modern technology can maintain communication, genuine interpersonal interaction is still hard to replicate. Therefore, Ina was given human-like characteristics to foster connection.
In the future, we see great potential for Ina to help companies connect employees better, integrate cross-cultural teams, and even automate certain processes. We hope to contribute to societal change through this concept.
If you want to learn more, contact me to view the full version of the document :)
