Staff Passports - User Experience fail?

Without usability and adoption even the best technology is just an idea.

Digital identity technology is at the forefront of initiatives to speed up the onboarding process and fast track the hiring cycle.

Sounds great in theory, but how will it succeed?

Lets start with getting people to want to use it.

Increasingly we spend more time living online, we expect technology to make life easier, so it makes perfect sense to digitise the labourious, analogue process of getting a new job.

Anyone who has moved jobs recently will know that supplying multiple data sets (Identity, Right to Work, Proof of Address, references, qualifications etc.) is an arduous task. Working through the employers checklist, finding appropriate documentation, collating the documents, scanning and verifying, sometimes downloading and onboarding an app - is all time consuming - then we have to consider where and how we supply our personal information, while employers must check and securely store your private details.

This process is antiquated and ripe for automation.

I have been looking at what is being suggested to improve this process and have looked at a pathfinder initiative - the NHS Staff Passport.

Last year the NHS trialed their Staff Passport to enable interim staff to move between different NHS organisations more easily and quickly, without the need for repeat form filling, checks and duplicate training.

Sounds great.

It is clear to me that this is a two sided puzzle that needs a technology solution and not a blunt force rollout.

Firstly, employers must be able to implement, distribute, monitor and trust any new system to meet compliance requirements, save time/resource and improve current procedures.

Secondly for applicants, this has to be a reduced friction process that is valuable, usable/re-usable and equitable to encourage adoption. Mass adoption will come from ease of use, convenience and word of mouth "Wow" factor.

However looking at the efforts of the NHS it seems the tech first approach is not working.

Last year the CDDO Service Standard assessment report stated that the initial trial had NOT met the alpha assessment requirements and highlighted failings in 4 key areas:

• Understanding Users and their Needs
• Make the service simple to use
• Make sure everyone can use the service
• Iterate and improve frequently

I also would argue that it failed to Solve the Whole Problem for Users (Point 2) given the results above.

There is a lot of work to be done, the NHS platform designed to make applicants journeys easier passed the tech requirements but failed the user experience - this is a perfect example of how digital identity is being implemented, tech first, people last.

Below is the summary of what needs to be explored before the next assessment:

• Find out why people want to use the staff passport and what benefits it brings to them, rather than what features it has or how it works
• Talk to more people who work in different roles in the NHS and ask them what they think of the staff passport, which is an app that lets them prove who they are and what they can do
• Find out why people want to use the staff passport and what benefits it brings to them, rather than what features it has or how it works
• Learn more about all the possible users of the staff passport and their problems, and how the staff passport can help them solve their problems
• Show the staff passport is the best way to meet the needs of the users, and not just copy the COVID-19 passport, which is another app that shows if someone has been vaccinated or tested
• Test the most uncertain things and show how they have been fixed or reduced, such as how the staff passport affects the work of HR staff
• Think about how to make it easier for people who don’t want to or can’t use the staff passport on their phone
• Make the app more simple and easy to use, without needing extra help or information to understand things like access credentials or wallet
• Find out how confident and comfortable people are with using digital services, and make sure the app suits different levels of skills, needs, and preferences
• Compare how things are done before and after using the app, so that it can be shown how much the app has improved things for users
• Test each version of the app with people to see how they use it and how to make it better
• Show how people can get their digital identity back if they lose their phone, and how they can download and use the app for the first time
• Revisit the user needs to focus on the behavioural drivers and the bigger picture of why users want to use the staff passport, rather than the specific features or solutions

Lets hope v2 is focused on these issues and we have a workable solution to lead the way.

Better Hiring Institute (BHI) NHS NHSX NHS Professionals NHS England Digital Profession NHS Employers #digitalidentity #modernisinghiring #hr #hiring #talentacquisition #hiringmanager #jobs