Working with outsourced UX designers
Meeting the exact needs of the customer without fuss or bother is at the core of user experience, according to Nielsen Norman Group.
Although it’s often overlooked, UX web design plays an important role in the success of your business.
95% of visitors say that a positive user experience is a factor that affects their opinion most when they visit a website.
That’s why hiring a professional who will create a user-friendly website is a logical investment in your business. However, since most small businesses don’t need a full-time UX designer, outsourcing that part of the job is a good idea.
Here are a couple of tips for finding and working with an outsourced UX designer.
Know What Skills You’re After
One of the most important things to look for in a UX designer is their ability to explain how something works using layman’s terms.
If they are capable of transferring information and conveying a message in an efficient and clear manner, regardless of the medium, then you can be sure that they will make your website intuitive and easy to use.
A seasoned UX designer would structure their answer according to a certain hierarchy — explaining the big picture and macro elements comes first; after that comes the middle level; and finally, details come last.
However, if you can’t make heads or tails of your candidate’s explanation, and if their approach is topsy-turvy, then it’s very likely that their design would be the same.
Another thing that you should find out is what tools your applicant uses and what their workflow is.
You don’t have to be tech-savvy in this field to know that proficiency in Adobe Suite and Sketch is a must, so make sure that your shortlisted candidates are using these tools as well as a couple of others such as Adobe Experience Design, Webflow, or InVision.
Finally, ask them about their workflow and find out whether they have ever worked in a team.
Don’t Neglect Soft Skills
67% of HR managers say they’d rather hire a person with strong soft skills even if their hard skills aren’t impressive.
Given that a UX designer has to communicate their ideas clearly and work closely with people from other departments, it’s crucial to find a person whose soft skills are great.
Adjustability, readiness to take constructive criticism, and the ability to handle on-the-fly requests are also important in this line of work, so it’s a good idea to see how a candidate performs in unexpected scenarios.
One of the questions at the interview should be to analyse a competitor’s website and give a couple of on-the-spot suggestions about what they would change and why.
Where to Look for a UX Designer?
The easiest way is to use Google and reach out to a couple of top names that appear in your search.
The second option is browsing through specialised websites where designers showcase their work, such as Behance or Dribble, as well as freelance platforms like Fiverr and Upwork.
When you find people whose work you like, run a background check on them to ensure that they’re really behind these designs.
Go through their social media channels, LinkedIn in particular, and find out whether they have their personal websites.
Schedule a Video Interview
It’s very likely that you’ll interview more than one candidate before you find the right UX designer and make your decision.
That’s why a video interview can be an extremely helpful tool. You won’t have to write down the applicant’s answers and try to memorise what kind of impression they left on you. Instead of that, book a video meeting, record it, and compare your potential employees based on the answers they provide.
This can be particularly important if you’re running a remote team.
A video interview will help you “read” your candidates’ body language and facial expressions, something that you can’t do if you’re having a voice chat or written correspondence.
How to Brief Your Newly Appointed UX Designer
This is the part where you tell your designer what you really want and help them turn your ideas into reality.
And for that, you need a good brief. Here’s what it should contain:
- An intro about your company, industry, and target audience.
- A list of your direct competitors together with relevant links to their websites. Here you should explain what you like and why.
- Describe why your current design doesn’t work or what you would like to optimise.
- Outline your objectives and explain what you want to achieve. Also, mention measurable targets, that is, how you will measure the success of your project.
- List deliverables so that your designer can estimate the scope of your project. For example, if you need a business app that can be downloaded from your website and used separately, you should say it up front. Ad-hoc requests require more time and a higher budget.
- Technical requirements, brand guidelines, budgeting, and deadlines belong in the brief too. Don’t forget that this isn’t an in-house designer who knows your brand inside-out, so make sure to provide detailed instructions.
How to Establish a Successful Working Relationship?
Since you’re hiring a person outside your company to work on such an important segment of your website, it’s essential to establish trust.
To do this, introduce your new outsourced employee to your team, treat them with respect, and make them feel welcome.
Similarly, you can bet that they will appreciate if you behave as if they’re working for your company and not as if they’re just a disposable worker who won’t be around once the project is over.
Since stability and predictability are important for a successful working relationship, it’s crucial to have a mechanism in place that will ensure these two requirements are met.
A precise and clear work process, collaborative tools, and weekly meetings can help you stay on the same page.
Working with an outsourced UX designer can be an ordeal if your approach isn’t well thought out. These tips can point you in the right direction and navigate you through the process of hiring the right person for the job and collaborating with them effectively and efficiently.
