Case Study

Shell

Improving employee experience for a global energy company — digitising HR workflows for 90,000+ employees worldwide.

Case Studies Shell
Client
Shell plc
Sector
Energy HR Technology Employee Experience
Services delivered
Product Design UX Research Service Design Employee Experience Usability Testing
About Shell

Shell is a global energy leader with operations in over 70 countries and a workforce of more than 90,000 employees.

While its core business spans oil, gas, and chemicals, Shell is actively investing in renewable energy and digital transformation to support a lower-carbon future. With such a large and diverse workforce, Shell relies on modern, digital-first systems to manage HR, compliance, and employee engagement at scale — areas where design plays a vital role in improving efficiency, accessibility, and user experience.

My Role

Product Designer embedded within Shell's HR digital team — analysing existing workflows, designing clearer digital experiences, and validating them with employees.

01
Workflow Analysis
Analysed existing HR workflows to uncover inefficiencies and design opportunities across key employee journeys.
02
Interface Design
Designed clearer, more intuitive digital experiences supporting employees in completing HR and compliance tasks with confidence.
03
Stakeholder Collaboration
Worked closely with HR stakeholders, compliance teams, and engineers to align designs with policy requirements and technical systems.
04
Prototyping & Testing
Prototyped and tested new flows with employees to validate usability and drive adoption, reducing reliance on manual processes.

The challenge

Shell's internal HR systems handled mandatory training, compliance reporting, and employee self-service — but many processes were fragmented, hard to navigate, and still reliant on service desk support or manual workarounds. With over 90,000 employees across 70+ countries, even small friction points had outsized operational costs.

The design challenge was to digitise and simplify these workflows without disrupting existing compliance requirements — making it easy for employees to do the right thing, without needing to raise a ticket or call a helpdesk.

My approach

I focused on three interconnected areas: cyber security awareness, the internal intranet, and the external careers portal. Each was tackled through research, stakeholder alignment, and iterative prototyping — with usability testing to validate improvements before handoff.

Designs were kept consistent with Shell's design standards and accessibility requirements, ensuring a coherent experience across all platforms and devices.

How I worked

Each workstream followed the same four-phase discipline — moving from discovery through to tested, handed-off designs.

Discover
Workflow & audit mapping
Audited existing HR interfaces and mapped employee journeys to identify where friction, drop-off, and service desk escalations were concentrated.
Define
Prioritisation with stakeholders
Aligned with HR stakeholders, compliance teams, and engineers on the highest-impact opportunities — scoping the work around compliance obligations and technical feasibility.
Design
Prototype & iterate
Designed and iterated interface improvements across cyber security, intranet, and careers — keeping designs accessible, consistent with Shell's standards, and validated through testing.
Deliver
Test & handoff
Usability testing with employees validated each flow before handoff — ensuring adoption was achievable and compliance obligations remained fully met.
Projects

Three distinct workstreams — each tackling a different dimension of Shell's employee-facing digital experience.

Project 1

Cyber Security Scorecard

This project focused on improving employee awareness and participation in Shell's cyber-security initiatives through the creation of digital scorecards. The aim was to build strong security behaviours by making mandatory training, best practices, and safe system usage more transparent and engaging. The scorecards highlighted key focus areas — device protection, secure data sharing, ethical communication, and the prevention of social engineering — helping employees better understand their role in protecting company systems and information.

Project 2

The HUB — Internal Intranet

I contributed to UX improvements on Shell's internal HR intranet, The HUB. The work focused on streamlining navigation, improving the clarity of key employee services, and reducing friction in everyday tasks — accessing HR resources, policies, and support. By simplifying information architecture and enhancing usability across high-traffic areas, the project delivered a more intuitive, employee-friendly platform supporting efficiency and engagement at scale.

Project 3

Shell Careers Portal

Shell wanted to update their main careers portal — where applicants discover the company culture, find roles, and apply. The original UI designs were produced by an external agency. I was tasked with conducting a heuristic review and providing structured feedback and improvement recommendations to bring the experience up to Shell's accessibility and usability standards.

Screens and flows across all three projects — navigate each slider or open full screen to explore in detail.

Cyber Security Scorecard — Design work
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The HUB — Internal Intranet design work
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Shell Careers Portal — Design work
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Business outcomes

35%
Process Efficiency
Contributed to reducing average time to complete HR and compliance tasks by 35% through digitised workflow refinements.
25%
Adoption & Usage
Contributed to a 25% increase in active use of self-service HR tools following improvements to existing workflows.
28%
Support Savings
Contributed to cutting HR service desk requests by 28%, freeing up resources for higher-value tasks.
20%
Compliance Adherence
Contributed to a 20% increase in on-time completion of mandatory training and compliance checks.
4.2/5
Employee Satisfaction
Contributed to achieving a 4.2/5 satisfaction score for ease of access and usability in internal surveys.
15%
Risk Reduction
Contributed to lowering compliance breach incidents by 15% through better visibility and task reminders.
"Feedback from Shell highlighted my impact on the employee experience platform, recognising my expertise in UX/UI design, accessibility, and design systems. I was acknowledged for bringing an employee-first mindset, strengthening collaboration across teams, and helping deliver a more seamless, engaging experience for over 90,000 users."
Feedback received following the engagement
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Projects shown include live work, pitch deliverables, and design produced as part of embedded or collaborative engagements. Some work was completed as part of a wider team. Deliverables reflect the scope and direction at the time of engagement — the live experience may have since changed, launched in a different form, or not proceeded to production. All brand assets and trademarks shown remain the property of their respective owners and are displayed here for portfolio reference only.

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