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Redesigning for engagement: McKinsey Culture Platform

Discovery | Innovation

To drive adoption of a global internal change initiative focused on work-life balance and ways of working, McKinsey sought to increase employee engagement with its internal culture platform. We applied behavioral UX methods, lean experimentation, and data-informed content strategy to reframe the experience—resulting in a 500% increase in engagement in just six weeks.

As part of the Transformation project team, I was asked to define a content strategy  for the platform. I designed and executed the discovery and testing process that uncovered adoption barriers and led to a targeted redesign. Collaborated closely with product owners, data team, senior stakeholders, and internal communications to translate research into action.

CLIENT

McKinsey & Company

01. Situation

The platform supported a global initiative to change ways of working and improve work-life balance for consultants, but suffered from poor usability, scattered content, and unclear value. Key audiences couldn’t find what they needed, and engagement metrics showed rapid drop-off after first use.

02. Task

Reimagine the experience to:

  • Identify behavioral blockers to adoption

  • Clarify the platform’s value to priority user groups

  • Structure content for fast access and reusability

  • Improve onboarding and content delivery through targeted UX interventions

03. Action
  • Conducted user interviews and surveys, triangulated with analytics (Heap, Box logs)

  • Identified core audience (80% of users) and their specific content needs

  • Mapped task-based journeys and time-based interaction models

  • Rewrote and reorganized platform content by persona and intent

  • Tested MVP designs weekly with users—focusing on information clarity and retrieval speed

  • Implemented onboarding guidance, behavioral nudges, and improved internal search

  • Partnered with engineering to release phased redesign with high-visibility features first

04. Result
  • 500% increase in digital engagement within 6 weeks

  • 70% onboarding completion (up from 20%)

  • Site became primary resource for internal program adoption

  • Platform value was re-established through clear, research-driven messaging and flow

Illustrating the process
The iterative and agile research process...
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... supported by rapid discovery
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...behavioral data
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...and detailed feedback
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...resulted in a new navigation with clear entry points, and a tailored page per core user group
new navigation
Key takeaway

This case demonstrates the impact of user-centered content strategy and research-led design on internal engagement platforms. It also shows how UX methods can advance adoption of cultural change when grounded in behavioral insight and data visibility.

Navigator methods & frameworks used
  • Design Thinking 

  • Lean UX Testing Protocols

  • Behavioral Design Frameworks

  • Role-Based Content Architecture

  • Content Strategy Best Practices

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– Product leader, Financial Services (post-GenAI workshop)

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