AOL’s Human Resources Intranet Portal project stemmed from a critical need to improve how employees and managers accessed and interacted with HR services. At the time, HR functions were fragmented across different platforms, and the interface with the core PeopleSoft HRIS system was clunky, outdated, and inconsistent. The goal was to create a seamless, centralized portal that not only integrated with PeopleSoft but also delivered contextual, role-based content—streamlining tasks like benefits elections, managerial approvals, corporate purchasing, and accessing personal HR data.

The key stakeholders included the HR leadership team, IT systems architects, internal communications, procurement, and regional HR representatives from both domestic and international offices. One of the first challenges was aligning the varying needs across these departments while keeping the user experience simple and intuitive. Through discovery sessions and interviews, we uncovered a few core pain points: managers struggled to complete transactions like promotions or requisitions due to unclear pathways, and employees found it difficult to locate benefits information or perform routine actions without HR assistance.

Design played a crucial role in solving these problems. We started by mapping the full range of user roles and permissions—employees, managers, executives—and identifying the top tasks each group needed to complete. This allowed us to design a dynamic, role-based dashboard that displayed the most relevant tools and content based on a user’s level of access. For example, managers were immediately presented with action items like approvals and team insights, while employees had quick links to benefits enrollment, payroll, and performance reviews. We also introduced contextual help, which provided inline guidance during more complex tasks, like changing benefits elections or initiating a comp change.

The portal was built using a modular, responsive layout to ensure consistency across devices and locations. Since this intranet was also a key channel for internal communication, we designed a flexible content system that allowed top-down messaging—such as policy updates, benefits deadlines, or company news—to be surfaced prominently without overwhelming the user interface.

We conducted usability testing with employees and managers across departments and regions, refining the design iteratively based on feedback. One important lesson was how cultural and regional differences impacted content expectations and transaction flow, particularly for international employees. This informed how we localized both language and functionality.