Enhancing the EAP experience

How might we make EAP more confidential and accessible, while providing immediate results and next steps so that employees can feel empowered to take control of their health?
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As a design team, we were tasked to redesign the Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) service experience for young professionals. We designed a digital centralized health platform to improve the usage and awareness of EAP.

Role: Service Designer
Team: Service Designers: Liwen Chen, Ruohan Liu, Xiaoman Liu, Chelsea Yang, Becky Zhang (me)
Advisor: Chris Ferguson
Platform: Web + Mobile
Tools: Figma
Sector: Healthcare

OVERVIEW

Problem

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are meant to support employee well-being and add value, but they are rarely used. Many employees don’t know they exist or what they offer, making them less effective in helping companies attract and retain talent.

40% of workers don’t know what an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is and 26% have heard of it but don’t know what it offers — Telus Health

Solution

A digital centralized health platform that makes it easy for employees to access and use their benefits. It includes a health tracking dashboard, direct doctor access for consultations and prescriptions, pre-filled visit reasons for faster appointments, and simple booking with live support.

RESEARCH

Co-Design Workshop

We brought together eight participants to map out their ideal and current experiences with EAP using specific scenarios. Our goal was to identify pain points and preferences. I designed the workshop templates and co-facilitated the session with my team.

Journey of Exisiting Experience using EAP

Using user quotes, feedback, and third-party data, we created a data-driven journey map. We identified two key pivitoal moments: booking appointments and viewing results, which had the lowest satisfaction. I was responsible for the supporting data section, summarizing insights for each stage.‍

Focused on 2 Pivotal Points

I combined user insight and KPI data to prioritize pivotal points in the journey. First pivotal point, we called it "Bye Stranger". Based on our research, we found people don't like sharing their personal information through phone calls. The second pivotal point is "Spoiler Please", we found it was important for participants to receive their results right away and sometimes they didn't know what their results mean.

Touchpoints

My team then created a map to visualize how the current service touchpoints aligned with the user journey, helping us identify impacts and opportunities at the pivotal points.

IDEATION

Service Solution

To address our defined pivotal points, we aimed to build trust and streamline interactions across multiple touchpoints by proposing a digital centralized health platform. It includes a comprehensive health tracking dashboard, direct access to doctors for analysis and prescriptions, pre-filled visit reasons based on past cases, and easy appointment booking with live support.

PROTOTYPE & EVALUATE

Prototype Testing Session

To refine our design, we invited participants to explore a clickable prototype using the think-aloud method, paired with a post-questionnaire to gather insights. I alternated between moderating and taking notes to capture both verbal and non-verbal feedback.

Feedback & Iterations

Found the clinic visit history on the dashboard confusing and not relevant to their needs. We addressed this by replacing it with a section focused on medication and supplement history, a more valuable feature for long-term tracking.
Expressed frustration with interpreting test results on their own, preferring to see the doctor's analysis and prescription upfront. In response, we introduced a "See What Doctor Says" button, providing immediate access to key insights and guidance.

Metrics to Achieve

Improve Utilization Rate from 3% to 15% after one round of the soft launch
Increases the Show-up Rate by implementing the new booking system
9/10 User Satisfaction Score

REFLECTIONS & LEARNINGS

One area we could have improved was exploring how to better integrate more human touchpoints into the service experience. In healthcare, where emotions and uncertainty are often present, human interaction offers empathy and reassurance in ways that technology can't replace.

Made with ❤️ by Becky Zhang

Becky Zhang