NEXUS

/ Strategy, Design, Digital Experience

NEXUS - Employee eXperience

NEC, a giant player in Japan's information technology and electronics field, boasts a diverse portfolio of services in both the B2B and B2C domains. Among its services are hospitality solutions. For multiple decades, packaged as NEC Smart Hospitality Solution (NEHOPS), one comprehensive service, NEC has been the leading leader in providing global integrated hotel management solutions for hotels and chains. However, rapid technological advances in recent years have pushed the hospitality industry into a digital revolution, and NEC's offering needs to upgrade to meet the evolving needs of its partners and unlock new growth opportunities.

As NEC's trusted partner, we are tasked with a crucial mission: revamping NEHOPS. This is not just a routine update but a strategic move to align with the changing needs of the industry and our partners. From information architecture and server interaction to the structure of the service package, every aspect of the service needs to be reimagined and upgraded. This case study will focus on the new service package's Employee Experience service.

Project Duration

February 2024 - September 2024

Team Size

21 Members

Primary Role

Design Director, Lead Designer

Function

UX Research, UI Design, DesignOps Management & Leadership

/ 00

Highlights

Key summary

/ The Results

The project in numbers

$1.6b

estimated saving through hotel operation optimization

121%

improved user satisfaction

1200

hotels and hotel chains where the product will be deployed

/ 01

The Problem

Understanding the problem space

/ Diving In

The business challenges

As we entered 2024, NEHOPS encountered several critical challenges. The most pressing was its reliance on an outdated platform no longer supported by major providers. This lack of support led to rising costs for maintenance, operations, and expansion, which adversely affected NEC's profitability. Additionally, the platform's outdated design and the bloated number of functionalities made the training time required for hotel managers to become proficient unacceptably long, frustrating many large partners. Compounding these issues, the increasing availability of hotel management solutions in the market made it difficult for NEHOPS to stand out and attract new customers without a clear competitive edge.

Technical solutions, brand strategies, and design implications

To address these challenges, our team decided to completely reimagine NEHOPS's infrastructure. Rather than simply updating the existing architecture, we aimed for a more innovative solution to ensure NEHOPS could keep pace with technological advancements. After extensive discussions with key stakeholders, we adopted a modular development approach using modern API architectures. This strategy allows for faster, more cost-effective development and expansion while minimizing the risk of failure.

However, implementing this approach requires each service and user interface to be equally robust to fully leverage the new design scheme. Adding another layer of complexity, stakeholders have decided to rebrand NEHOPS as Nexus. This rebranding involves new brand strategies, visions, and product development roadmaps. As a result, our team must also align the design of each Nexus service with the new brand identity to ensure each part of the new service package is a manifestation of the Nexus brand.

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The Strategy & Principles

Design Principles and Design Foundation

/ Solving the Underlying Issue

Defining design strategies and principles

Building on Nexus’s brand values and vision, we developed a new concept for the Employee Experience. Our goal was to transform it from just another management tool into a service that seamlessly connects various hotel operations, enabling the highest quality hospitality. This concept has become the cornerstone for further development of the service.

Building a versatile solution - A widget-based design scheme

To address the technical challenges, which are universal challenges across the entire Nexus solution package, our team developed a widget-based design scheme. This innovative approach uses adaptive card-based components designed with a flexible rule set, allowing the cards to adjust seamlessly to various screen sizes while presenting different levels of information and interaction. Visually, these cards adhere to the latest brand guidelines, incorporating all current visual and motion design principles as defined in Nexus's new design system. This ensures a cohesive and responsive user experience across all devices.

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Application Development

Designing a new experience

/ Visual Development

Crafting a personalized experience

With our design strategies, core concepts, and principles in place, our next step was to translate them into a concrete, functional design. Leveraging the widget-based design scheme, we developed a flexible application that empowers employees to customize their experience and optimize their productivity. Our team meticulously designed each widget in the Employee Experience application to directly support users' daily tasks, ensuring they go beyond mere management functions.

Additionally, we crafted the home screen to serve as a dynamic summary of the user’s workday. This design allows users to quickly assess their current progress and upcoming tasks, enabling swift responses when needed, especially in emergency situations.

An all-in-one security package

In collaboration with NEC’s integration team, we designed and integrated an all-in-one employee passport into the Employee Experience application. This innovative feature allows employees to seamlessly access authorized facilities, streamlining the process and enhancing overall efficiency. By consolidating multiple access points into a single, user-friendly passport, we’ve made it easier for employees to navigate their daily tasks without the hassle of managing multiple credentials.
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Beyond simplifying access, this new security scheme significantly reduces costs and complexity for hotels, particularly large-scale operations. By centralizing security management, hotels can more effectively monitor and control facility access, ensuring a higher level of security. Moreover, this system enhances guest confidence by providing a robust mechanism for tracing incidents, should they arise, thereby contributing to a safer and more secure environment for both staff and guests.

Connecting and inspiring employees

To deliver top-tier hospitality, integrating new security solutions or enhancing productivity through smart design alone isn’t sufficient. Inspired by the exemplary operations of Japanese ryokans—known for their exceptional hospitality—our team introduced a messaging function that facilitates seamless communication between users. Additionally, we added a straightforward bulletin feature for sharing ideas and insights. These enhancements foster better communication and community-building among employees, improve operational efficiency, and elevate the overall quality of hospitality that hotels could provide.

/ 04

Credit

A special thanks to the project team