Reducing the administrative burden of recurring client services

OBJECTIVE

This project set out to reduce the heavy administrative workload tied to repeat client services—engagements like annual tax or audit projects that happen year after year, yet require the same amount of administrative work. Across 13 global territories, teams were using a mix of tools and manual processes to complete similar tasks, leading to inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and inconsistent ways of working.

We began by developing a clear, shared understanding of how this work was getting done today:

  • Surfacing pain points and opportunities to streamline and automate

  • Mapping current processes, roles, and tools across each region

  • Identifying where time was lost to manual steps and fragmented systems

  • Determining how to improve the end-to-end user experience for support and engagement teams doing this work

Home page of Michigan Medicine site, showing two researchers working in a lab.

MY ROLE

As senior UX researcher and strategist, I led the global discovery and synthesis effort.

  • Designed and facilitated three rounds of workshops with cross-functional teams around the world

  • Captured and visualized detailed workflows, roles, and system touchpoints

  • Consolidated findings into a clear problem statement and key opportunity themes

  • Advocated for flexible, user-centered solutions that could adapt to territory-specific needs

This work combined elements of service design, systems thinking, and stakeholder facilitation, connecting people, processes, and technology to improve how teams deliver value to clients.

Michigan Medicine proof of concept

DELIVERABLES

  • Problem statement & insights deck: partnering with our business process team, summarized the most significant sources of inefficiency, including heavy manual effort, fragmented tools, and role ambiguity.

  • Journey maps & service blueprints: visualized where collaboration and handoffs occur, highlighting pain points and automation opportunities.

  • Future-state storyboard: illustrated a more streamlined, automated workflow that reduces rework and supports clear ownership across teams.

  • Global workshop series: engaged 13 territories via 25+ workshops to ensure every perspective was heard and reflected in the outcomes.

OUTCOMES

This work delivered a shared understanding of how recurring client work was handled across the organization, and a clear path to improving it.

  • Less manual work: proposed solutions reduced repetitive data entry and streamlined approval steps.

  • Smarter automation: system-driven triggers and roll-forward tools to eliminate many bottlenecks.

  • Clearer roles: simplifed handoffs and clarified responsibilities between teams.

  • Aligned but adaptable: established global standards that could flex for local requirements.

  • Connected teams: the workshop series built stronger relationships across territories and created momentum for lasting change.

Impact
By grounding the effort in real user journeys and service design methods, the project bridged global complexity with local realities—laying the foundation for more efficient, intuitive, and human-centered operations at scale.