Royal Hashemite Court - An Arabic-first employee portal
“
One place where 30,000 staff ask for leave, book travel and follow their requests.
RHC
Web portal, 2023-2024
About the project
The Royal Hashemite Court in Amman gives its 30,000 staff one internal portal for leave, travel and hotel requests, tasks and the team calendar. Between 2023 and 2024 we interviewed staff, redesigned the web portal in Arabic first, tested the prototypes with employees and built its design system. The system is confidential, so this page describes the work in general terms.
Project
RHC Employee Portal
Industry
Government
Location
Amman, Jordan
Date
2023-2024
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Client Request
RHC asked us to make the portal easier to use, starting with three services: leave requests, hotel booking and flight tickets.
RHC
Project plan, 2023
Design Pillars
Core UX Principles
Every screen was laid out right to left in Arabic, with a language switch in the header.
The home page puts the tasks that need a decision next to quick links for new requests and the ones in progress.
The person who asks and the staff who handle the booking each see their own steps and actions.
Research
What Staff Told Us
A Crowded Home Page
Staff found the home page cluttered, with the same information shown in more than one place.
Requests Mixed Together
Personal and work requests sat in one list, and some field labels were unclear.
Updates by Email
Staff relied on email to learn where a request stood and wanted those updates inside the portal.
The Challenge
Problem Statement
The Main Goal: Make Everyday Requests Easy
Staff used the portal every day for leave, travel and other requests, and many had learned it on their own or from colleagues. The redesign had to show each person what needs their action, keep personal and work requests apart and report the status of every request, in Arabic first.
“
Even though it’s my first time using this system, I still feel it’s so easy and understandable to use without any help.
An RHC employee
Prototype test, 2024
Our Approach
Solution
A Portal Built Around Requests
Interviews and personas, wireframes and flows, the full Arabic interface, prototype tests with staff and a design system in light and dark. It is an example of our Internal Tool Optimization work.
01 - Research
Seven interviews with staff in different roles, a guide in English and Arabic, three personas and an empathy map.
02 - Interface
Wireframes, flows and final screens for the home page, services, requests, tasks, profile and the team calendar.
03 - Testing and Design System
Prototype tests with four RHC employees, and a design system with light and dark color tokens and component states.
Design
Key Features
Request and Follow Up
Staff pick a service, fill in a short step-by-step form for themselves or a colleague, then see who is working on it.
Tasks and the Team Calendar
A task list with status tags and filters, and a calendar that shows managers who on the team is on leave.
Design System
Visual Identity
Arabic Type
Almarai in four weights, from small table labels to page titles, set for right-to-left reading.
Color Palette
Blue #0A77FF for actions, soft greys for surfaces, and green, amber and red for the status of a request.
Light and Dark
The color tokens come in light and dark values, and buttons, fields and menus each have their own states.
Impact
Fewer Tickets, More Work Done
Results for RHC
After the redesigned portal launched, RHC reported 90% fewer support tickets and 35% more tasks completed per employee a day.
RHC
Result
By the Numbers
7 Interviews
With RHC employees in different roles, in November 2023.
10 Sections
From the home page and services to tasks, profile, team and calendar.
4 Test Sessions
Four RHC employees tried the prototypes and completed every task.
Research
Listening to RHC Staff
Interviews First, Then Tests
In November 2023 we interviewed seven RHC employees in different roles, with a guide written in English and Arabic. Their answers became three personas, an empathy map and a list of fixes for the portal. In July and August 2024 we tested the redesigned prototypes in 4 sessions with 4 RHC employees, and they completed every task.
