Enterprise UX revs its engines

In the relatively short history of the digital UX world, Enterprise UX has traditionally been seen as the stiffer, less cool cousin of Consumer UX. But the team at LinkedIn says that’s changing—and that research is a big part of the reason why. 

People Nerds sat down with four of the researchers on LinkedIn’s team leading the Enterprise revolution. Click through for each of the conversations. 

John Garvie, Manager of User Experience Research at LinkedIn, tells us how UX research is disrupting the Enterprise game. Garvie says people who think Enterprise UX is a dry area simply haven’t been paying attention. In recent years, Garvie says, Enterprise UX has done a 180, as companies start to realize the importance of the B2B experience. At the forefront? Researchers. Garvie breaks down how research teams across LinkedIn’s suite of Enterprise products are leading that transformation. 

Elizabeth Gin, LinkedIn Senior User Experience Researcher, on the power of the “hidden user” in Enterprise. Elizabeth Gin says there’s an undiscovered treasure when it comes to Enterprise customers: the admin user. This key group of under-studied users often act as the gatekeepers for enterprise products. Elizabeth breaks down how understanding their workflow and needs can uncover critical insights into how tools are implemented and used across companies.

Jesse Livingston, User Researcher at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, shares how enterprise research is about fully enabling people’s ultimate potential. Jesse Livingston says a fundamental goal of his team’s research is to help companies gain a deeper understanding of their own culture, to set the stage for them to hire the right people. And often, that means looking and thinking beyond the resume.

Anton Zadorozhnyy, Senior UX Researcher on LinkedIn’s Marketing Solutions team, delves into the multifaceted nature of Enterprise research. Anton Zadorozhnyy has worked in research roles across LinkedIn’s suite of products. He says one of the keys to understanding how users interact with products is to understand how they fit into the overall ecosystem of their own companies, and how their “end value” differs from one another.