Scaling Adoption of the ‘Way We Work’ Framework
UX Research to drive engagement in a workplace transformation initiative
McKinsey’s Way We Work (WWW) initiative was designed to improve team collaboration, productivity, and well-being through structured rituals and best practices. However, despite its potential impact, the framework struggled with low adoption rates and inconsistent implementation across teams.
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As a member of the Way We Work initiative, I focused on content strategy and design, applying UX methodologies to identify adoption barriers, streamline content, and enhance engagement. My work led to a 500% increase in digital engagement within six weeks
SECTOR - Content strategy/ Website development/ Workplace transformation
SETTING - WWW Internal Change Management Initiative & Digital Engagement
MY ROLE - Content Optimization, UX Research, Digital Adoption Strategy, Implementation, Stakeholder Management
TIMELINE - User Research: 3 weeks | Content Development, Syndication, and Implementation: 8 weeks
COMPLEXITY - Medium
The Challenge
Improving adoption of McKinsey’s ‘Way We Work’ framework
Although WWW had the potential to enhance team collaboration and well-being, adoption remained inconsistent across the firm.
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​Without intervention, WWW risked being an underutilized initiative rather than a core part of how McKinsey teams worked.
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Low engagement with WWW digital resources
Teams lacked awareness or didn’t interact with available tools
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Limited visibility into impact​
Teams didn’t fully understand how WWW could improve team culture
Content misalignment with user needs
Existing materials didn’t match consultants’ fast-paced working style, making them hard to integrate into daily routines​​​​
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"The Way We Work framework sounded great in theory, but the resources didn’t fit into our fast-paced workflow. We needed something more streamlined and accessible."
--Engagement Manager
UX content strategy
Driving adoption through research & engagement
To increase adoption, I applied a UX research-driven engagement strategy, focusing on:​​
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UX Research & Discovery
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Iterative Content Strategy & Optimization
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Site Redesign & Implementation
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The Execution
In just three months, I translated UX research into a targeted adoption strategy, driving engagement and sustained growth:
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UX Research & Discovery
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Conducted user research with McKinsey consultants to understand engagement barriers​
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Conducted interviews & surveys to uncover barriers to adoption and assess friction points
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Identified drop-off points where users abandoned the platform
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02
Iterative Content Strategy & Optimization
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Restructured WWW materials into short, actionable formats to align with consultants' work rhythms
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Designed micro-learning modules for easier adoption
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Improved search and navigation for seamless access to resources
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​​Amplified website visibility through internal awareness campaigns, driving traffic and adoption
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Linked WWW events with relevant website resources, increasing engagement and bookmarking
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Worked with the Insights team to develop usage dashboards for tracking and continuous improvement
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Site Redesign & Implementation
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Applied research findings to optimize site usability and information hierarchy​
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Expanded navigation and content structure to improve discoverability
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Enhanced interactive elements to encourage repeat usage and habit formation
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"Way We Work has fundamentally changed how our teams collaborate. By integrating structured rituals and continuous feedback loops, we've seen a measurable increase in both team efficiency and well-being."
--Katy George
The impact
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500% increase in digital engagement
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Increased engagement with core information
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The platform now primary information source for the program
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70% of users completed onboarding (up from 20%)​
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Clearer positioning of platform value
"The Way We Work framework had the potential to transform how teams collaborated, but adoption was inconsistent. By integrating UX research, we didn’t just improve engagement—we built a model for making organizational change stick."
— Senior Change Management Lead