Service Canada • 2025 • Handed Off
Client
Service Canada
TIMELINE
Jan-Aug, 2025
TEAM
4 Designer-Researchers
SKILLS
Mixed-Methods UX Research • Multichannel Service Design • Research Synthesis • IA • UI • IxD
ROLE
Led research design, study planning, participant recruitment, and developed study materials including consent protocols and survey instruments.
Conducted interviews, affinity mapping, and qualitative coding to surface key patterns
Led ideation and design for both interventions, translating findings into practical and actionable solutions
Delivered research report and presentation to Service Canada
DELIVERABLES
Research report to Service Canada
Digital eligibility guide (prototype)
Pocked eligibility card
Distribution and measurement plan
OVERVIEW
Trust in government is at historic lows, and frustration with government performance is high. This project aims to close the gap between how the Employment Insurance (EI) regular benefits program is delivered and how the public perceives it, by making the eligibility qualification process visible and easy to understand for clients. Because Service Canada serves clients across multiple channels, (online, phone and in person) the project takes a cross-channel approach.
We designed two tools to increase trust in Service Canada EI Regular program: a Digital Eligibility Guide and a Physical Card Guide,
TL;DR
Goal
Improve operational transparency in the multichannel experience for the EI regular benefits program by clarifying eligibility qualifications before you apply.
Process
Mixed-methods study comprising 20 surveys, 5 client interviews, 5 SME interviews, 2 design validation interviews and 4 Service Canada centre visits in Ottawa.
Findings
Clients were uncertain whether they qualified to apply, leading to application missteps, unnecessary anxiety, and preventable denials. Navigating dense, complex text compounded this uncertainty.
Solution
To address eligibility confusion at both digital and offline touchpoints, two complementary tools were designed:
Digital Eligibility Guide
Plain-language checklist prior to application that summarizes key eligibility criteria for clients to quickly self-assess their situation.
Pocket Card
A pocket-sized plain-language reference card summarizing key eligibility criteria, distributed through offline settings (Service Canada centres, COLs, employers, and unions) so clients can self-assess with confidence before reaching the digital system.
Impact
These tools aim to increase self-serve confidence and reduce repeat eligibility inquiries, measured through digital checklist usage, QR code scans, completion rates, and click-through to the EI Estimator.
PROJECT CONTEXT
EI uptake is rising while satisfaction lags
Research shows EI clients consistently struggle to find information and apply for regular benefits, with more turning to in-person support over self-service.
Service Canada serves people online, by phone and in person, so any fix had to work across all three channels.
+29.4%
Increase
In Ontario EI regular benefits recipients, 2023-2024.
(Statistics Canada, 2024)
78%
Client satisfaction
Lower than comparable programs.
Client Experience Survey (ESDC, 2022-23)
25-54
Ontario residents
Largest age group receiving regular benefits.
(Statistics Canada, 2025; CESR, 2022-2023)
RESEARCH
20
Surveys
5
Client interviews
5
SME interviews
4
Site visits
ACROSS 34 SESSIONS
5 Patterns emerged
Eligibility uncertainty was the earliest point of failure. Before the application even begins, clients struggled to map their situation onto variable eligibility rules, making it the highest-impact moment for a lightweight intervention.
Primary Focus
Eligibility is unclear before people apply
When eligibility criteria can't be quickly self-assessed, people apply blindly. This creates anxiety, avoidable denials, and erodes trust before the process even begins.
Future Opportunities
Left in the dark after submitting
Without real-time updates or progress signals, clients lose confidence in the system and compensate by repeatedly reaching out. Eroding both satisfaction and service effectiveness.
Fragmented Channel Support
Uncoordinated phone and in-person channels mean clients repeat themselves across every touchpoint. The burden of navigating the system falls entirely on them.
Application forms raised more questions than they answered
Dense criteria text, particularly around ROE and taxes, left clients guessing at what's being asked, creating errors, frustration and anxiety at a critical moment.
Invisible Effort Erodes Trust
Clients have no visibility into what processing actually involves. Without that context, delays and denials feel arbitrary, not the result of a complex system working as intended.
Why we focused here
Eligibility uncertainty was the earliest point of failure. Before the application even begins, clients struggled to map their situation onto variable eligibility rules, making it the highest-impact moment for a lightweight intervention.
Design OPPORTUNITY
How might we help people understand their eligibility before the application process begins?
Experience principle: Help people start with confidence
IDEATION
I reviewed our data and mapped out the pain points and what people found easy when understanding eligibility criteria.
I identified eligibility confusion clustered at the very start. I worked through what a pre application intervention could look like across both digital and physical contexts, given the multichannel necessity.
The direction of the in-person intervention was inspired by a pleasurable experience from a interview participant. Their hospital had given them a step-by-step card informing them how to apply for maternal benefits upon delivery of their baby.
The checklist format held across both. It matched what we'd already observed: people trying to reason through eligibility on their own, without the right tools. Two artifacts took shape from there.
SOLUTION
Two lightweight additions to an existing system
Rather than redesigning the EI application process, we identified two targeted interventions that clarify criteria, improve engagement and comprehension without requiring changes to existing infrastructure.
TOOL 01
Digital Eligibility Guide
Problem
What the research showed
EI clients struggled to map their personal situation onto the program's eligibility criteria. Uncertainty persisted even after consulting Service Canada representatives by phone or in person.
9 of 20 survey respondents used the official EI Benefits Estimator, a tool designed to clarify eligibility. SME's confirmed that while the tool exists, it is rarely promoted or personalized. During an on-site visit, a SC representative advised a client to "just search on Google" rather than directing them to official resources. Illustrating that the gap isn't just digital, it exists at the front line too.
What we did and why
We restructured the experience into a guided checklist, turning criteria into plain-language questions clients could answer along their situation. The EI Benefits Estimator was embedded directly at the point of highest uncertainty rather than leaving people to find it on their own.
Plain language
Criteria rewritten as direct questions so clients can self-assess without interpreting legal or policy language.
EI Estimator
Surfaced directly beneath the hours criterion the point where eligibility uncertainty peaks rather than at the end of the flow.
ROE notice
Placed after the checklist so clients confirm eligibility before being prompted to gather documents
TOOL 02
Physical Card
Problem
Not everyone starts their EI journey online. For those who are less digitally connected, in remote areas, recently laid off, or unaware that EI exists, the first touchpoint is often a conversation with an employer, a union rep, a community organization, or a Service Canada agent.
What we made and why
I was inspired by a participant who recalled receiving a card about maternity leave benefits at the hospital, thus we designed a wallet-sized card that mirrors the plain-language approach of the digital guide. It includes key eligibility information and a QR code linking directly to the EI Estimator. It is designed to be handed out at the moment of job loss.
Three simple questions
Criteria condensed into 3 plain-language yes/no questions so clients can self-assess in under 30 seconds.
ROE reminder
Placed after the eligibility questions so clients confirm they likely qualify before being prompted to gather documents.
EI Estimator as the bridge
QR code links directly to the EI Estimator rather than the general homepage, removing the navigation burden entirely.
4-week deadline
Missing this deadline means losing benefits. Anchored on the back so it's visible regardless of which side the client reads first.
Reach & Distribution
Getting the card to the right hands
Employers are often the first touchpoint after a layoff but, trust can be low at that moment. Rather than relying on HR alone, the card reaches people through trusted intermediaries.
Unions, chambers, and HR networks
Service Canada centres and COLS
Handed at the front desk when EI comes up.
COLS extends this reach to rural and remote communities where in-person Service Canada access is limited and representatives are often the only point of contact. Stakeholders saw particular significance in an offline intervention for these populations.
Community organizations
Libraries, newcomer agencies, food banks, and employment resource centres already serve populations less likely to seek help online.
Why it works at scale
Estimated at $1,800–$2,850 CAD for 10,000 cards, the intervention requires no changes to existing EI systems.
Constraint
Distribution relies on third-party coordination, which would require a structured pilot to scale effectively.
impact
Metrics
Reach
Digital guide usage and QR code scans from distributed physical cards.
Engagement
Checklist completion rate and average time on guide.
Conversion
Click-through to the EI Estimator and application start rate following guide interaction.
System impact
Increased self-serve usage of digital eligibility tools and fewer repeat eligibility inquiries across Service Canada channels.
REFLECTION
What I Learned
Personally…
I learned to lead a team with varied strengths and weaknesses, which meant learning to let go of control and trust others. I learned more about my personal work standards that I hold myself to such as consistency, coherence and impact, making sure my work ties back to business goals. Navigating misalignment with people whose values differed than mine taught me to stay anchored to my own principles, while still collaborating and creating space for others to grow. But of course, without letting the work suffer.
What I would do differently
I'd want to see this piloted at scale. Our validation sessions were small (2 in total) and while results were promising, a larger study would give us a clearer picture of actual effectiveness. Particularly for the physical card, where we may be overestimating how much people rely on physical resources today.