Service Design

Service Design Workshop

We ran an internal service design workshop to map the real emotional journey behind early wage access, and the output became the foundation for our next product bet.

Overview

Timeline

April 2026

Team

Asama P.
Thongthod K.
Rawisara L.

Asama P.
Thongthod K.
Rawisara L.

UX/UI Lead
UX/UI Designer
UX/UI Associate (Me)

Tools

Figma, Figjam

My Role

Conducted and facilitated the service design workshop, guiding the cross-functional team through persona and journey mapping.
Summarized the workshop findings into the persona journeys, shared emotional themes, and opportunity map.
Drove the next-step planning, defining the follow-up workshop.

Impact

Running this workshop changed how the cross-functional team approached the problem, replacing assumption with a shared, evidence-based view of who they were actually designing for.

Aligned the team

Consistency  and Governance 🕴️

👬👬

Gave the team a common reference point, replacing individual assumptions about "the user" with two evidence-based personas.

Built buy-in early

Faster
Onboarding 🧑‍💻️

Faster Onboarding 🧑‍💻️

👏

Emergency AB (Available Balance) went into scoping as a team-prioritized idea, not a top-down pitch.

Unlocked the next phase

Improved Collaboration 👬👬

➡️

Gave the team enough confidence for a follow-up workshop and data research.

Background

Salary Hero's core EWA product was being used heavily, but usage patterns varied wildly between users, and we didn't understanding the emotional and situational context behind these behaviors. Some withdrew rarely and used the full amount instantly; others withdrew small amounts multiple times a month.

Salary Hero's core EWA product was being used heavily, but usage patterns varied wildly between users, and we didn't understanding the emotional and situational context behind these behaviors. Some withdrew rarely and used the full amount instantly; others withdrew small amounts multiple times a month.

Pattern A

Easier Maintenance  
& Updates 🚧

Some users withdrew rarely but used the full amount instantly.

Some users withdrew rarely but used the full amount instantly.

Pattern B

Efficiency in Design
& Development 📱

Others withdrew small amounts multiple times a month.

Others withdrew small amounts multiple times a month.

Goal

Efficiency in Design
& Development 📱

To understand what the real-life experience of needing emergency money actually looks like.

To understand what the real-life experience of needing emergency money actually looks like.

Two Personas, Two Different Stories

We built two behavioral personas from real usage patterns rather than assumptions, so the team would design for the actual extremes in the user base instead of an average user that doesn't really exist.

We built two behavioral personas from real usage patterns rather than assumptions, so the team would design for the actual extremes in the user base instead of an average user that doesn't really exist.

Aom — the independent emergency user

Aom's Scenario

Efficiency in Design
& Development 📱

🏥 💊

When Aom’s mother needs urgent medical expenses, Aom uses Salary Hero instead of asking relatives for money. She withdraws once, pays the bill, and feels relieved that she handled the situation independently.

When Aom’s mother needs urgent medical expenses, Aom uses Salary Hero instead of asking relatives for money. She withdraws once, pays the bill, and feels relieved that she handled the situation independently.

Pichai — the recurring stretch-to-payday user

Pichai's Scenario

Efficiency in Design
& Development 📱

👧 🏫 💰

Pichai just recently paid his kids school tuition this month. This has cause him to be short on cash and does not have enough money to feed his family for the month. Usually, he turns to Salary Hero for help withdrawing cash every week. On the third time he tries to withdraw, he realises that his available is not showing...

Pichai just recently paid his kids school tuition this month. This has cause him to be short on cash and does not have enough money to feed his family for the month. Usually, he turns to Salary Hero for help withdrawing cash every week. On the third time he tries to withdraw, he realises that his available is not showing...

The Workshop

Mapping User Journey

We split the workshop into two groups, Aom's scenario and Pichai's, so each team could focus on getting one journey right rather than generalizing across both. For each persona, we plotting their emotional state and pain points at every touchpoint along the way.

We split the workshop into two groups, Aom's scenario and Pichai's, so each team could focus on getting one journey right rather than generalizing across both. For each persona, we plotting their emotional state and pain points at every touchpoint along the way.

Master Map

Afterward the design team consolidated both group's work into the master map tracking the journey through three stages — problem arises, trying to solve it, and resolution.

Aom's story — positive ending

Mother falls sick, needs urgent hospital treatment
Goes from neutral to panicked, then worried and stressed arranging leave and the hospital bill
Withdraws through Salary Hero, pays the deposit, and feels relieved she handled it herself

Aom's story — positive ending

Mother falls sick, needs urgent hospital treatment
Goes from neutral to panicked, then worried and stressed arranging leave and the hospital bill
Withdraws through Salary Hero, pays the deposit, and feels relieved she handled it herself

Pichai's story — negative ending

Short on cash after paying his child's tuition
Opens the app hopeful for his usual weekly withdrawal, but his available balance isn't showing
Tries FAQs, customer support, and calling in; ends in disappointment and embarrassment, borrowing from a friend instead

Pichai's story — negative ending

Short on cash after paying his child's tuition
Opens the app hopeful for his usual weekly withdrawal, but his available balance isn't showing
Tries FAQs, customer support, and calling in; ends in disappointment and embarrassment, borrowing from a friend instead

What the Two Personas Had in Common

Despite very different behaviors, both personas' journeys kept surfacing the same four emotional themes, telling us the fix wasn't just one feature, but a combination of product changes and human support working together.

Despite very different behaviors, both personas' journeys kept surfacing the same four emotional themes, telling us the fix wasn't just one feature, but a combination of product changes and human support working together.

Stress & Pressure

Consistency  and Governance 🕴️

🤯

caused by the financial system failing them at a critical moment

Uncertainty

Faster
Onboarding 🧑‍💻️

Faster Onboarding 🧑‍💻️

😓

caused by lack of information and unclear product behavior

Embarrass-ment

Improved Collaboration 👬👬

😳

caused by not knowing how to navigate the system or having to ask for help

Lost & Unknown

Improved Collaboration 👬👬

😞

caused by poor discoverability and lack of education about the product

From Journeys to Opportunities

We mapped opportunities separately for each persona, then split them into two buckets: what the product could do, and what Salary Hero's operational staff (CS, HR partners, marketing) could do to support users in the moment.

We mapped opportunities separately for each persona, then split them into two buckets: what the product could do, and what Salary Hero's operational staff (CS, HR partners, marketing) could do to support users in the moment.

For Aom (privacy, independence, big-ticket emergencies):

In-app communication about features
A chatbot for emergency consultations
HR-permissioned, no-internet-required withdrawal
Insurance and savings products
Ability to access a larger emergency amount when truly needed

For Aom (privacy, independence, big-ticket emergencies):

In-app communication about features
A chatbot for emergency consultations
HR-permissioned, no-internet-required withdrawal
Insurance and savings products
Ability to access a larger emergency amount when truly needed

For Pichai (frequent small withdrawals, balance anxiety):

Clearer available-balance information and update logs
A more reliable internal time-and-attendance integration
An emergency fund with a higher available cap
Faster customer support response during business hours

For Pichai (frequent small withdrawals, balance anxiety):

Clearer available-balance information and update logs
A more reliable internal time-and-attendance integration
An emergency fund with a higher available cap
Faster customer support response during business hours

Key Findings

A few findings cut across both personas and shaped how we prioritized afterward.

Emotional distress

Users feel real panic, frustration, and embarrassment the moment a financial need collides with an app limitation

Speed matters

emergency scenarios like Aom's require fast, seamless withdrawals; any delay cascades into more stress

Support gaps

Gaps in staff support and chatbot coverage leave users feeling abandoned at exactly the moment they need help most

Balance confusion

Available Balance confusion is the single biggest pain point for recurring users like Pichai — transparency here matters more than almost anything else

Operational Staff Support Actions

Not every fix needs to be a feature. We identified four non-product workstreams that could reduce user distress immediately, without waiting on engineering.

Customer Support

extended support hours, a chatbot for available-balance questions

Staff Playbook

onboarding guides for new users, brochures for new company joiners, a playbook for HR partner companies

HR Company Support

a starter kit for employees newly onboarded to Salary Hero

Marketing & Education

B2C social presence (TikTok, IG, Facebook, LinkedIn), hospital and workplace campaign outreach, professional financial trainer sessions, education content on loan types and savings

Results

What the Team Voted On

We closed the workshop with idea generation and dot-voting across the cross-functional team to surface what mattered most.

Business Wins

We also mapped each top idea against what it would mean for Salary Hero as a business, using a 2×2 matrix plotting business value against user emotional comfort.

Emergency AB came out on top in both exercises: the team's #1 vote and one of the strongest business case. For the user, it helps their financial needs in the short term and makes them feel more comfortable. For the business, more users accessing funds means more fee revenue, though it also carries more risk that some users won't be able to afford to pay it back.

The Resulting Product Bet: Tiered Emergency Loan

The top-voted idea, Emergency AB, became the seed for a three-tier product structure that scales with how serious the need is

Tier 1 — EWA Advance — up to 50% of earned wages
Tier 2 — Emergency Loan — up to 100% of net earned wages
Tier 3 — Extended Emergency Loan (in partnership with a bank) — up to 150% of monthly salary, low APR (12–18%), automatic payroll deduction.

To pressure-test the concept, we walked it through Pichai's actual scenario:

Pichai earns ฿15,000/month

On June 7th he needs ฿10,000 for rent due June 10th, but his available balance is only ฿3,500

Pichai earns ฿15,000/month

On June 7th he needs ฿10,000 for rent due June 10th, but his available balance is only ฿3,500

He requests an Emergency AB; his HR contact reviews and approves it

He pays rent on time, without missing a payment cycle or turning to an informal lender

The structure has clear upside, but also real exposure we flagged early.

Why this works

No credit check required
No interest at the base tier
Automatic payroll repayment removes the risk of missed payments for both the user and the business

No credit check required
No interest at the base tier
Automatic payroll repayment removes the risk of missed payments for both the user and the business

Risks flagged

Could functionally resemble a loan product even though Salary Hero isn't a licensed lender
Requires capital upfront
Partner companies may not all agree to participate
Revenue exposure if employees don't repay

Could functionally resemble a loan product even though Salary Hero isn't a licensed lender
Requires capital upfront
Partner companies may not all agree to participate
Revenue exposure if employees don't repay

Other Opportunities Identified

Beyond the headline tiered product, the workshop surfaced several smaller bets worth tracking.

Better AB Transparency

an available-balance update log with timestamps and a plain-language explanation whenever the balance shows ฿0

Proactive In-App Communication

banners and onboarding content that teach users about features before they need them

Financial Education

content on savings, medical bill installment plans, and insurance, plus live financial trainer sessions for B2C users

Emergency Financial Products

exploring peer-to-peer style "borrow from a friend" mechanics

Streamlined Withdrawals

clearer onboarding materials to reduce first-time confusion

Reflections

What's next

This research was the starting point, not the finish line. We lined up a follow-up workshop and two validation tracks to test our assumptions against real data and real conversations.

Follow-up workshop

scheduled a cross-functional session with MD, PM, Design, CS, Dev, QA, and Sales to align on findings, cluster ideas, and vote on the top three to carry into scoping

Back up with data

Look into usage patterns in Google Analytics (GA) to validate what we saw in the workshop against real behavior

Keep maintaining and updating the system as the product grows

Find the opportunity to interview HR and employees directly

Service Design

Service Design Workshop