Up Top Search, founded in 2021, is a talent agency specializing in the blockchain and digital asset sectors, including algorithmic trading and blockchain engineering. They work with over 100 clients across various domains such as infrastructure, gaming, DeFi, Layer 1s, consumer services, and exchanges. The agency excels in connecting talented individuals with appropriate opportunities, averaging about 4 hires per month last year. Their focus is on building a skilled workforce at the forefront of web3 and digital assets, offering a comprehensive network for career development in the crypto industry.
Up Top Search faced significant challenges stemming from their expensive, feature-rich, yet rigid systems, particularly in candidate and client management. Marcus from Up Top highlighted these inefficiencies, noting a clear misalignment between the available system features and their specific operational needs.
The Client Management System (CMS) posed notable issues with inefficient role selection processes and communication hurdles, hindering the effectiveness of client interactions. Concurrently, the Talent Management System (TMS) was inadequate, lacking sophisticated candidate filtering and management capabilities. The team urgently required advanced tools for detailed tracking of candidates throughout the hiring lifecycle, including the ability to compile and present both individual and aggregated feedback clearly on client-facing pages. Additionally, there was a pressing need for more personalized and intuitive approaches to managing referrals and back-channel communications.
Furthermore, the existing system complicated the effective management of collaborative documents, vital resource links, and seamless integration of social media and content strategies. Consequently, the team found themselves dedicating excessive amounts of time to manual administrative tasks and CRM management. This significant diversion from their core competencies—supporting talent and providing exceptional client service—highlighted the necessity for a more tailored, flexible, and efficient operational solution, particularly suited to the rapidly evolving dynamics of the crypto industry.
Initially, we conducted a comprehensive review of Up Top's former workspace and their operational systems.
This initial phase involved an examination of their use of Notion and other tools. We asked for clarifications and the reasons behind certain areas where team members identified productivity challenges, as well as their workspace necessities and preferences.
In the spirit of Design Thinking, we gathered all pertinent information directly from the Talent Partners at Up Top. We utilized this insight to devise and execute a strategy that emphasizes a Systems Thinking approach, benefiting both the organization and its employees.
The objective was to thoroughly explore and document individual feature requests.