Key Lime Interactive

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the lead User Experience (UX) researcher for a team within Google.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Key Lime Interactive?

We were looking for staff augmentation. I was going on maternity leave and we were looking for someone to take over for that six-month period. It was a challenge to find someone with the right background, that understands research and the difficulties of this type of work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Key Lime came on in a temporary capacity with the option of extension. We started with one person to cover my role during maternity leave. They began a month before I left to ensure we had time for knowledge transfer and to set them up to finalize the projects. They undertook UX research for all the products in the team, under a large project umbrella.

We made a decision when I came back from maternity leave to extend. Now we have three Key Lime employees as part of the team.

How did you come to work with Key Lime Interactive?

I had worked with Key Lime in a project capacity when I was with a previous company. I had needed research support, in particular, someone with international experience because the research was in India. I found them through searches. I always look for women- or minority-owned smaller companies to support by partnering with them. They were ranked highly, with good reviews. We asked them to do a proposal and it was strong. We hired them and established a relationship.

When I needed maternity cover, I knew Key Lime was well positioned to find this type of person and that's the reason I contacted them. The most important thing for me was the sense that they are a real UX company and not a marketing agency trying to rebrand themselves as UX. I interviewed Ania [Ania Rodriguez, CEO, Key Lime Interactive]. She has a human factor background. She had worked at another company in the same position that I was in. She knew my role, she had done my work for a long time. I trusted her background in terms of the people she works with and the people she brings on board.

How much have you invested with them?

If you work for a big company like mine, there's usually a staffing company to work with. Key Lime’s prices are 3-4 times higher – but they add value because they know the work so well. They bring the right talent and they value the employees, who feel that they work for someone that cares about them and wants to grow their career. That’s different than a staffing company. There’s a sense of community, that the people we work with are happy. It is a calculation of value added.

What is the status of this engagement?

Ongoing since July 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I’m 100% satisfied. It’s great to work with people that already understand the space. I now work with multiple people, some of whom are stronger in some areas than others. My job is to coach them, identify the gaps, and see how we can cover them. They know the space and the type of people they need. Most importantly, they either invest in the person to grow in the areas that they need to or we have a conversation and change the person to someone better suited for the project

How did Key Lime Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

They're completely integrated into my team. I see them every day, we have weekly stand ups. The Key Lime manager comes to our office once a week to check in. I'm also part of their performance reviews. We have no issues. Everything goes very well in terms of communications.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I would reiterate the fact that they invest so much in their employees – that they care about them and make them feel part of a company that’s invested in them – which is different from many staffing companies. I think that’s something to highlight.

They're a company that's expanding. They're growing and have lots of employees on different projects. But you still get the feeling that you’re working with a small company that knows you by your first name. I can call Ania and, even though she’s super busy doing big deals, she always takes the time to chat with me and make sure I’m happy. We’ve built a friendship relationship that’s difficult with a large company. I value that a lot.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s hard to staff the right people. I talk to them about how, as they’re expanding, finding the right people can be at odds with growing quickly and scaling. I see that as a potential challenge and something I hope we will address. I wouldn’t want to get to a point where they become too big and the relationship changes. That’s the only thing I’m concerned about.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My personal preference is always to look for smaller companies where I can contribute to their growth by partnering. Who to partner with is not always about whose bid is cheaper. There are opportunities with smaller companies to build relationships. Maybe ask for a few reports or start on a smaller chuck of a project to see if they’re the right ones to continue on the larger project.