Army Lead Experience Audit

Created the first end-to-end Army recruiting journey map, uncovering experience gaps that informed a more personalized communication strategy across the lead lifecycle.

Challenge:
No shared understanding of the recruiting experience.

Solution:
Created the first end-to-end recruiting journey map.

Impact:
Adopted as the strategic foundation for onboarding, campaign planning, and future UX initiatives.

Overview

The Army lacked a unified view of the recruiting journey. Teams optimized individual touchpoints, but no shared artifact documented the complete prospect experience.

Without a shared understanding of the journey, it was difficult to identify friction points, align marketing efforts, or design communications that met prospects where they were in the decision-making process.

I took the initiative to audit the entire experience and create the first end-to-end journey map, providing a strategic foundation that continues to support onboarding, campaign planning, and experience design.

The project aimed to answer four key questions:

  • What does the complete recruiting journey actually look like?

  • Where do prospective recruits experience confusion or friction?

  • Which teams influence each stage of the experience?

  • Where can marketing and recruiting better support prospects?

Research

Research Approach

Rather than relying solely on documentation, I immersed myself in the experience as if I were a real prospective recruit.

Research activities included:

  • Completing Army lead forms

  • Speaking directly with recruiters

  • Reviewing Army recruiting websites

  • Analyzing existing communications

  • Mapping every interaction across channels

  • Interviewing internal stakeholders

  • Reviewing existing campaign logic

This firsthand approach provided a much deeper understanding than existing documentation alone.

What I discovered:

  • There was no shared understanding of the lead journey. Different teams understood only the portion of the experience they owned. No artifact connected every touchpoint into a single experience.

  • Many messages assumed prospects already understood the recruiting process.

  • Prospects often experienced long periods with limited engagement.

  • Without a common journey map, discussions often focused on isolated experiences rather than the overall customer journey.

The Journey Map

The completed artifact visualized every recruiting stage from awareness through accession, connecting customer goals, business processes, technologies, pain points, and opportunities into a single source of truth.

The Outcome

The journey map quickly became much more than a research artifact.

It was adopted as:

  • onboarding material for new team members

  • a strategic planning resource

  • a reference for campaign development

  • a foundation for future UX initiatives

It continues to influence how recruiting experiences are understood across the account.

Business Impact:

Although this project was research-focused, it created significant organizational value.

🏛️ First documented end-to-end recruiting journey

🤝 Improved cross-functional alignment

📈 Identified lifecycle marketing opportunities

🧭 Informed future UX strategy

📚 Became onboarding material for new team members