Client
Industry
human resources
year
2022 - 2024
Scope of work
share
This is the world TriNet lives in. With over 350,000 worksite employees (WSEs) across thousands of SMB clients and $5.1 billion in revenue in FY 2024, every inefficiency is magnified. A missing compliance form, a miscategorized Uber expense, or a payroll run delayed by duplicate Social Security Numbers isn’t just a nuisance. At TriNet’s scale, even a 1% error translates into millions of dollars in risk and inefficiency.
The opportunity wasn’t to simply digitize HR. That’s been done before. The opportunity was to design HR systems that work the way humans think. TriNet needed to fix confusing SaaS screen flows in expense reporting, payroll approvals, and onboarding — not just for administrators, but for every employee tapping their mobile app to check if their paycheck landed.
For employees:
The mobile app should be as easy as a banking app. Paychecks should be clear. Benefits cards should feel like Apple Wallet. Clocking in or out shouldn’t require training. For them, the UX needed to optimize SaaS onboarding screen UX so the very first tap delivered value.
For managers:
Reviewing and approving payroll, expenses, and time-off requests needed to feel intuitive, not like forensic accounting. Managers wanted narrative dashboards that reduce user dropoff on SaaS setup screens by pointing them directly to the next action: approve, fix, or confirm.
For admins & specialists:
This audience lives in the weeds. They need the full datagrid: every check, every GL code, every compliance flag. But even for them, TriNet had to improve SaaS screen layout to reduce churn by making dense data filterable, searchable, and error-aware.
The guiding principle: show the right level of detail to the right person at the right time.
TriNet wasn’t alone in facing this challenge. The HR tech industry as a whole suffers from poor adoption.
1. Gartner
Only 13% of employees strongly agree their HR systems are easy to use.
2. PwC
82% of organizations struggle with HR tech adoption due to clunky onboarding and confusing dashboards.
3. Deloitte
57% of SMB leaders cite complexity as their top frustration in HR tools.
For SaaS platforms in general, onboarding is the make-or-break moment. Data shows that 90%
of mobile apps are deleted after one use if users don’t immediately find value. This is why
TriNet leaned into best UX fixes for SaaS trial signup screens: if employees couldn’t find their
net pay in seconds, they’d drop off.
Consumer expectations have also changed. Employees don’t compare HR tools to legacy
systems. They compare them to Venmo, Slack, or Netflix. That meant TriNet had to borrow
lessons from how to improve SaaS dashboard UX for conversions — clarity, storytelling, and
quick wins were essential.
TriNet’s design system wasn’t built from scratch; it was orchestrated. Each module — Expense Settings, Payroll Dashboard, Datagrid, Vision Work, Mobile App, Dashboard Builder — had to feel distinct yet connected. The unifying UX principles were:
✦ Progressive Disclosure
The mobile app prioritized net pay, benefits, and time clock — the essentials.
The expense system hid advanced templates and CSV import tools unless admins needed them.
The AI assistant surfaced only the most urgent tasks: “Resolve 9 payroll errors” or “Approve 14 expense reports.” This reduced cognitive overload and helped fix SaaS login screen UX issues by keeping the first experience frictionless.
✦ Narrative Dashboards
Vision Work dashboards told stories: “Turnover rose 10% in June; employees cite lack of growth opportunities.
Payroll dashboards summarized with simple KPIs: Gross pay: $89,000; Net pay: $41,000; Employer contributions: $9,400.
This transformed reporting into decision-making, the essence of SaaS dashboard UX tips for revenue growth.
✦ Trust Through Transparency
Expense policies (e.g., $100/day hotel per diem) were visible to employees before submission.
Audit trails logged every approval, rejection, and timesheet submission.
Payroll grids flagged duplicate SSNs or missing I-9s upfront. Transparency wasn’t just compliance; it was retention. When users trust the system, churn falls.
The payroll process is the heartbeat of HR. TriNet designed it with layered experiences:
Payroll Dashboard (manager view):
A high-level summary showing total hours (1,843), gross pay ($89,000), net pay ($41,000), deductions ($2,500), Taxes ($9,400), and employer contributions ($4,100). Managers saw the story, not just the numbers.
Data grid (admin view):
Every paycheck, every code. Errors flagged in-line: duplicate SSNs for Jane Kim, missing phone number for James Wilson. Filters allowed slicing by employee, department, or pay code.
AI Assistant:
Highlighted the next step: “Resolve 9 payroll errors before submission.” This mirrored SaaS checkout screen UX best practices — guiding users to completion without distraction.
The outcome?
Managers felt confident approving payroll. Admins could trace every anomaly. Employees got paid on time.
Expense management is where small frustrations add up. TriNet streamlined it:
Automatic categorization:
Uber → Rental Car; Kayak → Hotels; Gas → Fuel.
Policy enforcement
Per diem rules enforced: $100/day hotels, $200/week entertainment. IRS mileage rates ($0.625/mile; $0.388/km) updated annually.
Audit trails:
Every action logged (e.g., Alex Smith approved Office Supplies report on 2023-11-18).
This flow not only saved time but reduced fraud and error. Each automation was a
micro-interaction on SaaS screen design — small but confidence-building moments.
For employees, the Mobile App was TriNet. Its design choices mirrored best UX fixes for SaaS
trial signup screens: fast, simple, and reassuring.
Paychecks
Card-style summaries showing gross, net, taxes, and employer contributions.
Time tracking
One-tap clock in/out; break history logged (meal break, rest break).
Benefits cards
Digital medical, dental, and vision ID cards for dependents like John and Mary Adams.
Employees compared this experience to consumer apps. And TriNet met them there.
Beyond transactions, HR is about strategy.
Vision Work dashboards
It’s visualized retention, diversity, salary benchmarks, and employee happiness. For example: “Software engineers earn $135K base, 5% above Bay Area benchmarks
Dashboard Builder
Retention Risk Radar, Compensation Transparency, Engagement Pulse. Widgets showed salary distribution, turnover trends, and department-level budget splits.
This was the answer to how to improve SaaS dashboard UX for conversions: don’t just show data, show where to act.
Several critical design choices shaped TriNet’s system:
AI as a coach, not a chatbot:
Instead of free-form chat, AI prompts guided users: “Approve payroll,” “Review expense reports.”
Dashboards as narrative:
Vision Work dashboards used story-driven framing, making metrics actionable.
Datagrid truth:
The datagrid was dense by choice. Admins wanted control, but filters made it usable.
Mobile-first clarity:
Employees saw what mattered most: net pay, benefits, time tracking.
Each decision was a deliberate UX fix to SaaS screen layout to reduce churn.
For Employees
• Paycheck clarity reduced support calls.
• Mobile app adoption increased — employees treated TriNet like a consumer finance app.
For Managers
• Payroll review time reduced from hours to minutes.
• Expense approvals streamlined by rules and policies.
For Admins
• Compliance risks decreased (fewer missing I-9s, duplicate SSNs flagged).
• Audit logs simplified external reporting.
Financially, TriNet grew revenues to $5.1B in 2024, but net income fell (from $375M in 2023 to $173M in 2024) and EBITDA margin declined (14% → 9.6%). At this scale, design efficiency became a business necessity.
Every SaaS screen UX tip for revenue growth translated into cost savings. Even a 2–3% drop in payroll error tickets meant millions saved across 350,000 WSEs.
Onboarding is the product
Employees’ first “aha” moment was paycheck clarity. Managers’ was error-free payroll approval. Admins’ was an audit log that worked. That’s why TriNet doubled down to optimize SaaS onboarding screen UX.
Context drives action
Dashboards told stories, not just numbers. This improved engagement and answered how to improve SaaS dashboard UX for conversions.
Transparency builds trust
Policies and compliance were surfaced early. This directly reduced user dropoff on SaaS setup screens.
Design for depth, not uniformity
Employees needed simplicity, admins needed control, managers needed oversight. TriNet flexed the design for each persona.
TriNet’s next horizon is predictive HR:
• Payroll AI that predicts missing data before submission.
• Benefits dashboards that simulate medical costs.
• Conversational HR where managers ask, “Show me PTO requests by department” and get instant answers.
TriNet’s next horizon is predictive HR
TriNet’s UX story isn’t about making HR “pretty.” It’s about reducing the anxiety that surrounds payroll, expenses, and compliance.
For employees, it meant confidence. For managers, clarity. For admins, control. For TriNet’s $5B business, it meant efficiency and retention at a time when margins are under pressure.
The lesson is clear: great UX is great business. Fixing SaaS login screen issues, improving dashboards, and building trust aren’t just design decisions — they’re revenue drivers.
