Mercedes Benz Research & Development India
Optimizing Travel and Relocation for the German Expatriates
Role
Product Designer
UX Researcher
Product Strategist
Duration
3 Months
Redesigning Expat Relocation from Germany to India
How I transformed a fragmented, multi-stakeholder onboarding process into a transparent, trackable relocation experience.
ROLE
Product Designer
UX Researcher
Product Strategist
TEAM
Cross-functional
(HR, Admin, Engineering)
TOOLS
Figma, Miro, Notion
DURATION
3 Months
Scroll to explore the story
UX CASE STUDY
Mercedes-Benz Research & Development India
OVERVIEW
International employee relocation is a complex, multi-stakeholder process
For expats moving from Germany to India, the onboarding journey often lacked clarity, visibility, and structured communication, leading to uncertainty during an already high-stakes transition. Employees were navigating between scattered emails, disconnected spreadsheets, and opaque approval chains, creating anxiety at every step.
This case study explores how I reimagined the expat onboarding experience to bring greater transparency, structure, and confidence to the relocation journey reducing cycle times by ~25% and eliminating over 350 manual status emails annually.
THE CHALLENGE
How might we create a unified relocation experience that gives every stakeholder real-time visibility and control?
KEY CONSTRAINTS
Legacy processes deeply embedded in org culture
Multiple approval layers across 4+ departments
80+ relocations annually at scale
Compliance with German & Indian labor laws
How the journey looked like
Expat receives onboarding email
The lack of process visibility created cognitive overload, repeated follow-ups, and unnecessary delays across the relocation journey.
Information may have been scattered across emails, spreadsheets, or manual records, leading to confusion and delays.
Upon completion of the forms, the progress of the process is invisible to the EXPAT creating confusion and more curiosity.
‘So, what would be the next step for me?”
“Should I wait or raise a concern with the HR”?
Told to fill multiple onboarding forms
to start the process (Amongst which
the expat has query about most of them)
THE STORY BEFORE
A day in the life of an expat — before ReloSync
To understand the problem, I shadowed the process end-to-end. Here's what the journey actually looked like - not on paper, but in reality.
The Overwhelming Welcome
It starts with an email. Not a warm welcome, but a dense, link-heavy PDF attached to a thread that CC's 6 people. The expat, already anxious about relocating their entire life, opens it to find 14 action items, 3 separate portals, and zero context on priority or sequence.
CHAPTER 01
CONFUSION
The Form Labyrinth
Next comes the forms, visa applications, housing preferences, tax declarations, medical records. Some are Word documents. Some are Google Forms. Some require information the expat doesn't have yet. There's no save-and-resume. No progress indicator. Just uncertainty.
CHAPTER 02
FRUSTRATION
The Black Box
After submission, silence. The expat has no idea if their documents were received, reviewed, or stuck in someone's inbox. They send a follow-up email. Then another. Then they CC their manager. The admin team, meanwhile, is buried in the same email thread trying to track 40 relocations simultaneously.
CHAPTER 03
ANXIETY
The Waiting Game
Approvals stall. Not because anyone disagrees, but because ownership is unclear. The HOD thinks HR is handling it. HR thinks Admin has the file. Admin is waiting for the POC. Meanwhile, the expat's start date is approaching and their housing isn't confirmed.
CHAPTER 04
HELPLESSNESS
EMOTIONAL ARC OF THE EXPAT
Email received
Forms started
Submitted
Waiting...
Follow-up #1
Follow-up #3
Escalation
Finally resolved
Confidence
Anxiety
RESEARCH
Stakeholder Ecosystem
The expat onboarding process involves multiple stakeholders across departments. Research revealed that four key roles interact with the workflow on a daily basis and are responsible for driving the process forward.
Primary User
Expat
Admin Team
Workflow orchestrator
Documentation tracking
Cross-department coordination
Status reporting
Point of Contact
Communication bridge
Query resolution
Expat liaison
Onboarding guidance
Head of Department
Approval authority
Budget sign-off
Assignment approval
Timeline validation
HR / Global Mobility
Compliance guardian
Visa processing
Contract structuring
Policy enforcement
Also involved:
DISCOVERY
The Loopholes
We conducted multiple workshops with the HR, Admin & BU Team to discuss the current scenario and identify the core pain points they were experiencing. This involved contextual inquiries, journey mapping sessions, and stakeholder interviews across 3 departments.
Some of the core issues were:
Process delay / Task aging
No cross-department visibility
Invisible approval steps
Scattered information & communication
No progress visibility
Multiple forms with no clarity
Which eventually led to delays, escalations, operational inefficiency and a whole lot of anxiety, both for expats navigating a life transition and
for the internal teams managing the process under pressure.
"This was not about digitizing a process. It was about redesigning a multi-stakeholder ecosystem."
The aim was to transform a fragmented, opaque process into a transparent and coordinated onboarding journey one where every stakeholder could see their role, track progress, and act with confidence.
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
Make the Invisible Visible
Every status, every approval, every blocker surfaced in real time. No more guessing.
Clarity Over Comprehensiveness
Show what matters now, not everything at once. Reduce cognitive load at every step.
Design for Confidence
An expat uprooting their life needs reassurance. The UI should feel like a guide.
THE STORY AFTER
The same journey — redesigned
Every pain point from the "before" story became a design opportunity. Here's how ReloSync transformed each chapter.
CHAPTER 01 — REIMAGINED
A Personalized Welcome
AFTER
Guided portal with personalized checklist — 3 clear next steps
BEFORE
Dense 2,400-word email with 14 action items
The expat logs in to find a clean, personalized dashboard. Their name, assignment location, and timeline are already populated. Instead of 14 scattered tasks, they see 3 prioritized actions for this week. A progress ring shows they're 12% through onboarding, and that's okay.
Outcome: Cognitive load reduced by 70%. First-session completion rate jumped from 23% to 81%.
CHAPTER 02 — REIMAGINED
Smart, Contextual Forms
AFTER
Single adaptive form with smart prefills and save-and-resume
BEFORE
12+ forms across 4 formats, no save-and-resume
Forms now adapt based on the expat's assignment type. Fields that can be auto-filled from HR records are pre-populated. The expat can save progress, get contextual help tooltips, and see exactly which sections are pending review.
Outcome: Form completion time dropped from 4.5 hours to 1.2 hours average.
CHAPTER 03 — REIMAGINED
Full Process Transparency
AFTER
Real-time tracker with stage-by-stage status
BEFORE
Zero visibility after submission
A visual pipeline shows the expat exactly where their application stands, which department is reviewing, who owns the next action, and estimated time to completion. No more follow-up emails. No more anxiety.
Outcome: Follow-up emails reduced from 8-12 per case to near-zero.
CHAPTER 04 — REIMAGINED
Orchestrated Approvals
AFTER
Auto-routed tasks with SLA tracking and escalation alerts
BEFORE
Unclear ownership, 11-day approval cycles
Each approval step is automatically assigned to the right person with a clear deadline. If a task ages beyond its SLA, the system alerts the next-level approver. Ownership is never ambiguous.
Outcome: Approval cycle reduced from 11 days to 3.5 days average. SLA adherence: 58% → 85%.
SOLUTION
The Four Design Pillars of ReloSync
After countless exchanges of camaraderie, tea breaks, emotional burdens and workshops with the admin and HR team, the final tool ReloSync, was planned and executed.
Centralized Dashboard
Single source of truth for all relocation data, tasks, and documents across stakeholders.
Real-Time Progress Tracking
Visual progress indicators showing exactly where each relocation stands in the pipeline.
Guided Step-by-Step Interface
Clear, sequential onboarding flow that reduces cognitive load and eliminates guesswork.
Collaborative Feedback Sharing
In-context communication threads to resolve blockers without switching to email.
IMPACT
Measurable Outcomes
We moved from a fragmented system of scattered emails, spreadsheets, and invisible approvals to a unified source of truth.
~25%
Faster Relocation Cycles
Reduced end-to-end processing time through automated workflows and clear ownership.
350+
Status Emails Eliminated / Year
Real-time dashboards replaced repetitive email threads across departments.
85%
SLA Adherence (was 58%)
Structured timelines and accountability improved on-time completion significantly.
METRIC
BEFORE
AFTER
Avg. approval cycle
11 days
3.5 days
Form completion time
4.5 hours
1.2 hours
Follow-up emails / case
8-12
~0
First-session completion
23%
81%
Stakeholder satisfaction
Not measured
4.2 / 5
Stakeholders
Primary Stakeholders
Secondary Stakeholders
Tertiary Stakeholders
Expat Employee
-
Relocating from Germany to India
-
Needs clarity, visibility, and reassurance
-
Dependent on multiple approvals and timelines
-
Directly impacted by delays or miscommunication
Admin Team
-
Manages documentation and workflow tracking
-
Coordinates across departments
Point Of Contact
-
Bridge between expat and internal teams
-
Handles queries and clarifications
Head Of Department(HOD)
-
Approval authority
-
Budget and assignment
sign-offs
HR / Global Mobility Team
-
Policy compliance
-
Assignment structuring
-
Visa & contract processing
Finance & Payroll
Immigration consultants
Housing vendors
Shared Services
IT Support
This was not about digitizing.
It was about redesigning a multi-stakeholder ecosystem. The aim was to transform a fragmented, opaque process into a transparent and coordinated onboarding journey.
The Loopholes
We had multiple workshops with the HR, Admin & BU Team, to discuss about the current scenario and the main
pain points they were experiencing.
Some of the core issues were:
Which eventually led to delays, escalations, operational inefficiency and a whole lot of anxiety.
Multiple forms with no clarity
No progress visibility
Scattered Information & communication
Invisible approval steps
No Cross Department Visibility
Process Delay / Task Aging
What we implemented
We devised a basic outline of how the flow would look like for a general Expat onboarding process.
After countless exchange of cameraderie, tea breaks, emotional burdens and feedbacks with the admin and
HR Team the final tool was planned and executed.
The Key areas we focused on were:
Centralized Dashboard
Guided Step by Step Interface
Real Time Progress Tracking
Collaborative/ Feedback sharing
HOD
The users
The expat onboarding process involves multiple stakeholders across departments. However, research revealed that four key roles interact with the workflow on a daily basis and are responsible for driving the process forward.
These users represent the primary touchpoints in the relocation lifecycle (initiating requests, reviewing approvals, managing documentation, and coordinating support services.)
Designing for their needs was critical to reducing process delays and improving operational efficiency.
Expat
HR/Global Mobility
POC/Shared Services
Admin
HOD
Approves relocation requests
HR / Global Mobility
Oversees relocation compliance
POC/ Shared Servieces
Provides relocation support
Admin
Manages workflow and documentation
Expat
Submits onboarding information
LAUNCH
D-Day
Go Live
"Relocating to a new country should feel exciting — not uncertain."
By making the invisible visible and aligning stakeholders around a shared process, we turned a stressful transition into a structured and reassuring experience. The biggest win wasn't the dashboard or the tracker, it was the confidence it gave every person involved.
REFLECTION
WHAT I'D DO DIFFERENTLY
Involve expats earlier in co-design sessions. Their voice was underrepresented in initial sprints
Build in more quantitative tracking from day one to measure emotional experience, not just process metrics
Push harder for mobile-first design — many expats accessed the tool during transit
Fin.
What did we change?
We moved from a fragmented system of scattered emails, spreadsheets, and invisible approvals to a unified source of truth. Previously, expats sent an average of 8–12 follow-up emails just to understand their status, and approvals often stalled for days due to unclear ownership. By introducing structured workflows, stage-wise accountability, and real-time progress visibility, we reduced dependency on manual follow-ups, accelerated approval cycles, and brought measurable clarity to the relocation journey. What was once reactive and uncertain became guided, transparent, and confidently navigable for every stakeholder involved.
At a scale of 80+ international relocations annually, improving clarity and reducing process ambiguity created measurable operational efficiency while significantly improving employee confidence during transition.
~25%
Faster Relocation Cycles
350+
Manual Status Emails Eliminated Annually
~85%
SLA Adherence (Up from ~ 58%)
Fin.
Relocating to a new country should feel exciting — not uncertain.
By making the invisible visible and aligning stakeholders around a shared process,
we turned a stressful transition into a structured and reassuring experience.