This week, we have proved that our solution is in the money. Both businesses and government want it and can see big efficiency gains with it. But the question is…and this is where I went off to search for more money idioms to describe this situation but with no success haha. Thank you to all those who have given us their time and support!
This week, we also said “cya later” in the traditional kiwi way to our Swiss friend and teammate, Sophie Buergin. Sophie came into our team at the critical point when we pivoted. She has helped us to prototype quickly, think and work differently. We have loved her drive and enthusiasm. We will miss her, and wish her lots of big waves while she surfs in Bali on her way home to Switzerland. Thank you Sophie 🙂
Problem Context: In Queenstown, 8/10 work visa applicants and their employers have to provide further information to support their initial visa applications because they do not understand or do not have the necessary evidence to satisfy Immigration NZ requirements. This causes time delays, costs and frustrations for both workers and their employers.
Problem Statement: How can we help applicants provide the necessary evidence to satisfy Immigration NZ requirements for a Work Visa application the first time, every time?
Solution Concept: We will provide a digital tool which Work Visa applicants and their employers can use to increase the success rate of the applications when they first apply to Immigration NZ.
Expected Outcomes: We will eliminate requests for more information from Immigration NZ to Work Visa applicants so that workers can get their visas sooner and businesses face less hassle and costs when employing a migrant worker.
// Hypotheses
{all set for success} We believe that applicants and their employers don’t know how likely their Work Visa application is to succeed. If we can show them an indicator of success for their application before they submit it to Immigration NZ, then they will know what to expect.
{stamp of pre-approval} We believe that applicants and their employers don’t know what evidence is needed to complete the Work Visa application before they apply. If we can pre-screen the application before it’s submitted and provide tips to improve it, then it’s more likely to succeed the first time.
{show, don’t tell} We believe that applicants and their employers don’t know what a successful Work Visa application looks like. If we provide definitive examples from successful applications to them, then they are more likely to succeed with their application too.
{complexity killed the cat} We believe that applicants and their employers find the Work Visa application process too complex. If we can abstract the complexity while retaining the full meaning and intent, then the overall process will be much simpler, easy to understand and successful for all parties.
// Ask
If you can think of other forms required by government that businesses struggle to complete, please let us know! suki.xiao@gmail.com.
:: The Good
- We got in front of real people to test our prototype. We tested our prototype with five employers, and two Immigration officers from the Wellington branch of Immigration New Zealand and had positive feedback.
- We have interviewed immigration officers and employers to understand their pain.
- We have tested our approach with the Queenstown office of Immigration New Zealand who see that it can help employers to provide the right information first time, and make processing of visas for their office quicker and easier.
:: The Bad
- We are looking for a sponsor of our project within Immigration New Zealand.
- We were very sad to say goodbye to Sophie. Hope to see you soon Sunshine Sophie!
:: The Ugly
- The problem has strong social and economic aspects to it, but we can only address a small but significant part of the problem (i.e. we only serve as a band aid).
// Quote of the week
Victoria: “We got a prototype in front of real users who have been frustrated by the complexity of the Work Visa process and they saw our solution as a lifesaver.”
Julian: “A bias to action now will allow us to better connect businesses and government faster.”
Suki: “Emotions are flying high this week. Frustration, disappointment, stress, elation, relief… you name it.”
Sophie: “You wonderful people. Thank you so much for asking inspiring questions, for letting me emerge into your challenge spaces and for simply being amazing!”
easypeasycompliance 