NUX is Gusto’s onboarding activation initiative focused on guiding new customers to successfully set up the products they selected—bridging the gap between initial interest and real adoption.

Activating Gusto’s Core Products Post-Payroll

Redesigning the first 90 days to increase product activation

  • Led the full NUX initiative to address low activation of selected add-ons

  • Grounded work in shopper journey research and benefit logic mapping

  • Shipped a redesigned home dashboard header replacing the payroll progress bar

  • Required cross-functional alignment with Comms and Compliance

  • Navigated product/design misalignment to deliver a successful MVP

Problem Framing

Users Show Interest — But Don’t Follow Through

Many new customers (esp. 3–5 employee range) show intent to use additional tools during onboarding.

But activation rates are low, even for apps selected in their package:
• Only 22.5% start Health Insurance after setup

• 35.6% started quotes Workers’ Comp

• 49.6% finish Time Tracking setup

Hypothesis & Approach

Guiding Users to Take Action, Not Just Read Tasks

Hypothesis: If we surface a persistent, focused activation experience post-payroll setup, we’ll drive higher adoption of the Big 5 products.

Approach
Instead of relying on cluttered to-dos, we introduced a new activation banner that:


• Reflects what the user selected

• Shows clear “Start,” “Continue,” or “Complete” states

• Guides users through one task at a time
• Designed to be “always on” until action is taken — giving priority without blocking users

Working Within Constraints

• We couldn’t modify task cards — owned by Comms Platform team, undergoing separate redesign
• Task cards were often confusing, but off-limits in MVP scope
• Focused on header and nudges to guide users without altering core layout
• Aligned with Comms team to place activation UI above tasks as an interim solution
• Full dashboard redesign is planned for EOY 2025

Designing Around System Boundaries

Milestone 1 | MVP

Guiding Users with Focus and Clarity

Early Concept – Designing the Flow from Payroll to Activation

• Mapped the journey from payroll completion to activation, surfacing targeted entry points
• Used the header space as a persistent prompt for “Next Best Action”
• Controlled visual noise by limiting the number of task cards shown
• Reinforced what’s actionable now without overwhelming users with too many options

Refining Activation UI with Focus and Flexibility

As we moved toward finalizing the MVP, we aligned cross-functionally on using a full bleed header to display activation steps for the Big 5 products.

I put an emphasize on only showing apps users had already opted into during package selection — this wasn’t an upsell surface.

Visually, I experimented with progress indicators within Gusto’s Workbench system to strike a balance between clarity and flexibility.

Delivering the MVP - Desktop

A focused, guided experience that encourages setup momentum

• Uniform layout across all Big 5 product cards, prioritized by setup readiness
• Primary CTA always shown for the first actionable item to guide focus
• CTAs update to "Continue" once setup begins to reinforce progress
• Designed celebratory animation with Gusto’s brand team for 100% completion (launching in Milestone 2)

Extending the Experience to Mobile and Stress Testing Across Surfaces

Our Success Metrics

NUX Early Outcomes (Post-Launch MVP)
These reflect the impact of the redesigned activation experience using the new header component:
• +30.07% increase in Benefits Onboarding Rate (BOR) activation
• +16.8% increase in Time Tracking activation
• +8.6% increase in Workers' Comp quote inquiries
• +1.2% projected lift in GNARR (Gusto Net ARR)