I designed and delivered an AI-powered volunteer onboarding platform that reduced onboarding time from weeks to days and saved coordinators ~10 hrs/week, while creating a repeatable, scalable system for churches in the Pillar Network.

StepOne Ministry

Step One Ministry is a startup equipping churches with digital transformation tools for volunteer management, outreach, and engagement. By combining AI-powered automation, QR-enabled landing pages, and scalable design systems, Step One makes technology accessible to faith communities of all sizes.

My Role & Work

As the sole UX Designer & Researcher, I led the end-to-end design of Step One’s volunteer onboarding system, powered by AI Agents (Application Screening, Document Collection, Scheduling, Training, Role Assignment, and Follow-Up).

Key Contributions

  • Designed Airtable databases linking volunteers to documents, training, and assignments.

  • Built AI-driven workflows to automate repetitive tasks (screening, tagging, follow-ups).

  • Developed QR-enabled StepCards and Webflow landing pages for simple, branded access.

  • Created a scalable design system ensuring consistency across church communications.

The Challenge

Churches struggled with manual onboarding processes—paper forms, emails, and spreadsheets—leading to delays, missed steps, and inconsistent volunteer engagement. With limited staff and resources, Step One needed a centralized system to:

  • Reduce administrative burden

  • Keep volunteers engaged through clear communication

  • Provide visibility into role assignments and training progress

The Solution

I designed a scalable onboarding platform powered by AI, Airtable, and Webflow that:

  • Automated tasks like screening, scheduling, and follow-ups through AI Agents.

  • Unified data (applications, documents, assignments) into one transparent system.

  • Boosted engagement with branded landing pages and QR access.

  • Increased efficiency by reducing manual errors and making every step trackable.

Research & Key Findings

Approach

I conducted interviews, surveys, and audits with church leaders, coordinators, and volunteers, while also benchmarking against non-profit/SaaS onboarding tools.

Key Findings

  • Manual processes caused drop-offs and errors.

  • No visibility into volunteer progress.

  • 10–15 hrs/week lost on repetitive admin tasks.

  • Volunteers lacked clarity, leading to disengagement.

  • Smaller churches lacked tools tailored to their context.

Impact on Design

Findings informed AI workflows, Airtable databases, automated comms, and QR landing pages, reducing onboarding time from weeks to days and saving coordinators ~10 hrs/week.

How Might We (HMW) Questions

  • HMW reduce drop-offs by making onboarding simple and transparent?

  • HMW give coordinators visibility into volunteer progress at every stage?

  • HMW automate repetitive tasks to save time and reduce errors?

  • HMW create affordable, scalable solutions for smaller churches?

  • HMW ensure volunteers feel supported with clear roles and next steps?

User Personas

I created three personas to guide design decisions:

  1. Volunteer: Wants clear expectations, simple tools, and timely feedback.

  2. Coordinator: Needs visibility into progress and relief from admin overload.

  3. Pastor/Leader: Cares about scaling ministry impact without technical barriers.

Journey Mapping

Mapped the volunteer lifecycle from interest → application → active service to identify bottlenecks:

  • Frustration with unclear next steps

  • Paperwork delays

  • Lack of communication after application

This revealed where automation and clear flows would add the most value.

User Flows

Defined end-to-end user flows for:

  1. Application → Screening → Tagging

  2. Document Collection → Auto-linking in Airtable

  3. Training → Orientation invites & completion tracking

  4. Role Assignment → AI-matching → Coordinator approval

  5. Follow-Up → Automated reminders & feedback

Benchmarking Audit

Compared Step One’s process to platforms like Asana, Monday.com, and Planning Center.

  • Strengths: enterprise workflows, visibility, communication tools

  • Gaps: affordability, accessibility, ministry-specific context

  • Decision: deliver enterprise-level features with simpler, faith-centered design

Impact At-a-Glance

The platform:

  • Saved coordinators ~10 hrs/week

  • Reduced onboarding from weeks to days

  • Improved clarity and engagement for volunteers

  • Created a repeatable, scalable system for adoption across the Pillar Network

Takeaway

This project shows my ability to:

  • Lead end-to-end UX (research → flows → design → implementation)

  • Translate insights into scalable systems

  • Leverage AI and automation to solve real-world problems

  • Deliver measurable impact (time saved, efficiency gained, scalability enabled)

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