Team Restructuring:
Growing from 3 to 5 Designers

Context

When I started at Yandex, the design team consisted of myself (lead designer, also doing hands-on tasks) and two other designers. There was no assignment of designers to specific directions, workloads were uneven, and planning was limited to a one-week horizon. This resulted in overload, burnout, and limited time for professional development. The goal was to create a structured, scalable team within budget constraints.

My Role

  • Team formation and hiring

  • Financial and resource planning

  • Profitability assessment

  • Team development

  • Workload planning and control

  • Documentation and knowledge transfer processes

  • Emotion and motivation management

  • Integration of product research

Objective

Establish a stable and motivated design team by balancing workloads, extending planning horizons, and supporting designers' growth while staying within budget.

Actions Taken

  1. Team Structure Formation

  • Expanded the team from 2 to 5 middle-level designers

  • Assigned each designer to a specific product area

  • Engaged designers in collaborative planning sessions with their product teams

  • Implemented regular events:

    • Weekly planning on Mondays

    • Retrospectives on Fridays

    • Design reviews twice weekly

2. Financial Planning and Risk Management

  • Calculated annual expenses considering salary increases

  • Accounted for the high salary and low profitability of one senior designer

  • Planned for the promotion of another designer from middle to senior

  • Smoothly transitioned a costly senior designer to another project after proactively discussing opportunities and future development with them

3. Employee Replacement Management

  • Quickly hired a suitable replacement when a designer decided to leave

  • Prepared a detailed handover document including:

    • Links to all current projects

    • Task planning and team workload for the next 3 months

    • Detailed context and explanation for each task

    • Artifacts, documentation, and contact information for team members

  • Facilitated a smooth transition of tasks and knowledge, providing support and guidance to the new designer during onboarding

  • Ensured continuity of work and maintained high team productivity

4. Integration of Field Research

  • Encouraged designers to participate in field research

  • Evaluated the necessity of each business trip and coordinated with the finance department

  • Made field research a regular part of the design process

Results of the Reorganization

Before

No assignment by product area

1-week planning horizon

Uneven workload distribution

Burnout and low motivation

Limited development opportunities

After

Each product area has a dedicated designer

3-month planning horizon

Stable and evenly distributed workload

Increased motivation and team engagement

Courses, UI skill enhancement, professional growth

Final Summary

Through structured and thoughtful restructuring, I built a motivated, stable, and high-performing design team ready to scale further and take on new product challenges without sacrificing quality.