A B2B training platform to help employees and students perform under pressure at work and uni.

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1 min read

Product overview

For users

Personalised courses, profiles and daily recommendations

The mobile app is where employees or students can easily train their mental fitness when they hit challenges. They can view their progress in their profile and see any recommended content provided to them by their managers or teachers.

For organisations

Dashboard and training tools

This is where managers and teachers can track the progress of their people. They can drill into groups and get recommended actions to support their people using Fika's coaching tools, courses and manager guides.

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Challenge and role

Customer problem

Mental health issues at work cost employers £34.9 billion per year. It costs UK universities over £300 million annually.¹ The main cause? Pressure to perform.²

Fika's training platform builds mental resilience. It reduces employee sick days and increases trust, communication and confidence by engaging people to build Mental Fitness skills through daily practice. 


So how did we get people to train?

Design challenge

How might we design an engaging training experience?

We'll know it's working when we see:


  • Usage: 15% week two activation of users and 12 avg minutes trained per active user

  • Impact: positive experiences from users and client success stories

  • Reach: 5% of our total client population registered to the fika experience


First, we tackled the experience for employees and students, aiming to increase usage and impact. Our customer success team prioritised reach.

What I worked on

Product strategy

Concept/Usability testing

Rapid prototyping

Interaction design

Information architecture

Brand definition

Design system

Who I worked with

5 Developers

2 PMs (multiple product areas)

Psychology experts

1 User researcher

4 Designers

2 Founders

Sales and customer success

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Spotlight 1 • 5 min read

Increasing user activation by 108%

For employees and students

Daily exercises to practice on the go

Most people were very busy during the day but wanted to use the in-between moments and do something good for themselves, rather than opening Instagram. On the commute, during a lunch break, or yep - on the toilet. We turned these into their training moments - a healthier alternative to mindless scrolling.


↗︎ 108% increase in week 2 user activation (67% above target)

↗︎ 60% of all active sessions used the daily feature

↗︎ 21+ five-star app ratings due to the feature

How we got there

Experiment 1 / 5

Courses on web

Many client and user requests described frustration about using Fika as a mobile app. During guerilla research, we found that many staff and students struggled with storage and data limits on their phones, which was a core reason they did not continue using the app once downloaded.


Hypothesis: 

If we provide web-based access to Fika's content then we will see an increase in usage (current 12%, target 15%)


Results: 

↗︎ 3% increase in W2 activation (15%)

↘︎ 2.65% decrease in daily active minutes (3.39m)

Experiment 2 / 5

Badges and rewards

After launching courses on web, we saw a drop in daily active minutes and wanted to understand why – so ran a series of user interviews. We found that people lost their initial motivation to complete the course quickly and moved on to prioritising their projects or coursework.


Hypothesis: 

If we reward micro-progression in a course then we'll see an increase in usage


Results: 

→ 0% increase in week 2 activation (15%)

↗︎ 1.75% increase in avg. minutes trained per user (3.45m)

Experiment 3 / 5

Accredited certificates

During a 4 week co-creation study, we gathered a range of feedback of the current experience. We uncovered a mixed perception of the value of badges. Some felt they didn't hold any practical value and couldn't be used for anything. We explored how we could provide a more impactful incentive.


Hypothesis: 

If completing courses rewards people with an accredited certificate (CPD points) then we'll see an increase in usage and impact


Results: 

↗︎ 2% increase in week 2 activation (17%)

Experiment 4 / 5

Daily bitesize exercises

Diary studies showed us users felt courses had too much focus on a single topic. People wanted to do something good for themselves without having to overthink it. Many people started multiple courses without completing any – perhaps craving variety.


Hypothesis: 

If we provide a simple, single daily activity that changes each day then we'll see an increase in usage


Results: 

↗︎ 108% increase in week 2 activation (25%)

↗︎ 62% increase in avg. minutes trained per user (6.6m)

↗︎ 60% of all active sessions used the daily feature

Experiment 5 / 5

Community interactions

After the success of the daily feature, we found that users liked to speak to their peers about their daily exercises from Fika. Could a better sense of community in the experience drive results?


Hypothesis: 

If we provide a community experience in the app then we'll see an increase in usage


Results: 

↗︎ 4% increase in week 2 activation (29%)

↘︎ ~75hr per week staff cost increase internally


We decided to kill this feature due to multiple factors – primarily staff cost required to moderate the messages and client concerns over privacy.

Outcomes

↗︎ 108% increase in week 2 user activation (67% above target)

↗︎ 60% of all active sessions used the daily feature

↗︎ 21+ five-star app ratings due to the feature

↗︎ Featured No. 4 in Apple's Health & Fitness Top charts

Employee

"Fika helps you understand the everyday little things that when not managed properly can lead to stress and mental health issues and the presentations and illustrations help you to deal with stress and related issues in a manner that absolutely improves your mental health."

Teacher

"Absolutely love the FIKA app. I find it very useful for me and my students."

College student

"This app is just fantastic, I use it to help with my mental health and it helps me with boosting my confidence. I mainly use it for college but I use it every other day mainly when I’m feeling anxious or stressed, Fika has helped a lot, especially with my confidence and self-esteem."

Student

"A small app which had made a noticeable difference to my life. As a student who has juggled with demanding assignments, anxiety and new surroundings, this app has been an anchor for me."

Uni student

"Such a fantastic app! The workouts are so quick and easy to do and since starting them I have started to feel a lot more secure in my emotional health. If you are in uni, you NEED this app it helps so much."

PHD Student

"Really helped me through university. This app is great for certain types of people that need some advice or quick pick-me-up during the day."

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Spotlight 2 • 3 min read

Improving user registration by 300%

For organisations

Progress tracking and tailored course sharing

Managers and teachers wanted to offer the right support for their people and see progress. Internally, Fika struggled to meet requests for reports which were created manually. We created a dashboard and sharing function, automating a costly internal process while giving managers and teachers the insights and tools they needed.


↗︎ 40% increased £ savings in Fika staff costs

↗︎ 300% increase in registrations (3.6X above target)

↗︎ 2 new clients converted

How we got there

Dashboard experiments

We experimented with the type of data to show and the best way to visualise it for ease of use. From qualitative feedback to financial impact, radar charts or graphs over time. I ran multiple concept tests using rapid prototypes with users.


I paired up and worked closely with our engineers to adapt a series of react components to build interactive data visualisations to meet the needs of managers in our client organisations while aligning with our developing brand direction.

Course sharing experiments

I tested the user flow for sharing a course, including the share button language and what information to include when sharing. I conducted desk research to find common interaction patterns, adapted them to Fika's context and then ran quick user tests to identify barriers.


I discovered that managers and teachers needed more guidance than we had assumed when sharing a course. Providing message templates increased both the number of courses shared and the number of recipients willing to register and try the course.

Outcomes

↗︎ 40% increased £ savings in Fika staff costs

↗︎ 300% increase in registrations (3.6X above target)

↗︎ 2 new clients converted

Department lead

"Fantastic App, really easy to use! I love the initial mental fitness tests, personalised feedback and suggestions to develop mental fitness levels! Really looking forward to launching this with our staff.

Student services manager

"It is a very helpful alternative for students who feel uncomfortable reaching out to student services or other university support centres. It’s easy to navigate, and easy to use on a daily basis. Thanks fika!"

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Spotlight 3 • 2 min read

Converting 15 new clients and increasing training minutes by 89%

For organisations

Group training

After a shift to remote and hybrid work, managers and teachers were struggling with team engagement and motivation - impacting performance. We also found managers and teachers were trying to use Fika’s self-guided courses in meetings but struggled to get participation. We used these insights to create a coaching tool, that allowed managers to facilitate healthy discussion at work.


↗︎ 6% decrease in employee sick days taken

↗︎ 15 new clients converted

↗︎ 100% of managers surveyed would recommend

↗︎ 89% increase in avg. minutes trained per user (9.9m → 26m)

How we got there

Group discussion experiments

We experimented with making the experience engaging and easy to use, exploring warm-up games to polls and timers. We tested concepts for team interactions, like asynchronous messages, group voting, training leaderboards and audio guides.


I worked with engineers to reuse and optimise Fika's interactive component library, enhancing the existing platform experience while creating new value. We simplified the design for flexibility, allowing components to adapt to Fika's individual courses and team experiences, increasing user's satisfaction rating to over 90%.

Outcomes

↗︎ 92% reported improvements in the trust, communication and connection of their team
↗︎ 85% noticed improvements in their people's confidence

↗︎ 6% decrease in employee sick days taken

↗︎ 15 new clients converted

↗︎ 100% of managers surveyed would recommend

↗︎ 89% increase in avg. minutes trained per user (9.9m → 26m)

HR Lead

"Now that we do Fika icebreakers consistently in meetings we have genuinely had conversations and addressed topics that we would never have discussed without it."

Team Lead

"We had one session that was so impactful that we did the Fika and decided then that we didn't need the rest of the meeting."

Deputy Director

"Everyone was in tears… sharing what they were grateful for. It was so lovely and the best senior management meeting I have ever been to."

Team member

"Fika makes me learn more about myself & how I can improve to be a better individual & team player. It has made me believe in myself as a worthy individual and part of a team at work. Thanks fika!"

Thanks for reading.
hello@seanvalentine.co.uk

Thanks for reading.
hello@seanvalentine.co.uk