September 26, 2023
Written by UJJI Team
In the face of Covid-19, remote and hybrid work guaranteed successful results for organisations, but as teams continue to work from home for over two years, we have learned that problems exist equally.
With time, the impacts of a modern hybrid model became even more evident in scaling software companies like Fluid. Fluid is an all-in-one project portfolio management software that helps teams work smarter and save time, and has been growing rapidly, working with several many companies from startups all the way to the likes of Santander. Scaling a SaaS company is an arduous task on its own. Still, with team members spread across borders, leaders at Fluid were presented with an even more significant challenge: making employee learning and development a priority inside their organisation.
Recent studies show that when companies don’t encourage employees in their self- development or nourish career growth, they are unsatisfied in their professional lives, which reflects in morale, motivation, and productivity. So much so that nearly 8 in 10 employees in tech start-ups attributed a lack of career development opportunities as the key reason for leaving their job (ISL Talent, 2022).
Even with a lack of career development opportunities being classified as a critical reason for leaving a tech role, it is still challenging for senior members to stay on top of this matter in such a fast-paced work landscape. Such a reality is especially detrimental for SaaS start-ups like Fluid since their remote, and hybrid work model requires employees to hold a wide array of soft skills.
To thrive in the new normal, the Fluid team must rely heavily on soft skills such as communication, problem-solving, productivity, leadership, and adaptability, and overlooking these essential practices threatens business growth.
"I think people's fear of failing can hold them back sometimes, and it doesn’t allow you to attack the task with confidence which can cause productivity to suffer." - Caryn, Customer Success Manager
With a remote setting causing employees to lack the motivation to take charge of their professional advancement and self-development, Fluid noticed an urgent need to guarantee that the team is well-equipped with the right tools to facilitate growth.
As traditional training materials don't meet a modern workforce's needs, Fluid implemented UJJI’s solutions to encourage employees to regain control over their career development and help the business perform to its utmost potential. Using a proprietary methodology powered by behavioural sciences and gamification, UJJI makes upskilling in fast-paced work environments easy, fun, and cost-efficient.
Turning his staff into a powerhouse with the skills required in fast-paced work environments became an essential priority for Fluid’s CEO, Jared Whitaker, who saw UJJI as just the right solution to enhance the teams’ soft skills.
Getting onboard with them and getting the team up and running was super easy, and it provides a fun, simple way for all of our team members to learn and grow." - Jared Whitaker, CEO at Fluid
Through a series of qualitative, open-ended interviews, we have discovered that UJJI's interactive bite-sized learning modules effectively helped Fluid's teams better address growth challenges whilst propagating a work culture rich in cohesion and employee satisfaction.
To encourage constant commitment from his team, the management team has actively encouraged upskilling by sharing weekly updates on the company-wide leaderboard, congratulating the top 3 results, which has proven to be an effective strategy.
"That’s what has encouraged me to be more interactive, I really like the competitive element of it and the gamification aspect appeals to human nature." - Katlego, Sales Manager at Fluid
A 75% adoption rate shows that the gamified experience, together with top-down encouragement, was effective in gaining employee buy-in. Still, real-life and tangible behavioural changes were the real driver of retention.
"I am learning and implementing the lessons and they stick with me. I am finding that I am using the lessons in the contexts that they’re applied to, and finding real-life circumstances where they are relevant to me." - Caryn, Customer Success Manager at Fluid
Fluid users were initially primed by the various reward elements and gamification process, and noticing results in the short term strengthened the habit of interacting with the UJJI App. This way, a reinforcement loop was initiated, driving a learning and development culture at Fluid.
The learning of the sessions really encourage me. I want to put myself out there more. I’m absorbing tasks more efficiently and I’m managing my responsibilities better, my failures better, taking them in stride, and reapplying my problem-solving skills and tools." - Caryn, Customer Success Manager at Fluid
The UJJI experience piggybacks on people's behaviour and devices, so training doesn't feel like an extra task added to our plate. According to LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report, 49% of employees report not having time to spare for learning. Still, even after 90 days, 67% of Fluid's employees kept using the app, and the benefits of consistent interaction became progressively palpable.
Employees reported being better equipped to manage failures and utilise fundamental tenets of resilience to bounce back after hurdles in a project. Also, using the UJJI methodology, individuals can communicate confidently with others and boost self-esteem by interacting further within the team and beyond. Considering the significance of cross- collaboration in scale-ups, these changes optimise the organisational efforts within and between each team.
Users at Fluid also note the significance of accepting and valuing feedback, mitigating personal feelings, and transforming this into an opportunity for growth. One user described how a session on listening to feedback made giving feedback a more manageable process "because I have been able to embrace receiving feedback myself, whereas now that I appreciate receiving feedback, I am better able to give it.”
UJJI's neuroscience validation experiment conducted by neuroscientists in Oxford proved that 63% of users experience changes in real life after only 5 UJJI sessions, and 85% want to continue using UJJI in their day-to-day lives. As Fluid’s story shows, witnessing real, successful change inspires motivation. Together with the team’s desire for growth, the positive outcomes observed after interactions with the UJJI methodology establish the need to sustain upskilling and prioritise learning and development. Thus, the encouragement of change becomes an encouragement for change.
We can work with you unlock your team’s full potential in our fast-paced work environments. UJJI’s easy and fun e-learning experience helps teams develop skills around problem solving, productivity, communications leadership and adaptability. Check out this short video or book a demo with our team now!
