Nurturing the Wellbeing Economy
Collaborating with WEAll on digital transformation and community building
The Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll) is on a mission that resonates with WAO’s values: shifting the economy from capital-driven to values-driven. However, when they got in touch with us last year, they had a problem. Their community platform was more like a ghost town than a thriving neighbourhood, and they needed our help. So, in collaboration with Happy Porch, we set off on a journey all about community, values, and rewilding work.
Battling change fatigue
There are a lot of shiny things in the world of digital transformation. New products and processes that look fancy and promise to help an organisation reach its goals. But you can’t just lurch from one change to the next; you need a plan, a strategy and a group of people dedicated to keeping the organisational mission in mind.
In our experience, one of the problems with community work is ‘change fatigue’. While people welcome change for the better, if you alter things too often and too quickly, then they become tired of having to adapt. That’s sometimes a difficult thing to balance with testing multiple options.
User research and client education
Happily, like all effective organisations, WEAll were happy to start with user research. So after doing some work on an Architecture of Participation, we sent out a survey and followed up with interviews via video conference. Happy Porch explored functional requirements for different platforms, and we narrowed the options down to three.
As you can see in the above, we wanted to help WEAll understand what kind of platform they wanted, especially as lots of people conflate chat apps, social networks, and forums. After some real-life testing, we found that Hylo didn’t fit the bill, but Discourse could be a good fit. It was more than a choice between chat apps and forums; it was about finding the right place for real conversations.
It’s one thing to choose a platform; it’s another to make it thrive. We set up ‘missions’ for users to explore and get comfortable with the new space. WEAll has even brought on a new hire to make sure the community would keep growing. We’ve worked hand in hand, preparing the groundwork and helping those in charge to steer the ship.
This hasn’t just been a project; it’s been a meaningful journey. Working with WEAll, who all work just four days a week, has opened our eyes to different ways of doing things. It’s about more than just business; it’s about building connections, sustainable work, and community. It’s been rewarding, inspiring, and, yes, even a bit challenging at times. But that’s how you learn and grow.
The collaboration with WEAll is continuing by crafting a digital strategy that aligns with our shared values. The idea is to connect people working on the wellbeing economy, and we’re proud to be part of this movement. It’s more than a job for us; it’s part of who we are.
You can join us on this journey towards a better way of working by stopping by the WEAll community platform at or by learning more about their mission. Let’s build a future where work is not just a way to make a living but a way to make a life.
Also, if we can help your organisation with something like this, then get in touch!
