Yalla Cooperative

THE REVIEW "We thoroughly enjoyed working with Yalla and appreciated their efficiency and effectiveness throughout the project." FEEDBACK SUMMARY The client was delighted with the tool, which is professional, user-friendly, and engaging. Yalla led regular meetings, communicated effectively through Notion, Microsoft Loop, and emails, and was open to questions. Their creativity, attention to detail, and ability to find solutions stood out. BACKGROUND Please describe your company and position. I am the Research Assistant of University of Manchester Describe what your company does in a single sentence. The company is a public research institution recognised for its wide range of courses, exceptional teaching and facilities. OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE What specific goals or objectives did you hire Yalla to accomplish? To create an effective online tool to measure volunteers' personal and professional development. SOLUTION How did you find Yalla? Referral Why did you select Yalla over others? - Referred to me - Company values aligned Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables. The project aimed to develop an online tool for organisations to track their volunteers' personal and professional growth. We wanted the tool to benefit both the organisation and its volunteers. It needed to incorporate the pre-developed MOVE iT questionnaire, the validated Utrecht Work Engagement Survey, and the life satisfaction survey. We envisioned the tool generating customisable visual reports that could serve as a future reference for organisations and volunteers. One of the key features we wanted to incorporate was allowing users to compare their results with other organisations while maintaining data anonymity. RESULTS & FEEDBACK What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success? To develop an effective online tool that the NHS can distribute to organisations to measure the personal and professional growth of volunteers. Key features we wanted from the tool: - create reports - store data - all participant's data remain anonymous - compare data. Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs? We appreciated how informative and approachable Yalla was throughout the entire process. They were very organised, holding regular, engaging meetings during the development process. In these meetings, they guided us through each stage of development, showing us landscapes, data mapping, and wireframes. It felt like we were part of the whole process, with the opportunity to give input at any stage. Yalla was approachable throughout these meetings, always checking if we were satisfied and addressing any concerns we had. Working closely with Erica, Joe, and Simon was a very positive experience, they were always happy to help and offered great ideas that have now enhanced the tool with great features. It was great learning how to use the new platforms that Yalla introduced for easy communication and updates through Notion and Loop. Having never used these platforms before Yalla always ensured their Notion was user-friendly, visually appealing, and easy to follow. We particularly appreciated the final playbook that Yalla created for us on Notion. Having all the information about how the tool works, who can access which areas, and links to videos in one place will be extremely beneficial. This will help us in the future to educate organisations about the tool. We are delighted with the final online tool that has been developed. Yalla has optimised its functionality and enhanced important features like customisable reports and comparisons across data. The online tool is professional, user-friendly, and engaging and we believe, once launched to a wider population, that both organisations and volunteers will benefit from using it. Due to the Gaza-Israel conflict, later areas of the project were delayed. However, one of the reasons we liked Yalla before our collaboration was their supportive approach to staff development through capacity building. Therefore, we completely understood the situation and the NHS granted the project a no-cost extension. What was your primary form of communication with Yalla? Virtual Meeting What did you find most impressive or unique about this company? Yalla impressed us throughout the project with their organisation, creativity, and communication skills. They scheduled regular meetings to keep us updated on their progress and the tool's development. They created an environment where we felt comfortable asking questions or sharing ideas. Their creativity was excellent and they also involved our creativity as well. We appreciated how they asked insightful questions about the tool, covering aspects we hadn't even considered. The team was great at responding to emails and didn't take long to reply to comments on Notion. Having this great communication made us feel at ease with the development of the tool. We believe Yalla did a great job with their attention to detail. This included gathering suitable images, ensuring the tool is user-friendly on both phones and laptops, and incorporating cookies to store data so participants could return to complete unfinished surveys. A crucial feature to incorporate was preserving the anonymity of volunteer data from other users and organisations. Yalla devised a method to achieve this using unique pins and usernames, enabling volunteers to avoid sharing their email addresses. Are there any areas for improvement or something Yalla could have done differently? No, we thoroughly enjoyed working with Yalla and appreciated their efficiency and effectiveness throughout the project. We are pleased with the final product and thank everyone on the team who contributed to it.