A new year, a new Famly layout

We’ve got a big update coming up, and Leigh is here to tell you all about it. As well as being the Product Manager heading the team behind the update, Leigh chats to customers as much as she possibly can to understand how you all use Famly. ‍

It might seem counterproductive for me to say I don’t want you to think about Famly. But I really don’t want you to think about Famly. I want you to focus on the children and families to the best of your ability.

And that’s exactly why I’m so thrilled to finally share the brand-new Famly layout with you all. As a mother to a toddler, and a former Early Years professional myself, I know how important software is in helping you get all your admin tasks done. To organise your staff. To make sure you’ve got all the information at your fingertips so the children are safe and sound.

But what I understand the most is how much you’d rather be looking after the children - not spending more time than you have to navigating an app just to get your job done. That’s why this update is close to my heart.

So without further ado, let’s dive into what’s actually changing, why it affects you, and why on earth we decided to make a change. ‍

‍

A brand-new layout‍

We’re going back to the basics. Right now, the app section is the heart of the platform. So if you’re in the middle of doing one thing, you have to go back to the app section to switch what you’re doing. That doesn’t really make much sense.

Think of it like always having to go through the living room in your house whenever you want to switch rooms, even if that means going up stairs just to come down them again. It wastes your time and doesn’t add any value.

And when you’ve got a crying toddler in one arm, you’re mid-nappy change with the other, and there are three other children running around your feet, the last thing you want to do is spend time clicking around trying to find an accident report or a medication list. 

So now your left side bar is changing to make it a lot easier for you to get what you need, exactly when you need it. Have a look at what the new layout looks like right below.

‍

And, if you manage several childcare settings, you can even switch between them at the click of a button. No more going in and out again if you’re popping in sessions across all settings.

Why did we change it?

Famly started way back in 2013 with only two people steering the ship - our two co-founders Anders and Henrik. Over the last 9 years we’ve improved, we’ve added, and we’ve expanded massively. But everything has been added on bit by bit. We listened to what features you needed and added them as fast as we could.

Now, in 2022, thousands of you use Famly every single day. And we want to make sure Famly makes sense to the people who actually use it - not just us from behind our computers. 

So when you’re changing nappies, singing songs and putting on little wellies, our aim is to make sure Famly works for you. We’ve redesigned the layout to work the way you use it when you’re in the moment. When you’re in the middle of a group of children counting heads. When you’re logging the carrots everyone ate before lunch.

And that’s exactly why this layout aims to do three main things:

• To cut down on your screen time: We want to give you as much time as possible to spend with the children - not stuck to a screen.
• To make it easier for first-time Famly customers: We don’t want you to spend weeks getting used to Famly. It should make sense as soon as you sign up.
• To help you find everything in an instant: You have more important things to do than clicking here, there and everywhere. So we want to help you find everything instantly, right when you need it. 
  

‍

Will it take me ages to learn? 

Just like everything else, it might take a little while to get used to. But that’s it - a few weeks of figuring out where everything is and then it’ll run like clockwork. 

We’ve been testing it for months, listening to feedback every step of the way, and what we keep hearing from practitioners and managers is that ‘it just makes sense’. And that’s not us talking - that’s our lovely customers. If it makes sense then it’s absolutely worth the initial time of getting used to. 

And don’t panic! We’re not throwing you in at the deep end hoping you’ll swim - we want to make the transition nice and easy. We’ve got lots of updated Help Centre articles around this new layout to help you find where everything is.

Putting the children first

So, long story short, this update is for you. The practitioners who use Famly day in, day out. It’s not us making changes just because we can, or for the sake of it. 

We’re not trying to kid anyone by pretending anything is more important than helping the little ones flourish. That’s why we’re all here - because we want to make that happen. And you being present and having the time to help them flourish? That’s exactly why we’ve taken the layout and maximised it. 

We hope that Famly melts into the background, and doesn’t sit at the forefront of your day.  Putting the children first has also been our goal, and that is never going to change. We’re your Early Years companion - and our updates always try to reflect that. 

I hope you love the new layout as much as I do, and that you can see exactly why we did it. It’s been a long time coming, and we couldn’t have done it without your feedback, support and testing.

Need a helping hand? We've got a whole Help Centre article on the new layout right here.