.jpg)
Optimise customer onboarding, improve operational efficiency, and enhance the overall user experience for Habito, a digital mortgage broker, to make the mortgage process easier and more accessible.The goal was to simplify the mortgage process, which was traditionally cumbersome and offline, by creating a seamless, fully digital experience. This involved improving customer satisfaction, driving month-over-month growth in mortgage applications, and increasing back-office operational efficiency. A significant UX and design challenge was building trust and confidence in an online company, especially in the financial sector.
I joined Habito in February 2017 as a UX Lead. At that time, Habito had 18 employees and had delivered £60 million worth of mortgages. Over the next 18 months, I took on expanded roles as VP Product and subsequently VP Design, growing and leading a team of five Product Designers. By the time I left, Habito had grown to over 150 employees and had arranged over £2.5 billion in mortgages.
- Successfully optimised the customer onboarding process, resulting in a 2.7x increase in conversion from session to manual advice.Enhanced the back-office platform to increase operational efficiency by over 33%.
- Grew and led the design team from 1 to 5 employees, scaling design processes and team capabilities.
- Delivered several key products, including a marketing site, onboarding experience, chatbot & fact-find tool, life insurance integrations, mortgage expert back office, and an interactive mortgage calculator.Addressed trust and confidence issues by ensuring human support, highlighting regulatory compliance, and promoting customer testimonials.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Upon joining Habito, one of my first initiatives was to establish a robust UX function. This involved creating a user-centred design process that included user research, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing. I introduced tools and methodologies that ensured design consistency and efficiency across all projects. By standardising the UX processes, I ensured that user experience was at the forefront of every product decision, which was crucial in transforming the traditionally cumbersome mortgage application process into a seamless digital experience.
As Habito expanded, I was instrumental in scaling the design team from a a UI designer and myself to a robust team of five multidisciplinary designers. My leadership style emphasised collaboration, continuous learning, and innovation. I fostered a culture of creativity and user-centricity, empowering my team to take ownership of their projects. Under my guidance, the team developed several key products, including a marketing site, onboarding experience, chatbot & fact-find tool, life insurance integrations, mortgage expert back office, and an interactive mortgage calculator.
As part of our growth strategy, I actively participated in fintech conferences and industry events, evangelising Habito’s innovative approach to digital mortgages. I shared insights on our user-centric design process and the impact of our products on customer satisfaction and business growth. These speaking engagements helped position Habito as a thought leader in the fintech space and attracted talent and potential partners to our mission.
As a member of the senior leadership team, I reported directly to the CEO/founder and worked closely with other executives to align design strategies with overall business goals. I maintained regular communication with investors, providing updates on design and UX initiatives and their impact on business metrics. Additionally, I held workshops with advisors and business mentors to further grow the UX and design knowledge within the company. These sessions were instrumental in ensuring that our design decisions were aligned with broader business objectives and industry best practices.
Collaboration with engineering squads was pivotal to the success of our projects. I worked closely with multiple engineering teams, ensuring that the design and development processes were aligned. We adopted agile methodologies, using Jira to manage projects and maintain regular communication through daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and retrospectives. This close collaboration allowed us to iterate quickly based on user feedback and deliver high-quality products efficiently.
User research was a cornerstone of our design process. I led multiple research initiatives, including clinical psychological interviews, to deeply understand the emotional journey of our users. These insights informed our design decisions and helped us create empathetic and effective user experiences. I also spearheaded regular usability testing sessions, using the feedback to refine our products continuously. This rigorous approach to user research and testing ensured that our products met the needs and expectations of our customers.
A significant challenge in the financial sector was building trust and confidence in an online company. To address this, we ensured that there was always a human available to talk to customers. We highlighted that Habito was a regulated entity, providing reassurance about the legitimacy and security of our services. Additionally, we made a big push to highlight testimonials from successful customers, using their positive experiences to build trust and credibility with new users.
In the long term, I worked on the initial phases of Habito Marketplace and their proprietary mortgage products. I was also involved in the early discussions about the new brand development, which was later handled by Uncommon. This rebranding effort was crucial in communicating Habito’s mission and values more effectively, using a fresh and authentic brand personality to connect emotionally with users and differentiate from traditional mortgage services.
.png)
.png)
