Spring 2020 began with not very pleasant news. Now, a year later, many companies are striving to help employees in issues that have not received such close attention before - in dealing with burnout and mental health. In November 2020, we launched a sports app for colleagues and in this article we want to tell you about our experience with well-being projects.
Hello, Habr! My name is Olga Emelyanova, I am the head of the department of internal communications and corporate culture of MyOffice. My team is responsible for events, communication, engagement, HR brand and overall employee happiness. In this post, I want to share our experience with projects aimed at maintaining the well-being of colleagues, their effectiveness and well-being.
Reade set Go!
When it finally became clear that the pandemic is for a long time, and the world will no longer be the same, we decided to focus on online training. In 2020, MyOffice employees mostly worked remotely, so classes from home could be a great way to increase the physical activity of colleagues.
For some time we were looking for a solution that meets important criteria for us, we considered many ideas. At first, they thought about an individual trainer who could conduct broadcasts or training in Zoom. However, in the “remote” mode, everyone has their own schedule, and it quickly became clear to us that people would be most comfortable studying from home at a time convenient for them. In addition, the level of physical fitness is different for everyone - someone goes in for sports professionally, and someone has not been to the gym for many years. Since we tried to be as safe as possible due to restrictive measures, the decision to study at home using the online application is the smartest and most affordable option in order to at least slightly raise the level of sports activity and move more.
“I have long wanted to try yoga, but somehow there was no time for that. The online application has become a great opportunity for me to master a new sport without leaving home. "
Elena K.
After talking with a large number of contractors, we found a St. Petersburg team that is truly in love with their business. Several developers and sports coaches are developing their newly created Crossteam mobile app that can be used by different companies. Accordingly, the content from the application is available to an employee of a particular organization after registration from a corporate email. For some time we discussed our wishes and possibilities, strove to come to an ideal solution and, as a result, began to cooperate.
To understand which sports areas will receive the greatest response from employees, we launched the application in a test format. So at the end of November 2020, Cloud Sport with several directions became available to our colleagues, and in the first few days it was installed by more than 25% of the company's employees.
Welcome to the club!
In our version of the application, there are two types of ongoing activities - challenges and clubs. Clubs now, for example, are:
- Fitness . These are workouts for the gym and at home, plus a set of exercises outside (some of our employees did even in the cold). The block contains both familiar to many activities and helps to try something new.
- Yoga . Very simple asanas and combinations for everyone. They are called “adequate yoga courses”.
- . . , , . , , , “” .
- . , , .
Challenges are playful and focused on quick results and habit formation. We divide them into regular and temporary, and they are all suitable for people of all skill levels. From the regular ones available, for example, the challenge "We run 30 minutes every day", "7 days in the plank" and "Catch the wave" for the flexibility of the spine - you can start them at any time. We also love temporary challenges - for example, in December last year, employees collectively practiced meditation, and in March 2021 they burned together the calories they gained during Maslenitsa.
In addition, at the start, we organized webinars with trainers, held introductory lectures, where each employee of the company could ask questions of interest.
« — , . «» , , , 30-40 . , , . . , , . , . , listening skill. — , .
Cloud Sport , — , . , , , - . — . 15- , . , , . , , , , , . — , ».
Sergey N., winner of the FIT challenge
The application is designed in such a way that when you connect to a specific program, you need to tick or leave a comment, and only after that you can go to the next workout. At the same time, it will not be possible to simply "click" it; it is imperative to complete the exercises. Of course, no one watches the person and does not stand above the soul, he himself controls the performance of the training. In our opinion, this kind of training mechanics motivates and develops awareness and responsibility.
Not just for fun
We monitor statistics on a weekly basis in order to understand which areas are of interest to employees. In case of a decrease in activity, we promptly make a replacement. For example, at launch, we had high hopes for the running club (including as a community of runners), but it quickly became clear that it was not particularly in demand among employees, so we abandoned it.
So, thanks to feedback from colleagues, we added a direction to the application that was not originally there - gymnastics in the format of warm-up and light exercises for all muscle groups. We think this is a great option for those who don't like intense workouts.
As expected, the most popular among employees were yoga and meditation - they are regularly practiced by 10% and 12% of colleagues, respectively.
We really like that MyOffice employees are involved and take part in customizing the application specifically for us. Each type of Cloud Sport activity has a chat where any participant can ask a question to the coach and / or leave wishes. So, recently we received a request to launch a dance direction, now we are discussing its implementation.
Thanks to the feedback, we realized that the application turned out to be especially useful for those who had wanted to start practicing for a long time, but could not. The team spirit really helps! Someone previously could not gather strength and go to the gym, while during quarantine someone tried a new type of activity, listened to themselves and realized what kind of sport they would like to do.
“With Cloud Sport, I discovered the ideal way to relax - meditation. This is an opportunity to escape from the hustle and bustle, cope with stress, listen to yourself. Such practices helped me a lot, I became calmer and more balanced. "
Pavel M.
It is noteworthy that representatives of different departments of MyOffice are showing interest in the application. Of course, we do not specifically monitor this, we analyze only the information that employees wished to indicate in their profiles. However, the application is used not only by developers - there are also colleagues from the commercial department, accounting department, training department, and sales support. And this is logical - Cloud Sport supports versatile directions and activities, and everyone can find something interesting for him.
The pandemic unambiguously served as a stimulus for the development of online activities - during this difficult period, people revised their attitude towards many things. We can say that the Cloud Sport app is also a kind of team building for us. The feeling of belonging to a collective activity, the feeling of being part of a group motivates many and encourages them to new achievements.
Faster, higher, stronger
We are constantly thinking about what new we can bring to our sports activities. Recently, more and more employees are returning to offices, and in this regard, we have launched a pedometer. It integrates with similar apps in mobile phones, you only need to allow the Cloud Sport app to read this information. In mid-April, we launched a “hike” to the highest point of the Earth: the company's employees “walk” through the cities where our company's offices are located, to Mount Everest in the Himalayas, and in the application you can track statistics on the remaining kilometers.
This seemingly very simple activity has become popular thanks largely to the rating. We have a permanent "leaderboard" where you can track the most active "walkers". Now in the pedometer, 15% of employees are a small but very stubborn group that has already completed more than 12 million steps out of 18! Gamification and achieving a common goal really help our employees move more. Some colleagues even specially bought fitness trackers in order to track their activity more correctly :) We will certainly reward the most active "pedestrians" with pleasant sports gifts from the company.
Also, quite recently, a new yoga course has become available in our corporate application. It will help you to advance deeper in practice, master new techniques and take a closer look at the philosophy of yoga, but still - through the prism of adequacy, without esotericism, with the preservation of traditions. The course contains several blocks that explain in detail the various stages of yoga: pranayama (breathing practices), asanas, as well as exercises for intensified working out of the body and spirit. As in the first stage, the practices can be combined with each other, choosing classes to your taste and capabilities.
« 10 , — (, TRX, , , , , ..), . , , . , , . , , . Cloud Sport , , , . — , , . , ».
.
In addition, this year we will participate in a corporate format in a large-scale event - the V All-Russian Half Marathon "ZaBeg". 22 runners from Moscow, St. Petersburg and Innopolis are taking part in the race from our company. We are sure that spring is the best time to return to jogging in the fresh air!
Another of the recent improvements to the application is the ability to accumulate points while completing workouts, the leaders of sports activities will receive cool merch from us.
There is also a huge field of possibilities that can be implemented in an application. It can become the focus of collective and personal sports achievements, a platform for exchange of experience and communication. Sport is also a way to relieve stress, reboot, and recharge with positive emotions.
The pandemic appears to have positive effects as well. Everyone began to take more care of their own health and the health of their loved ones, and we are glad that our company was among the first. We value our employees and always think about their comfort. During this difficult period, it was important to strengthen the general spirit, prevent emotional burnout of our children and combine the opportunity to communicate online with collective activities and sports. We believe that we have succeeded :) It is not necessary to start a new life on Monday, the main thing is to find strength and some free time :)