At Innovative Fitness, we are committed to not only delivering exceptional fitness solutions but also fostering a workplace that reflects our core values. To bring our values to life and ensure they are embedded in our daily operations, we recently launched an exciting initiative: group projects focused on how to integrate our company’s core values into our work life.
The initiative brought together four diverse teams, each tasked with exploring how our commonly held values—innovation, service, integrity, and community—can be more deeply incorporated into our day-to-day work. After weeks of collaboration, research, and brainstorming, each team presented their proposals, sharing ideas that ranged from practical improvements to bold, new initiatives.
The Teams and Their Projects
Each team met and discussed different values to focus on, and their projects reflected unique, forward-thinking approaches to applying these principles within the company.
- Success Squad: This team focused on enhancing internal collaboration and employee engagement by presenting several new and updated incentive programs designed to motivate and reward innovation across the company. In addition to these incentive programs, the Success Squad suggested new tools and resources to support employees in achieving success, including regular brainstorming sessions and a centralized platform for idea sharing. Their proposal emphasized creating a culture of continuous improvement, where employees feel empowered to contribute and collaborate in driving the company’s innovative spirit.
- Team A.N.T: Team A.N.T focused on improving employee well-being by proposing a more flexible work schedule that would allow for a better work-life balance. They suggested offering options such as compressed workweeks, flexible hours, and possible remote work opportunities to help employees better manage their professional and personal responsibilities. Their project emphasized that providing employees with greater flexibility would not only improve job satisfaction but also increase productivity and retention. By fostering a more adaptable work environment, Team A.N.T aimed to create a healthier, more balanced workplace where employees can thrive both personally and professionally.
- The Champion’s Team: The Champion’s Team focused on improving operational efficiency by proposing the integration of our sales tracking software with our service department’s work order application. This integration would create a more streamlined and unified system, allowing for smoother communication and data sharing between departments. By linking the two systems, The Champion’s Team aimed to reduce redundancy, save on program costs, and improve overall productivity. Their proposal highlighted the potential for better data accuracy, faster response times, and a more cohesive workflow, ensuring that both sales and service teams can work seamlessly together to enhance customer satisfaction and operational performance.
- Team Empowered: Team Empowered focused on prioritizing mental health and encouraging more movement throughout the workday. Their project emphasized creating a workplace environment that promotes both physical and mental well-being, ensuring employees have the support and resources they need to maintain a healthy work-life balance. By encouraging more movement and mental health awareness, Team Empowered aimed to boost productivity, morale, and overall employee satisfaction.
Presentations and Selection Process
After the teams had completed their projects, each group presented their ideas to all staff members and company leadership. The presentations were insightful, showcasing the creativity and thoughtfulness behind each proposal. Once all projects had been shared, everyone in the company had the opportunity to cast one vote for their favorite project. The voting process was designed to give every team member a voice in selecting the idea they felt would have the most positive impact on the company. After carefully tallying the votes, Team A.N.T. emerged as the winner with their proposal for a more flexible work schedule to improve work-life balance. Their project resonated with the entire staff, and it was selected for implementation, with plans already underway to make the flexible scheduling options a reality. While Team A.N.T.’s proposal was the winner, all the teams’ ideas were highly valued, and many of their proposals will be incorporated into future initiatives to continue strengthening our company culture.
A Bright Future: Implementing the Best of All the Projects
While Team A.N.T.’s project will be the first to be implemented, the feedback and ideas from all four teams were so valuable that we plan to incorporate elements from each proposal into our daily operations.
At Innovative Fitness, we believe that a company’s values should not be just words on a wall—they should be a living, breathing part of how we operate every single day. This initiative gave our teams the opportunity to reflect on our core values and think about practical ways to bring them into our everyday work.