How FitFlop Transformed Employee Development Through Corporate Coaching
About
FitFlop, the comfort footwear specialist, was founded in 2007 by Marcia Kilgore. It has around 250 employees based in London, New York, Vietnam, and Singapore. FitFlop prides itself on being a company that isn’t afraid to try new things or devise innovative ways to support its employees.
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- 2 coachees promoted to senior leadership roles in the last year
- 100% of drop-in coaching sessions claimed every month
The Purpose
FitFlop is always looking for ways to enhance its culture and support its employees.
It saw coaching as another way to do this alongside existing benefits such as private medical insurance and EAPs. It wants to offer as many resources and tools as possible so that its employees can choose the right option for them. The team know there’s no one-size-fits all to this, which is why they came to Sanctus. We have a variety of coaching packages available and our coaches take a wholebeing approach, meaning they can support employees with a range of challenges.
Everyone who works at FitFlop focuses on delivering the best products and customer service, which can mean everyone’s calendars are full from the beginning to the end of the day.
But that doesn’t mean FitFlop doesn’t prioritize well-being and professional development. It invests in the development of all employees and believes this important no matter how busy someone is—they should have the space to carve out all-important time for themselves.
The Approach
FitFlop chose to work with Sanctus because of our “wholebeing” approach to coaching. We don’t just focus on one topic. We can support:
- Career and progression
- Mental health and well-being
- Productivity
- Resilience
- Stress management
- Work relationships
- And so much more.
Initially, FitFlop started with a small number of drop-in coaching sessions per month. Those always booked up quickly, so the team increased the number of sessions and expanded the countries it’s available in so that people can get democratized online coaching wherever they are.
After the successful rollout, FitFlop expanded to include Sanctus Boost sessions as a way to reward top performers and help them develop over the next financial year.
Our Sanctus Boost sessions comprise three specialized coaching sessions that give employees time to think about their career progression and connect their personal purpose to their company purpose. It ensures they’re actively trying to add value to their daily activities.
FitFlop tracks if the sessions takes place, if the coachee finds another career path, if their workplace responsibility has increased, or if they’ve had a promotion.
The Impact
36% of people who sign up for Sanctus Coaching are managers, while 64% belong to the rest of the workforce.
For people to work toward commercial targets and be their most profitable selves, FitFlop understands that it means not being overworked and feeling comfortable raising problems.
Employees who’ve used Sanctus Coaching are more connected to the company culture and working toward company goals. They understand the need to meet commercial targets, but nobody burns themselves out to get there. They have the space to talk to someone neutral about what’s going on in their work lives, so if there’s an issue, they can discuss it in a safe space.
Employees who’ve had Boost packages exhibit stronger leadership traits. Within the last year, two of the people who received Boost packages have been promoted into senior leadership positions. They’ve since gone on to recommend coaching sessions to their team members.
The coaching sessions helped them build growth mindsets and understand how to develop in their daily work, something that’s important for how FitFlop supports its top performers.
100% of FitFlop’s Sanctus coaching sessions get claimed every month, showing the value they have on employees’ everyday lives.
In FitFlop’s recent employee engagement survey, two thirds of people agreed FitFlop is a great company to contribute to their development. The team are really proud of these numbers because it means the company has a philosophy of employee development. It’s a place where people can go to develop skills and get opportunities wherever they want to go in their career.
Employee feedback on Sanctus Coaching sessions has referred to it as “amazing” and “life changing,” which reassures everyone they made the right decision to bring in Sanctus Coaching. It’s a helpful tool for everyone, professionally and personally.
