How Mindbody Empowered Managers and Powered Performance Post-Acquisition

In October 2021, when Mindbody acquired ClassPass, a new chapter began for thousands of fitness and wellness businesses worldwide. The acquisition united two powerhouse platforms: the leading experience technology platform for the wellness industry and the leading global fitness and wellness membership. Mindbody and ClassPass were united in their goal of maximizing revenue for these businesses, a mission that required seamless integration of company operations and culture.

As Mindbody and ClassPass came together, one critical initiative that needed consolidation was employee recognition software. In order to successfully merge cultures and form new critical organizational connections, getting a solution up and running quickly was essential. Both Mindbody and ClassPass already had recognition and rewards solutions, but they needed to get the whole organization onto one platform. After careful assessment of both solutions, Bonusly was the clear winner for its modern interface, ease of use, and ability to operationalize company values. 

By getting the whole organization connected through Bonusly, the team established a thriving company culture together, one recognition post at a time. Bonusly was an instant hit among employees, managers, and leadership alike. We spoke with Lauren Whitehouse, Mindbody’s Employee Experience Manager, to understand how Mindbody uses Bonusly to empower managers and power performance post-acquisition. 

Consolidating recognition platforms

Immediately following the acquisition, Mindbody and Classpass teams couldn't acknowledge each other's achievements because they were split between different recognition platforms. Employees were craving a way to connect with new teammates and they wanted a solution sooner rather than later. With help from the Bonusly team, Whitehouse was able to get Bonusly up and running quickly so employees could connect with one another in the wake of the acquisition. 

As Whitehouse put it, "Bonusly was one of the best gifts I could have given the team.” 

Empowering managers to cultivate high-performing teams

As the entire team acclimated to Bonusly, Whitehouse began training managers to use the solution to cultivate high-performing teams. When describing the manager training process, Whitehouse said: 

“Bonusly is a tool managers already know and love, so we’re just helping them level up the way they use it so we can help them achieve the goals that are already top of mind for them. We try to show them that Bonusly is a tool that will actually help them save time.” 

 What are some of Mindbody managers’ favorite features? 

• Managers are thrilled with the manager giving tracker, a feature nudging them to recognize team members and foster a culture of appreciation.
• They are also excited by custom feeds, which allows them to filter their recognition feed to show only recognition given to their team. This view provides insights into team dynamics and allows managers to give more personalized recognition. 
• Managers appreciate the ability to recognize their team members year-round instead of in once-per-year performance reviews. Consistent recognition enables higher team performance from direct reports who are more willing to input discretionary effort when they feel appreciated. Plus, looking back at historical recognition of their team members made the performance review process more efficient, evidence-based, and inspiring to employees. 

As the company geared up for its first annual review cycle post-Bonusly launch, the platform proved invaluable. Managers leveraged recognition data to glean insights into their team's contributions and accomplishments. These analytics became especially important in aiding new managers in understanding their team's past achievements. 

Integrating core values

Bonusly became a cornerstone for making Mindbody’s new values sticky. The values introduced after the acquisition were new for the whole organization, so the team needed a way to operationalize the new values. They decided to require core value hashtags in recognition posts, so the entire organization could see their colleagues enacting the core values and start to learn what they looked like in practice. Quarterly core value awards were operationalized and amplified with Bonusly, transforming recognition into a company-wide celebration during all-hands meetings. 

“I can't even describe how much easier the fulfillment is by fulfilling awards on Bonusly. I announce them in the all team meeting, and I give a speech about the individuals and then put the award in Bonusly in real time so everybody can jump into Bonusly after the meeting. I even have the winners put their award emoji as their Slack status, and so people know to jump on Bonusly and see the awards. I also send out the link to the winners’ posts in our Slack channel for further visibility. I am always sure to tag the winners’ manager so that they can congratulate their team members publicly. It makes recognition carry on long after the all hands meeting ends.” 

The takeaway

Bonusly didn't just streamline recognition; it became part of the unified culture emerging from the Mindbody-ClassPass integration. It seamlessly translated organizational values into a tangible company culture, uniting a global workforce in a shared appreciation for each other's efforts and enabling a high-performance culture.