Setting up corporate yoga classes at your organization is the first step. You need to continuously manage the classes to get the most out of the wellness programs.
Here are a few tips we would like to share with you – these tips are based on many years of experience offering yoga programs to different organizations in and around St. Louis:
Have a corporate yoga coordinator who is responsible for communication flow between yoga teacher, company and yoga students. This will cut back on confusion many times thus saving time and sanity for everybody involved.
Explore the demand for on-site wellness programs before you begin looking for a supplier. You need to have a very clear idea about the preferred wellness options of your employees. Also, the number of interested co-workers makes a huge difference in your negotiations.
Ask your employees about best times for yoga classes. The easiest way is to set up an online survey with a few timing options. You can use SurveyMonkey.com for setting up free surveys (up to 100 respondents) or ask your IT department for help.
Promote the new yoga program as soon as you sign the contract with the yoga teacher. Let everybody know about the new classes so they can begin scheduling this new activity in their week.
Pay or no-pay classes? In our experience most yoga students have no issue with paying a small fee per class. Usually it is max $4-5. It is great savings for the people with the added flexibility and time saving as the class is offered at the workplace. Of course offering the new yoga program free of charge is also a very welcome idea.
One idea to try: gather the contribution your employees pay towards the yoga classes and use the funds to support a charity or company cause. Maybe help an employee in need with the funds? There are so many possibilities to use this money in the spirit of compassion, cooperation and support!
Pick a room for yoga with the help of the yoga teacher you are engaging. Let the instructor have a look at the available rooms and help you decide which one to take. You need some space around the yoga mats while practicing yoga – it can get very uncomfortable if you don’t have a big enough room. Also, the yoga teacher might need some space to store a few items between classes (e.g. mats, props, etc)
Share the company yoga experience in your newsletter to attract a continuous flow of students to the classes.
In case of changes due to holidays, vacations, or emergencies, try to notify all people involved as soon as you can. Please notify the yoga teacher immediately. It makes sense to create a separate mailer or email list of employees who are involved with the classes so you can reach them easily and quickly.
One class is not enough? Try to add classes and even different time if yoga got really popular at your organization. Offering yoga classes on-site is an excellent investment and brings real ROI to most businesses.
St. Louis Corporate Yoga will help you design the best program for your company. Just give us a call at 314-630-1677 or send an inquiry through the Contact page.