Barre3 Case Study
A Racial Reckoning Spurs Fitness Brand to Change
Situation
In early 2020, business was good for fitness company Barre3
In 12 short years, they’d grown from their original Portland, Oregon, studio to 175 studios across the U.S. and the world. Leadership was taking first steps to fix their diversity, equity, and inclusion problems when a pandemic hit, bringing their brick-and-mortar businesses to a halt. Survival took precedence, and the DEI initiative went on hold. But the world turned upside-down again with the murder of George Floyd and the uprising that followed. In the midst of a reckoning around race, Barre3 leadership concluded that, despite uncertainty, they were going all in to address an entrenched culture.
Solutions
The Path to Real Change
ITBOM LLC applied a combination of transformational whole systems change and design thinking to Barre3’s problem. Experience has shown, this is the most effective way to create lasting change.
The process follows four steps:
The process follows four steps:
- Empathize/define (level-set discussions, trainings)
- Ideate (facilitated discussion, Mural board ideation, discussion groups)
- Prototype (creation of road map)
- Test (implementation of road map)
The Empathize Step: You don’t know what you don’t know
The empathize step involved getting as many people as possible on the same page through a series of trainings. This was an important step toward solidifying the company’s commitment to the DEI initiative. ITBOM began by laying the foundation with a not-seen-in-school lesson on the history of racism in the U.S. and, specifically, in the health and fitness industry. Next, we provided trainings on unconscious bias, cross-cultural communication, and a four-part training on systemic inequity in hiring practices.
Many ways to learning to Ensure Maximum Engagement
Confronting systemic racism is a difficult topic for most people. To ensure maximum engagement, ITBOM provided a variety of ways for people to access the information and ask questions. In addition to online trainings with group discussion, ITBOM provided background reading and was available by email or during office hours for one-on-one discussions and coaching. Creating a nonjudgmental environment was key to getting people to open up and speak freely.
Assessment survey
provides direction and a baseline
As part of the ideation phase, ITBOM worked with Barre3 to create an equity needs assessment survey. ITBOM presented an analysis of the survey, which showed the company, at 87% white, was in dire need of racial diversification. There were also deficits in hiring, community partnerships, and communication on DEI topics. The good news was that there was also a high level of willingness to embrace DEI.
Bringing it all together
with many voices
ITBOM gave Barre3 a list of recommendations and worked with departments to create implementation strategies. We facilitated the process of getting as many voices as possible to contribute to the company equity statement. We structured ways to reimagine inclusive core values, communicate equity goals, and measure progress. Together, we created a road map on how to reach these goals and communicated the plan widely. The early work of gaining maximum buy-in from all levels of the organization was paying off. The initiative had momentum.
Results
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A year later, Barre3 outlined their goals and was on their way to meeting them. They’ve updated their core values statement, mission statement, and vision statement to include DEI. They have an equity statement and a letter of commitment from leadership. All these statements are visible to the entire company.
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The DEI Committee has been redefined to be more effective and open, serving as a nexus of ideas, a sounding board, and a resource for employees.
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Barre3 focused on the critical areas of recruitment and hiring. More equitable hiring practices are being developed and potential obstacles to recruitment are being addressed, such as waiving training fees for instructors. All these actions lead toward the ambitious future goal of increasing racial diversity by 30% in the next three years.
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Additional goals include systematizing DEI training, diversifying marketing materials, and continuing to evaluate progress and refine goals.
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An important cultural shift has happened within the organization. Employees feel empowered to act where they see opportunities for improvement in the areas of DEI. They don’t wait for direction from a leader or committee. They know that they can propose change from where they stand.
Conclusion
Through open and accepting communication, good data and analysis, and help focusing priorities, Barre3 made swift progress toward their DEI goals. Sometimes the changes don’t come as swiftly as they’d like, but ITBOM helped them understand that systemic change doesn’t happen overnight. Barre3 is confident in the understanding that, as long as forward motion is happening, they’re on the right track.