11y
Hi, it's Melanie.
Thank you so much for your feedback. SoulCycle is growing fast. I'm actually really glad you're asking me to stop, take a breather and reflect on how we can make this better .
SoulCycle was built on passion. Our mission – to change the world through joy in fitness – is incredible. We love both our product and our people and we’re excited to come to work every day. When you believe in something so much, and are having a great time doing it, you can lose sight of how hard you’re working. We’re all running hard and fast and I'm super focused on creating a bright future and growth opportunities for everyone at SoulCycle.
Over the last two months, I've visited 30 of our studios to meet and work alongside with our managers, keyholders, front desk and cleaning teams. I got a chance to see first hand how hard everyone is working. I spend as much time in the field as I can and please know that Julie, Elizabeth and I could not be more grateful or more aware of the level of service you are delivering in the field.
As our company has expanded, inevitable change has come with our growth. I will be the first to admit that rapid expansion can cause growing pains. Our incredible mission -- to “bring Soul to the people” – drives us to set ambitious goals and we empower and expect a lot of our managers. Challenging our leaders to perform at their highest level supports their own growth and the continued expansion of our amazing company. However, these expectations should never induce stress, especially given we’re a company based on rejuvenation. My hope is that we encourage and excite people to achieve their potential.
I completely agree with you that we all make great friends at SoulCycle. But I know that having friends here is a double-edged sword. Work becomes play becomes days off spent in studios and I know our teams have made their lives with us. This can often lead to people's feeling a lack of balance. I encourage people to pursue passions outside of SoulCycle, recharge and reconnect, but we can do more.
Julie and Elizabeth are visionary CEOs, but with their vision has come years of sweat and hard work in building our studios. They’ve set the pace and the work ethic that we instill in our teams. Everyone at SoulCycle is having a direct impact on our riders’ lives. I really believe that we're changing the world.
To wrap this up, I hear you. And thank you. I’m going to take a hard look at the work/life balance of our teams. Our executive team has committed to spend real time focusing on this. That said, most of our best ideas come out of the studios. I encourage you to email me directly (melanie.whelan@soul-cycle.com) with ideas on how we can improve work/life balance and help alleviate any stress. We're committed to making change. It's an inevitable part of growth.
Thank you again for your feedback.
With Soul,
Melanie
