A Season of Growth:🏃🏻‍♂️

Kano’s Winter Wellness Program: Keeping Our Team Connected, Motivated, and Well ❄️💪

At Kano, we believe that a healthy team is a happy team. Since the winter months can often bring challenges to mental and physical well-being, we launched our Winter Wellness Program to prioritize our team’s health, foster engagement, and ensure that everyone had the support they needed to thrive. This 8-week program was designed not only to fight off the winter blues 🌧️ but to build lasting habits that promote overall well-being and strengthen connections across our team.

What Was the Program About?

The Winter Wellness Program encouraged each of our team members to set a personal wellness goal for two months, with a focus on continuous improvement (a Kano Core Value), regular check-ins, and general wellness. From fitness and mental wellness to learning new skills and nutrition 🍏, participants took time to reflect on their individual goals and took actionable steps toward achieving them.

Supporting Each Other Along the Way

To ensure that our team felt connected and motivated, we created an internal Slack channel dedicated to wellness 💬, where employees shared their progress, updates, and support. This space fostered accountability and encouraged individuals to celebrate their wins, no matter how big or small 🎉.

Here’s a glimpse into the types of wellness goals our team members set:

Some team members focused on upskilling in areas like programming 📚. For example, one team member dove into a PHP course, dedicating at least 10 minutes a day to learning and gradually working through small projects. Their approach included tracking progress with a Google sheet and treating themselves after achieving weekly milestones 🍦. An unexpected but truly amazing outcome was that when an opportunity became available, their upskilling efforts helped them transition into a new role within the company!

Another team member set social connection goals to strengthen personal relationships by spending time with friends and family outside of the home 🗓. Whether it was meeting for a simple coffee ☕️ or a dinner outing 🍴, their goal was to reconnect regularly with others to recharge their social batteries—a great focus for a remote team! They also made an effort to connect with team members at work, sharing a mutual love of games.

Many of our team members made movement a priority! One stayed consistent with their Peloton routine, mixing cycling, weightlifting, and yoga 🧘‍♀️—even adding in lunch break walks for an extra boost. Some also used smartwatches to track progress, focusing on improving their VO₂ max, a key indicator of cardiovascular health.

The Friday Wheel Spin! 🎉

Each week, we added an extra element of fun with the Friday Wheel Spin! 🎡 Team members who actively participated and updated their progress were eligible for a prize draw, with chances to win exciting prizes 🎁. Whether it was a gift card, a wellness-related item, or a fun treat 🍪, this activity helped keep energy high and wrapped up the week on a positive note! 🥳

Wellness Education 🍽️🎓

Throughout the program, our program facilitator shared valuable resources aligned with weekly themes. We even invited Phillip to lead a Lunch & Learn session with us, offering lessons in stress reduction and resilience building. During the session, Phillip provided practical tips for managing stress and improving resilience in both personal and professional life, along with helpful resources for ongoing reference.

A Supportive and Engaging Environment

This program wasn’t just about setting individual goals—it was about coming together as a team to share the journey 🤝. Regular check-ins and updates in the Slack channel created an environment where team members motivated each other, shared tips, overcame challenges, and celebrated successes 💬. It was all part of our broader initiative to keep everyone connected, no matter where they were or what their individual goals may have been.

Wellness Beyond the Program

Our Winter Wellness Program aligned with Kano’s ongoing commitment to fostering a culture of well-being 🧘‍♂️. From our Continuous Improvement Benefit 💵, which helps employees invest in their wellness, to regular weekly check-ins with managers, we continue looking for ways to ensure our team members feel supported at work and in their personal lives.

A great example of the transformative power of this program was how one persons personal goal morphed into something much bigger. This team member committed to 15 minutes a day to learning French with Duolingo 📱, and over time, their interest in expanding their language skills grew. With Kano's Continuous Improvement Benefit, they enrolled in a formal language course, using the wellness budget to invest in their personal development. This transformation from a small daily habit to a structured course showed how the right support can fuel long-term growth 🌱.

Looking Ahead

As we wrapped up this program, we reflected on the incredible progress our team made 🌱 and the goals they achieved 🎯. We believe that when our people feel good, they perform their best—and that, in turn, strengthens our company as a whole.

By continuing to invest in the health and happiness of our team, we’re not just fostering a better workplace—we’re creating a supportive community that thrives together, no matter the season ☀️🌨️.

Thank you for following along as we prioritized well-being and growth at Kano. 🚀

Best,
The Kano Team