Have you put yourself in the shoes of your most disengaged employees? If you did, you would likely see that they’re not challenging themselves at a personal level. What are the barriers that are preventing them from being their best, most courageous selves? Offering a company benefit that removes barriers to courage could be the key to re-engaging employees.
If you had no barriers holding you back from doing something you’ve always wanted to do, would you still do it?
Think about that for a moment.
What have you always wanted to do, but been putting it off because you’ve made every excuse not to do it? It takes courage to put those excuses aside and go for it.
Of all the excuses we use, time and money are often the most common. They are the most understandable to believe. However, the truth is, we waste a lot of both. When you strip away the excuses from doing something life-changing, it often comes down to the fear of being uncomfortable.
When you push your comfort zone, you turn a weakness into a strength. In the business world, when employees push their comfort zones, they become stronger and more empowered leaders. A company is only as solid as its weakest disengaged employee. It takes wise investment in each to bring them up.
It all started from a yoga retreat
Last year, Dovico CEO, Yves Doucet, attended the Baptiste Institute Yoga instructor course in Tulum, Mexico. Upon returning from his week-long yoga leadership retreat, he understood firsthand the power of breaking through the barriers of courage.
For years, he made excuses not to go on this retreat. Often the timing wasn’t right, or the budget couldn’t fit it in. Finally, the stars aligned, and he got the chance to go. But while there, Yves learned that it wasn’t time or money that kept him from going; it was his discouraging narrative of shame that held him back. Once he discovered that, his world opened up for him.
This uplifting realization inspired Yves to think about those of his team back home. Yves thought about how Dovico could help its employees break down the barriers and become stronger from courage. On the way back home, Yves came up with the idea of a courage program to help everyone at Dovico.
What’s a courage program?
Dovico designed the courage program to encourage staff to go after a dream that they’ve been putting off. By providing a gift up to $3000 and the time off as needed, Dovico removes the most common barriers of time and money people put ahead of their most courageous dreams.
If courage means to edit and publish your first book? Dovico helps.
If courage means for you to jump out of a plane (with a parachute)? Dovico helps.
If courage means to buy your fiancee an engagement ring? Dovico helps.
If courage means to take your family on vacation to reconnect with loved ones? Dovico helps.
It just doesn’t matter what it is. Courage is very different for every person.
What are the rules of the courage program?
Breakdown of Dovico’s Employee Courage Program:
- A gift of up to $3000 towards your courageous “act” – this benefit is offered completely free of repayment to all employees who have worked for the company for at least one year.
- Up to $30,000 per year for the entire team (so about ten employees can access it per year) – so budget this effectively, there needs to be a cap in place. With the budget set to a max of ten employees, that’s about 33% of Dovico employees who can benefit from it.
- Time off from work – sometimes it is necessary for someone to achieve their courage outside of the office. Giving time off for courage is determined on a case-by-case basis.
- Employees can access the program once every two years – to ensure that everyone gets a chance at the benefit, a limit needs to be set.
- There is no approval process or criteria. – everybody has different things that ignite courage. Some acts of courage may be grand, others may be very simple. There can be no discrimination.
- It’s not intended for skillset or training purposes – upgrading employee training is something that is done outside of this program. While it may be courageous to take a new course, there are other ways for this to be funded.
So, what if you’re offered the chance to remove those common barriers to personal growth? Would you jump at the challenge? Or would you at least take the time and think about the excuses you made not to take that bold and brave step to grow?
If you’re a leader of a great group of employees, what could something like Dovico’s Courage Program do for your staff? Imagine an engaged company culture of courage facing employees immersed in personal growth.
Are you courageous enough to take that step to allow them to open up?
Be first in line and take the first step towards fostering courage.
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