Welcome to the Managing Director, People and Operations, interview
Please complete the following 4 objectives to the best of your abilities within the next 3 hours. Pay attention to time. Be sure to read all directions thoroughly. Details matter. Please use the Google Suite for all documents.
You MUST send us your Submission Email BEFORE your scheduled interview start time. Please join the Zoom room at least 1 minute prior to your scheduled interview. Tardiness will result in you losing this opportunity. Please be prepared to share your Zoom screen at the beginning of the interview to walk us through your completed materials.
Objective 1) Create and present an Operations Improvement Plan
Recommended time limit: 1-hour
At The Vegan Gym, we're committed to constant growth, and regular assessments are key to driving positive changes. As a remote team in a rapidly expanding business, our internal strategies and plans for Operations are crucial to ensure consistent improvements across all departments.
As you prepare to join our team, we'd like you to create a New Team Member Onboarding Improvement Plan in a Google Slide deck focusing on enhancing the onboarding process for new Team Members. Your presentation should provide a detailed breakdown of your improvement plans, offering step-by-step processes to implement positive and innovative changes effectively within our organization. Additionally, we're looking for actionable recommendations for our Leadership based on your assessment.
As a rough example of our present onboarding process, here’s our Onboarding Checklist for new Coaches.
Bonus: What are some steps you recommend we take to reduce our time to fill open positions on our team and improve the caliber of candidates who apply for these positions?
Please use the Montserrat font—size 13 for normal font and size 26 for the title slide.
Objective 2) Plan an event - The retreat
Recommended time limit: 1-hour
The annual Vegan Superhero Retreat has been a remarkable success over the past three years, growing significantly in size and experience each time. Your objective is to build on this momentum and make the first 24 hours of the Retreat 10 TIMES better. The “first 24 hours” begin when the clients arrive at the Retreat location (Camp Pocono) from Newark Airport on a shuttle on Tuesday evening around 6:30 pm EST. The first 24 hours of a client’s experience continue through the end of the first day, which we call Momentum Day.
The Retreat is open to all Vegan Superhero Academy clients, but only Momentum-level clients (clients who continue in our Vegan Superhero Academy coaching program for an additional 12 months beyond their initial coaching period) are invited to the special Momentum Day that kicks off the Retreat. This day is a bonus celebration for Momentum clients and needs to be a perfectly executed day of fun and bonding. Some key highlights from 2023’s event were the introduction of scheduled team-building activities, inflatables (waterslide, Zorb balls, and an inflatable obstacle course), Carnival-style games, and a movie by the lake on Momentum Day.
You can find a Retreat replay video and details on the location, dates, and venue HERE.
HERE is our 2023 Arrival and Momentum Day high-level itinerary, and HERE is the detailed breakdown of the events on Momentum Day.
Here is some Client feedback from the 2023 post-retreat survey:
“More pool time and even a pool party would be nice. Sunday was the hottest day, and the crew there had a lot of fun and we were all saying we wished we had spent more time there.”
“I really liked the mix of physical and mental activities. It felt like you threw all your ideas at us, and maybe it took a little too long. I really enjoyed it, and it was the highlight of my day each day, but a tad exhausting.”
“I have physical limitations that keep me from fully participating because I can't easily jump/run, fast movements.”
“The schedule seemed to be more light in the morning (depending on what you sign up for) and very packed at the end of the day (VSA Games sometimes went over, and dinner + evening/night activities were back-to-back but so much fun). Are there ways to mix it up on 1 or 2 days where the VSA Games start earlier or occur in the morning? The gap between breakfast and lunch was very short. Dinner felt so far away. Can we have more pool time next year? Perhaps open it up during and after dinner for a few days?”
“I thought the overall schedule and amount of different activities were excellent. I liked that the schedule was flexible.”
Here is some Team feedback from the 2023 post-retreat survey:
“More time for coaches to mingle with clients. Less full schedules for coaches.”
“Have more time to chill and connect with clients. Time to just have a chat and deep meaningful ones. More free slots in the schedule to connect with clients and also stay on top of coaching tasks.”
Your proposal and itinerary for the Arrival and Momentum Day portion of the Retreat should demonstrate creativity, strategic thinking, and a clear understanding of how to improve upon the successes of previous years. The objective is to 10X the experience and success of the Retreat. Include any additional elements or creative ideas you believe would contribute to making the 2024 Retreat an unparalleled success. One thing we definitely want to include is an arrival BBQ.
Include a Loom video presenting your event ideas and present it as a 60-second elevator pitch. Add the link to your Loom video at the top of the document.
Please use the Montserrat font—size 13 for normal font and size 26 for the title.
Objective 3) Navigate a crucial conversation with a client
Recommended time limit: 30-minutes
You will be receiving an email from a frustrated current client in about half an hour. She’s super unhappy and at risk of requesting a refund or leaving a poor review. We need to respond to her ASAP.
Craft an email response to the client within this timeframe. Please respond (Reply All) to the email before hopping onto the Zoom call.
Additionally, after your response to the client, articulate your reasoning and strategy in handling this situation in a Google Document. Elaborate on your approach to managing an unhappy client and outline proposed solutions for navigating this specific delicate scenario, and avoiding future client resolutions. Your insights should offer a comprehensive understanding of your methodology for resolving conflicts and retaining client satisfaction.
Please use the Montserrat font—size 13 for normal font and size 26 for the title.
Objective 4) Navigate a 1-star review
Recommended time limit: 30-minutes
TrustPilot is a valued source for finding reviews on products and companies. We are proud of the Vegan Superhero Academy’s high rating and rave reviews on this platform, and often use it as a source of testimonials in our marketing and client acquisition efforts.
Unfortunately, we have just received this 1-star review from a graduated client and must act fast:
“Very expensive and not worth it, I paid for this program and they charged $4,000 for three months. I have finished the program and the results are imperceptible. Basically what you get for your money is a cookbook and a spreadsheet and you get to be on a group call once a week. I was not able to participate as much as I initially thought and couldn't even utilize all of the coaching time or the Facebook community. How is this program worth $4,000 with no physical results to show for it? They’re very secretive about their pricing, it’s nearly impossible to find it anywhere on the Internet. They get you into a one-on-one sales call with a strong closer before they will talk anything about the price. ”
Background information on this client:
The Coach brought to the Leadership Team's attention during the Client’s time in the program that they felt the client was pulling away and engaging and communicating less towards the end of their time in the program.
The Coach Leader reached out to schedule an additional call to try to help understand the client's situation and connect with them to offer a path back to engagement that worked for them.
The client declined a call with Coach Leadership, expressing that they were too busy to train and wanted to get an in-person trainer. They also expressed there was “too much digital” aspect to the program.
The format of the program would have been addressed on the initial sales call and known to the client going into the program.
Please articulate a specific strategy for resolving this situation in a Google Document. Elaborate on your approach to managing an unhappy client who posts a public negative review, and outline proposed solutions for navigating this specific delicate scenario (including working to remedy this situation and get the client to remove their review), and avoiding future client resolutions. Your insights should offer a comprehensive understanding of your methodology in resolving conflicts and retaining client satisfaction in a public and private forum, and clear next steps with an action plan.
Please use the Montserrat font—size 13 for normal font and size 26 for the title.
Submission Email
Please email all of your objectives to me (carly@thevegangym.com), Leif (leif@thevegangym.com), and Daphne (daphne@thevegangym.com).
Your email should have the following format:
Email Subject: Your Full Name - Completed Objectives
Email Body:
First and Last name
An animal you consider to be your ‘spirit animal’
Objective 1: Operations Improvement Plan Presentation (Google Slides). Be sure to check the share permissions to be sure we can open it.
Objective 2: Link to your Event Retreat Document (Google Doc). Be sure to check the share permissions to be sure we can open it. Include a link to your Loom video elevator pitch.
Objective 3: Respond directly to the frustrated client's email. Link to your Dissatisfied Client Email Strategy Document (Google Doc). Be sure to check the share permissions to be sure we can open it.
Objective 4: Link to your 1-Star Review Strategy Document (Google Doc). Be sure to check the share permissions to be sure we can open it.
You are welcome to include any additional information you would like to share about the assignment or your application.
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