Welcome to your BetterUp Launch! We're excited for your transformation journey ahead and have curated a wealth of resources to walk you through each step along the way. Get started by setting an official experience launch date at least 4-weeks out.

4 weeks to launch

• Confirm your BetterUp experience’s launch date. This is the date that BetterUp activation invitations will be sent to your members. Your launch date should match the terms of your contract to ensure that you get full utilization from your licenses! Any concerns, please reach out to your BetterUp Deployment Manager.

• Select a deadline for members to activate their accounts. We recommend 10 days after launch day. Within your engagement campaign, it is important to communicate this deadline to members, letting them know that you will fill their unused spot with another individual on the wait-list. This can help employees prioritize coaching and evaluate whether it is truly the right time to engage with BetterUp.  

• Review your launch timeline, and ensure that you know what tasks should be completed by which dates. 

• Create a custom timeline for your specific launch so that you can keep yourself accountable to important milestones!

Configuring the Manager Dashboard

Our goal is to make sure each person using BetterUp can maximize the value of coaching. Since studies show that coaching is most effective when it is driven by the person receiving coaching, the decision of if (and when) to include a manager is left to the discretion of the employee. There are various reasons that employees may not choose to involve their manager at onboarding: brand new manager, employee already receives ample feedback from manager, employee wants to experience coaching first, etc Managers who are invited by their members will receive an invite to create a BetterUp account with Manager access. They are NOT receiving coaching (unless they already have Member access). 

The 360 Review

Our 360 Review tool allows members to receive quantitative and qualitative feedback from their manager, coworkers and direct reports. The tool helps members have deeper context for their strengths and weaknesses which can aid in coaching conversations. Use the instructions below to take advantage of this feature for your members:

1. If you have an existing 360 assessment, you may consider turning off the BetterUp 360. Otherwise, we recommend including the BetterUp 360 as an option for members and they can discuss with coaches if and when a BetterUp 360 is appropriate.
2. From there, coaches initiate the 360 review process with an initial discussion and assessment in the BetterUp platform. Upon completion, contributors are sent an email to participate within a given time frame.

3. If the 360 is kept on, then it is initiated by the coach between months 1 and 2 after having 3-5 coaching sessions. 

Determining Your Member program Length

BetterUp's learning methods ultimately strive to change habits and behaviors over time. According to the science of behavior change, it typically takes 6-12 months to transition from learning about a new behavior, to practicing it, to an effortless state of being—where the behavior is automatic. 

For that reason, our program is designed with a personalized recommended 12-month program experience that aids in a continuous learning loop for permanent changes that lead to professional impact. We've seen that  allowing employees to reflect on growth areas only leads to high levels of additional growth which means this isn't an ideal time to interrupt their learning development. Our science indicates that people who received at least 8 months of coaching experienced 23% less burnout and increased their leadership abilities to motivate others by 15%.

Member Email List

Once you have identified the members that will participate in BetterUp coaching, create a list of these individual’s  names and email  addresses using the Member List template. You will use this information to invite members to BetterUp via the PAD, by sending activation emails to each member. 

If you don't already have a group of potential members in mind, work with your business line leaders to identify employees who would benefit from this BetterUp experience. 

It is important to finalize your member list no later than 3 Weeks before Launch, so that you can start your engagement campaign on time.

We recommend setting a deadline for members to activate their BetterUp accounts (typically 10 days post-launch) and preparing a Wait List (10% of your total member count). If members do not activate their BetterUp account by the deadline, you can then swap them out for employees on the waitlist! For example, if you are launching 200 members on BetterUp, make sure to include an additional 20 members on the waitlist. 10 days after launch, you can remove any members that did not activate and invite members from the waitlist to replace them. 

Recommendations on Selecting Members:

• Our research shows that employees who demonstrate the following characteristics are typically more engaged and benefit more from coaching:

• Individuals who are going through a life or career transition

• Individuals who want to focus on intrapersonal and interpersonal goals (well-being, focus, leadership, etc.) 

• Individuals with higher level of motivation and desire for change

• Leaders and individual contributors within the following areas of the organization can benefit from coaching:

• Areas of the organization that are experiencing performance challenges or significant changes

• For example, a sales department that isn’t hitting their targets or a business unit going through a restructuring. 

• Areas of the organization that have significant talent gaps. 

• For example, employees that are under-developed like new managers. 

• Areas of the organization that have specific business initiatives that can be supported or enhanced by coaching

• For example, programs with objectives to develop high potentials, women leaders, new parents, etc. With goals to increase retention, engagement and promotion. 

“When you have 1,000 people receiving coaching all at once, that can change a culture very quickly.”

-Matthew DodsonOrganizational Development, Chevron

Welcome to BetterUp

Change, growth, renewal— are just a few words to describe the harmonic experience ahead. BetterUp combines personalized 1:1 coaching with curated safe spaces to help people live with greater clarity, purpose, and passion at scale. Because in order to do our best work requires having the right support and the right time. That’s where we come in.

For every unique member profile, our science-backed model populates a customized whole person approach to help people flourish both personally and professionally. This results in organizational-wide cultural transformation where people collectively lead happier lives. What could it look like if your day to day felt meaningful? In this guide, we’ll preview how this experience unfolds at BetterUp and what to expect for your member journey. Bon voyage!

• Coaching vs. Therapy

• The BetterUp Coaching Advantage

• Types of Coaching

• What to Expect in Activating Membership

• Your Coaching Journey: Helpful Tips For Optimal Results

• BetterUp Member Features & Resource Library

• Helpful Resources

Coaching vs. Therapy: Key Differences to Know

You might be wondering how coaching differs from therapy and why we’ve chosen to focus on one. While similar in evidence-based techniques and intentional dialogue as primary tools, coaching focuses primarily on the present and future, while therapy studies past experiences that inform the present, and future. At BetterUp, we intentionally designed our approach around Coaching to focus on personal growth and professional development. 

Please note, BetterUp does not provide therapy on our platform or make any type of mental health diagnosis through our services.

The BetterUp Coaching Advantage

BetterUp sets the gold standard in performance coaching by certifying that every coach is a trained professional with a background in coaching or counseling and experience supporting professionals’ growth and development. Coaches must pass through an extensive interview process, background check, and training program designed by our world-class science board. BetterUp coaches have either:

 A graduate degree in a behavioral sciences field (e.g. clinical psychology, counseling, or organizational psychology) plus at least 1,000 hours of coaching or counseling experience; or

A prestigious credential in executive coaching at an International Coaching Federation Professional Certified Coach level or equivalent. Many of our coaches are licensed therapists or psychologists, expert practitioners with doctorates, and highly sought-after executive coaches.

Types of Coaching

BetterUp began with access only to primary coaching - a coach that you build an ongoing relationship with through regular coaching sessions, and with whom you discuss long-term coaching goals. But, sometimes you need to bring in an expert for issues that are beyond your primary coach’s expertise, or you need urgent support from a coach for an upcoming meeting or difficult conversation. For that reason, BetterUp offers a suite of coaching options to meet members where they are in life’s journey.

Dedicated coaching:

Employees meet one-on-one with their coach, focusing on highly personal growth areas — leading to robust and lasting transformation. Our staple 1:1 coaching offering, dedicated coaching provides members with access to a coach on a more long-term basis - allowing the pair to establish a relationship, identify and work towards goals, and embark on the BetterUp journey with. Dedicated coaches include our professional cloud, general memberships extended to high-potential employees and emerging leaders and our Executive Cloud, coaching centered on senior leaders in large organizations (VP+) managing complex and high-pressure decisions.

On-Demand coaching:

Employees who need in-the-moment support can answer a few questions and get matched with a coach for an on-demand session that day. On-Demand coaching is designed to provide members the ability to have impromptu, short-notice sessions with an available primary coach to discuss time-sensitive coaching topics, such as an upcoming difficult conversation or challenging decision to navigate. Sessions can be scheduled within 1 hour of the current time.

Specialist Coaching:

Add expert coaches to your bench to support targeted employee needs like nutrition, sleep, diversity & inclusion, and more. Specialized programs that give members the opportunity to access highly targeted support to help them thrive - inside and outside of the office. Staffed by coaches who are qualified and have expertise in the subject matter. We offer a number of verticals and each program will select which verticals they want their team to have access to.

Coaching Circles: 

Live group sessions led by a coach. Groups meet weekly to build skills and jump-start behavior change with support from their peers. Structured virtual group coaching conversations with fellow employees on a predetermined topic, such as giving and receiving feedback. 

Coaching Labs:

Dive deep on topics in short single sessions that fit member’s busy schedule. An expert coach will lead members through learning, activities, and group discussion. Coaching Labs are designed as drop-in experiences where you log in, see the topics available to you, and make a selection to join a short (e.g., 60 min) session with an unlimited number of your peers. Topics include things such as navigating difficult conversations, digital detox, and building purpose in your life.

What to Expect During Activating Your Membership and Beyond

BetterUp Resource Library:

Explore the AI driven resource library with articles, videos, activities, and more to support you in key areas like resilience, remote working, and stress management.

FAQs on the member experience here

Use the Coach Briefing Template to outline your goals and key information for your BetterUp experience so BetterUp can brief the coaches accordingly and collectively drive toward your unique organizational goals. 

Submit your responses to your BetterUp Deployment Manager. The coaches will be required to review this information before meeting with the members. 

Coach Briefing Template: https://view.highspot.com/viewer/60fb278866bbaa47192073d0

All of your hard work has paid off! Launch Day is the day that BetterUp invitation emails will be sent to your members. You should have sent out your Launch Day Announcement email. For a refresher on the member onboarding process, watch this quick video. 

If members cannot locate their BetterUp activation email, you can resend the email to them in the PAD. 

• Login to the PAD, navigate to the “Admin” section, and click “Members” at the top.  

• Search for the member and click the 3 black dots to the right of their name.

• Click “resend invitation”

You can follow these same steps to remove members from BetterUp if needed. 

Members can also reach out to support@betterup.co for any troubleshooting needs. Please take 2 minutes to complete the Launch Feedback Survey. By filling it out, you will help give BetterUp valuable feedback to continue improving on our launch planning resources.

Congratulations on your successful launch! Now that your members have received their BetterUp activation emails, you can drive early activation and engagement using the PAD. Nudge members to activate their accounts using the email templates in the engagement campaign. 

Send Reminder Email Communications

The email templates include post-launch best practices to motivate members to activate their account and schedule their first coaching session. 

Waitlist Utilization

Set a deadline for members  to activate 10 days after launch to drive toward early engagement. On the deadline, send out a last reminder email to members that have not yet activated, letting them know that they will be removed from BetterUp within 24 hours. Use the email template from the engagement campaign. 

Then, swap them out for participants on your waiting list by removing members via the PAD. New members from the waitlist should be invited via the PAD with the same end date as your original cohort.

Monitor the PAD

PAD admins should log into their BetterUp account weekly to monitor member engagement. 

Healthy Program Goals:

• 7 days post launch  = 70% Onboarded
• 14 days post launch = 80% Onboarded
• 21 days post launch = 90% Onboarded

This can be monitored via the Activation Funnel within the PAD. Members should have their first coaching sessions scheduled and completed by 21 days post launch. Utilize the CSV report to monitor ‘first session date.’

What to expect next?

Going forward you should expect to monitor the PAD regularly and continue to nudge members for ongoing engagement. Your account team will schedule regular syncs to monitor cohort progress and outcomes. Topics for account syncs: 

• Learning and Insights Review

• Reflection Point Reminders & Best Practices

• Ongoing BetterUp Management Questions

Don’t forget to take the BetterUp Post Launch Feedback Survey: Launch Feedback Survey.