This survey is the one of several November Project Brooklyn and New York City surveys to get a feel for what is going right and what we need to do better. This first survey is focused on what made members, both current and past, feel included or excluded at November Project workouts and events.
Thank you to the 86 people who participated and took the time to fill out the November Project Brooklyn and NYC survey. You spoke (or in this case typed) and we, the co-leaders, listened (read). The co-leaders from both Brooklyn and NYC met individually as a city and then jointly to discuss your comments and how we can try and make November Project a better place for everyone. We appreciate the kind words, constructive criticism, or just general feelings shared. Below are the New York co-leaders’ summary and action plan based on what you all told us.
First, we as co-leader of NYC want to apologize. In the past we haven’t always had the most patience and best manners at every workout. It reflects poorly on us, November Project NYC, and November Project as a whole. We are sorry. We know for some of you we still have a long way to go to earn back your respect. We will do our best to show that we’ve learned and changed. While we have discussed how we as co-leaders should handle ourselves better, we will continue to hold ourselves accountable.
Overall, a common point that was shared in the survey responses was people didn’t feel included at certain moments at November Project: their first workout, the Friday NYC marathon workout, and social events.
Several people shared that at their first workout with November Project they felt intimidated by “how close everyone was” and “breaking in seems hard at first”. While we’re glad these people both said these feelings went away quickly, we can still try and make the first workout even better. Showing up when you don’t know anyone at the workout or don’t even know anyone in the city can be a big step. While we can greet people at the beginning when they show up, some people told us the welcoming spirit lagged during the workout. In the future, we’ll aim to give newbies a buddy for part of the workout and meet with the new members briefly after the workout to talk about our social page and ask if they have any questions. We’d love for members to volunteer to be a buddy at the workout to help new members feel more welcome.
Now imagine you’re new to November Project but there are 300 people all talking/yelling and it’s really dark. That’s the several minutes before the NYC marathon workout. While many of you may have great memories, some people expressed that they felt “a bit left out” and it was “cliquey”. To hopefully change this, we as leaders will look into ways to make the gathering before the workout more welcoming and more natural to join a small circle of people. Some examples we’ve seen work well at other large November Project events are randomly assigning people into different groups based on a wristband or plastic egg or having people move to talk to someone they don’t know every time a bell rings.
November Project NYC social events have been heavily bar focused in the past. While some social events are at bars out of necessity due to the location and space, we want a better mix of social events in the future, especially ones that don’t revolve around drinking. In the past we’ve gone bowling, attempted to play laser tag (sigh), and cleaned up parks. We plan to add more of these kinds of social events in the future when we can meet back in-person. Have an awesome idea for a social event? Submit it in our idea section. But don’t be surprised if we ask you to help with planning!
On top of ideas we also want you to always be able to provide anonymous feedback on anything November Project NYC related: workouts, events, socials, etc. If you have feedback and you’re comfortable sharing it- submit it here– it’s open 24/7.
An area of focus we the co-leaders want to work on in the future is meaningful collaborations with other fitness groups in New York City. Whether it is a mural run, park clean-up, or #justshowingup at other group’s events to support them. Stay tuned. Know of something fun/important we should look into? Let us know here.
We plan to mention the Feedback and Idea form monthly at our workouts and on our social page. We are always open to feedback and looking for new ideas to make November Project NYC better
Thank you again for taking the time to fill out the survey. We look forward to making these and other changes to November Project NYC and working with you all to make November Project a better and more welcoming community. We look forward to hearing your feedback on our next survey topic.
Kevin, Mel, and Rob
-November Project NYC co-leaders
Updated: 8/15/2020
