MOVATI Athletic's VP of People on the importance of shared values in growth
MOVATI Athletic's commitment to a servant culture is foundational to its approach to employee engagement and satisfaction.
Speaking to HRD, Sandra Cunha, Vice President of People and Culture at MOVATI Athletic, says this inverted pyramid approach really speaks to the service-profit chain.
"If we take care of our employees, our employees take care of our members, and the finances will follow. We don't stop and do our employees’ jobs for them, but we make sure they have the tools they need to succeed. If we need to work alongside them, we do that—leading from behind when necessary."
‘We intentionally seek out talent with a passion to serve’
Here, Cunha emphasizes the importance of embedding this philosophy throughout the organization.
"When I first came to MOVATI as the Learning and Development (L&D) Director, one of my objectives was to understand what created the culture here. It became clear through conversations with our now CEO, Chuck Kelly, that the focus was on taking care of our people. This principle of servant culture was initially called servant leadership, but we realized it shouldn’t be limited to leaders—it should sit with everyone.
“We intentionally seek out talent with a passion to serve, whether that’s serving clients or peers. About 70% of our current leadership team came from frontline roles, which is rooted in the principle of helping employees grow and develop internally. The leadership team’s focus isn’t just on the end user but on their team members. Their objective is to support growth and development within the organization."
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Inclusion and diversity are central to MOVATI's mission of creating a welcoming and supportive environment. She tells HRD that their mission has always been to make people feel welcome, comfortable, and healthy – which is inherently inclusive language.
“We’ve updated our language in our clubs to ensure a positive and inclusive environment for everyone, such as renaming family bathrooms to universal bathrooms and changerooms. We also offer extensive training for team members around gender awareness and creating inclusive environments.”
Employees range from 17-year-old students to retirees taking on part-time roles, says Cunha, “so we ensure our training accommodates these varied perspectives. The people serving our members often come from the same community—they look like them, speak their language, and understand where they’re coming from. That’s a key part of ensuring empathy and connection."
She says flexibility within the fitness industry also supports diversity and work-life balance.
“We’re open early in the morning and late at night, allowing different demographics to enter the workforce," Cunha added. "Whether you’re a new parent balancing family obligations or a retiree not ready to stop working, we offer shifts that work for different life stages."
But all of this exceptional growth and servant-style leadership approach didn’t happen by accident. Cunha’s own background in L&D has significantly influenced MOVATI’s professional development strategy.
“When I joined, we didn’t have a formal learning strategy in place. Now, we’re on our third learning management system and have built an impressive learning and development structure," she told HRD. "We branded it as the Institute of Excellence, which runs all formal learning paths and is one of our strategic pillars. Our focus is on creating a learning culture that supports employees throughout their life cycle, from recruitment to retirement."
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The Institute of Excellence takes a structured and personalized approach to onboarding and development. As Cunha explained, they use a staged approach for onboarding, with a dedicated facilitator team running the first week to ensure new hires have the skills they need.
“We incorporate blended learning styles, including e-learning courses tailored to employees’ roles and stages in their journey at MOVATI, along with on-the-job evaluations and coaching. We’ve always been great at growing internal talent, whether formally or informally. This includes building leaders from all levels—seasoned leaders, emerging leaders, or those leaders of leaders. We focus our learning content on MOVATI’s core and leadership competencies, identifying gaps, and creating development plans tailored to those needs."
MOVATI’s dedication to servant culture, inclusivity, and professional development has created a supportive and thriving work environment. Cunha sums up the philosophy perfectly: "At the heart of it, we’re focused on taking care of our people. When they feel supported and valued, they can deliver exceptional experiences for our members. That’s what makes MOVATI stand out."
