BetterUp Launches Behavioral Research Labs

In the US, leadership development platform BetterUp is to invest up to $20m in a new behavioral research lab. This will combine input from business, academia and science to research how people can be their 'best selves', and arm companies with the insights and tactics to help them.

BetterUp, which recently raised $26m in a Series B funding round, offers on-demand, virtual coaching sessions, to help users practice and reinforce new behavior and skills and track and measure individual growth. BetterUp Labs has been set up to drive research to help people 'thrive as human beings' and in so doing, optimize their workplace performance and help their companies grow. The firm has already funded a longitudinal study of 5,000 American employees, investigating topics such as meaning and purpose, and producing research on the impact of loneliness in the workplace. Planned future research will include investigations into what separates 'flourishing employees' from others, what best practices support the most productive corporate cultures, and how individuals and corporations can better plan for the future.

Headed by BetterUp Chief Innovation Officer Dr Gabriella Rosen Kellerman, BetterUp Labs will also aim to break down barriers between business and academia. To support this aim, Professor Martin Seligman, author of 'Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being', joins the Labs' Science Board, to help design research programs in collaboration with research scientists and academic institutions from around the world.

Alexi Robichaux (pictured), co-founder and CEO of BetterUp, comments: 'Leading companies are eager to transform to better align their strategy and culture with the changing talent landscape, but they want proven approaches that drive business outcomes. BetterUp Labs will help companies worldwide link purpose and performance, producing actionable techniques and playbooks that promote human flourishing and drive business results at the same time.'

Web site: www.betterup.co .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.