At one time, I took over a company with multiple failing gyms, and I had to figure out why they were failing. As I got to know the staff members, I realized that many people were the wrong fit for the roles they were in. Many of the employees that I thought could grow to be great leaders were disengaged and had no rapport with upper-level management. Some even told me they were looking for other jobs.
A few weeks into taking over the company, all of the staff at one of the gyms quit. Instead of rushing to fill those positions, I decided to take it slowly to fill the positions so I ensured I chose people that fit the culture I wanted to create.
Here are four lessons I learned that you can apply today in the most competitive fitness employment market ever.
1. Hire values, not just experience. To hire for values, you need to know the culture you want to create at your club so the values correlate. Unfortunately, most employers don't know what they want out of their culture. They want employees to have fun, they want to be liked and they want people to want to come to work. Because of that, they don’t hold people accountable or they become a friend first and a boss second. But instead of creating a great culture, this approach creates an unproductive hangout spot. When you determine specific characteristics you want out of staff members and look for only those, you can train expectation and execution. By doing so, the people with the right characteristics will have the right reasons to execute well. This naturally aligns their goals to yours. Keep the characteristics list short, and don’t overthink it. What are the three most important characteristics you're looking for in an individual? For example, our staff members embody care for others, authenticity with themselves and coworkers, and a strong desire to learn.
2. Care about the staff member before the job. The second consideration in staff retention is considering what each of your employees is going through. Of course, staff members have jobs to get done, but driving team members to do "more" often has more negative repercussions than positive outcomes. Do you know where your team member wants to be in five years? Are they trying to get a new car or get their own apartment? You can help them set goals around these things and help them accomplish them. Even better, do they want to own their own gym one day? Then they need to understand how to sell and how to market. What a phenomenal internship opportunity for you to give them the experience they will need and give you extra help to make your location successful. This will keep your staff internally motivated as long as you can consistently point back to how you see the long-term vision progressing.
3. Celebrate when staff members move on. If a great staff member is graduating from school and getting their dream job someplace else, don't let them leave like a thief in the night. Instead, celebrate that they are bettering themselves. This allows your members and other staff to feel more empowered to be honest with you if they are unsatisfied or are considering making a move from your gym. This is also a great way to attract new staff members that are attracted to your culture of bettering everyone that comes through your staff. The right people will see that and want to be around others with that same mindset. Remember the old adage "birds of a feather flock together." This holds true with teams as well.
4. Understand what your vision is for your business. One of the top reasons that many team members leave a fitness job is because they believe that they will have more opportunity to grow elsewhere. So why don't they feel they have the same opportunity in your business? Most of the time, when I ask fitness business owners where they see their business in the future, they don't have set goals or a vision for their business’s future. So if you don't have vision, then your staff has nothing to connect to. Do you want to have multiple locations? Do you want to have 500 members? Do you want to replace yourself as the studio manager? Whatever your goals are, if you see potential in others and they have a desire to grow within your business, setting up steps to make that happen is imperative to keep them engaged.
If you have been struggling with retaining staff over the last few years, you may be taking the wrong approach to running your business. Your team consists of people who have lives, families, problems and dreams. When you create a staffing and retention plan that considers these factors, it becomes more than just job descriptions and KPIs. Love your team well and help them live their best life so they in turn can help you live yours.
BIO
Ben Ludwig is senior performance manager for the United States and Canada for F45 Training, the fastest growing fitness franchise in the world. He holds global trainings in sales, marketing and opening strategy for the company as well as helping to develop all training content for franchisees. He also serves as the growth pastor for CrosspointNow network of churches across Kansas, acts as the subject matter expert in sales for Fitness Revolution, sits on the advisory board for the International Strength Training Organization and helps with many start-up businesses, including owning multiple fitness businesses featured on Good Day Kansas and KWCH Channel 12 News. He contributes regularly to fitness business magazines including Club Solutions, IDEA fitness magazine, Personal Fitness Professional (PFP), Gym Owner Monthly Magazine and Boutique Fitness Solutions. Ludwig also volunteers his time on non-profit boards of directors.