How to Build a Better Team at Your Gym
For many, joining a gym is akin to joining a new school or community group. It’s a way to find a group of like-minded people that are ready and willing to push you to become your best self.
This also means that the people members are surrounded with – aka other members, employees, etc. – should make them feel comfortable, welcomed, and motivated. The foundational group here is the internal team at your gym.
Your employees, trainers, and administrators act as the de-facto face of your gym. They are the ones who are on the front lines dealing with members every single day. They are the ones who make sure the message, values, and mission of your gym are communicated.
They’re responsible for making these same members feel welcomed and accepted in their new community.
At the end of the day, your employees can make or break your gym’s success, which makes hiring the right people even more critical. So, how can you build a better, more effective team at your gym? Here are a few pointers to keep your team moving forward:
Hire people who fit with your company culture.
Although ‘company culture’ is a concept that is most often associated with tech companies and larger corporations, gyms have a very specific type of culture that must be communicated through employees. Gym employees should be welcoming, inviting, and motivating while still being firm and helping to push members towards their fitness goals. It’s finding this delicate balance between friendly and firm that helps to formulate a gym’s company culture.
Know what your members are looking for.
While gym owners might want to hire every single trainer or instructor that walks through the doors, it’s important to tailor your hires to the wants and needs of your members.
If, for example, yoga classes are extremely popular, but spin classes are not, it’s probably not a good idea to hire more spin instructors.
This same mentality can be used for personality traits as well. If classes taught by straight-forward, no-nonsense instructors have higher attendance rates than classes taught by more conversational instructors.
This can give your hiring team a better idea of the type of instructors and classes your members are looking for.
Keep future scalability in mind.
When gym owners are trying to fill immediate openings and available positions, it can be tempting to make an offer quickly to help relieve your team and get bodies on the floor.
But if a gym is truly serious about growing and building long-term relationships with members, then hiring decisions must be made with long-term scalability in mind. Treat every single applicant as though they have the potential to be with your gym for many years down the road.
Can you see this person taking on future responsibility? Can you trust him or her with the ongoing success of your business? Asking these questions and making decisions with long-term success in mind means making the right hiring decisions for your business, not just the immediate situation.
Want more information on building a better team at your gym? Schedule a call with the Paramount team today to get insider tips on hiring and scaling a team.
