Own a gym? You might have a terrific facility with the fanciest equipment — but that alone won’t be enough to succeed!

Without highly trained staff who are properly managed, you’ll struggle to provide quality service and a positive member experience — both of which are needed to ensure your gym thrives.

Levelling up your staff management protocol will help you set your fitness franchise up for long-term success.

Why Staff Training Matters

Adequate and ongoing staff training provides numerous benefits to you as a fitness franchise owner. The following are some of the top reasons to prioritise staff training:

• Increase employee retention: People are more likely to be loyal to their employers and stick with them longer if they receive sufficient support and training.
  

• Improve employee performance: Well-trained employees perform better, from checking members in at the front desk to teaching group training sessions.
  

• Increases relevancy: When you provide regular staff education, you can feel confident that your staff is always up to date on the latest fitness trends and training modalities.
  

• Improved member retention: Properly trained employees who are loyal to their employer, perform their jobs correctly, and provide relevant information provide a better experience for gym members — and increase the likelihood that they’ll continue training at your facility.

Put simply… if you want your gym to run more smoothly, you need to dedicate time and resources to training your staff.

What Training Should Gym Staff Receive?

When training gym staff members, be sure to include information on critical subjects like these:

• Protocols for greeting, checking in, and assisting members

• Customer service techniques

• Sales techniques

• Information on inspecting, maintaining, and cleaning fitness equipment

• Information on proper fitness techniques and training strategies (for trainers/instructors)

Stepz Fitness franchisees have easy access to numerous training programs and resources, including regularly updated marketing and sales guides.

They also have direct contact with financial and strategic support professionals, as well as franchisors, to ensure they’re making wise decisions and running their gym effectively.

Why Staff Scheduling Matters

Another critical part of the gym staff management process is scheduling.

Without a solid protocol in place for scheduling employees (and keeping them informed about changes to their schedules), you may find your gym over or understaffed, neither of which is good for your fitness franchise’s bottom line.

Suppose your facility is understaffed during peak hours. In that case, you will likely struggle to provide quality service to members, which can hurt your reputation and decrease their chances of renewing their membership.

How to Improve Your Staff Scheduling Process

Luckily, there are several tools and techniques you can use to improve your scheduling process and provide your staff with the support and accommodations they need. The following are some of the best steps you can take today:

• Use scheduling software: Digital tools make it easy for you to look at your calendar, identify peak hours, and assign employees to specific time blocks. Scheduling software also helps you share schedules with your team, alert them to changes, and ensure everyone is on the same page.
  

• Create employee calendars in advance: Creating calendars early helps your employees know when they need to work and gives them time to request days off or trade shifts with their coworkers. Show your employees that you respect them and their time by sharing their schedules at least a few weeks (if not a month or more) in advance.
  

• Offer flexibility when possible: Your employees are busy people with lives outside of the gym. When you can, be flexible and willing to work with their schedules. If you support your employees, they’ll respond with loyalty, engagement, and better performance.

Not sure where to start when it comes to improving your scheduling process? Stepz Fitness Franchising provides all franchisees with the latest tools and technology to help them stay organised and ensure the facility is appropriately staffed at all times.

Why Performance Management Matters

Staff performance management helps you evaluate your team regularly, identify high performers, and keep employees motivated.

It’s easy for team members to get complacent or let their engagement slip. However, if you implement a solid performance management strategy, they’ll be more inclined to continue putting their best foot forward and pushing themselves to achieve their goals.

Tips for Better Performance Management

What does a good performance management strategy look like? Generally, it includes some or all of the following elements:

• Regular performance evaluations using a standardised rubric for all employees (to ensure they’re all being assessed fairly)
  

• Coaching sessions to identify strengths and weaknesses, help employees set goals, and check in to see how close they are to achieving those goals
  

• Recognition when employees make meaningful progress or achieve a goal

It’s also essential for fitness franchisees to focus on these factors when coaching and motivating employees:

• Purpose: Employees need to feel that their work matters and is helping the company move closer to its mission
  

• Challenge: Employees should be pushed outside of their comfort zone (but not too far) to encourage them to achieve goals and grow in their careers
  

• Attention: Employees should receive feedback to understand how they’re doing and what they can do to improve
  

• Growth: Employees should feel that they’re progressing toward and achieving their goals
  

• Choice: Employees should have a sense of choice and control over their goals, the steps they take to accomplish them, etc.

Stepz Fitness offers several performance management resources to help franchisees keep employees motivated and provide quality coaching, including HR systems and hiring tools to streamline the vetting process and ensure you’re hiring the best people for the job.

Conclusion

Proper staff management helps run your gym more effectively, provides a better experience to members and encourages long-term loyalty from both employees and members.

If you’re thinking about opening up a new gym, Stepz Fitness gives you everything you need to succeed. With Stepz Fitness, taking the leap and becoming your own boss is easier than you think! You bring your passion, and we’ll sort out the rest.

Reach out today to learn more.