Hiring gym staff is one of the most important aspects of growing and scaling your fitness business.
If you’ve ever experienced the frustration of wearing all the hats in your business and telling yourself, “If I don’t do it, it’s not going to get done,” then you need to be aware of some simple strategies to make your life a lot easier and less stressful.
Whether it’s another trainer, administrative assistant, marketing manager, or director of client experience, hiring the right people to join your team can make the difference between having a thriving fitness business and one that’s constantly draining you and dragging you down.
But how do you find the right people? For the right jobs? And make sure they know what to do, what’s expected, how to succeed, and what’s in it for them?
Hiring gym staff starts with having a complete understanding of how your fitness business works, what tasks need to be done, and how it all connects to the goal of improving the results and experience for your clients.
That last part is important … Let’s read that again.
“… how it all connects to the goal of improving the results and experience of your clients.”
If it doesn’t improve the results and experience of your clients, it’s probably not something you should be spending time or money on.
First, let’s go over the top 3 positions you might need to add to your team. Only then can we fully understand what each of those roles looks like, who are the right people for them, and how to set them up for success.
- Trainer: If you intend to grow and scale your business beyond a reasonable training schedule for yourself, hiring gym staff should be a top priority. If you burn yourself out by taking on too many sessions, you’re not going to have the time or energy to do the marketing, sales or client experience tasks that will keep your business healthy and growing at the rate you need to have the income and life you want.
- Administrative Assistant: A good rule of thumb for delegation is to do the tasks that you do best and start delegating everything else. If your difference-making skills are running training sessions, writing content that engages your audience and performing sales consultations or client progress evaluations, then those aren’t the things you should be delegating. But you probably don’t need to be spending time scheduling email newsletters or social media posts. That’s where a reliable administrative assistant comes in … not to mention a powerful software like Naamly, which can systemize, scale and organize all the communication channels in your business so nothing falls through the cracks.
- Client Experience: Your clients are working with you because they want to feel heard, understood, cared for and recognized. Otherwise, they might as well go to the large-group fitness factory down the block and be another face in the crowd. And rest assured, if they feel like another face in the crowd in your studio, they’re not going to stay with you as long as they should. If you’re finding that you’re so busy with training sessions, marketing, sales and content creation that client check-ins, follow ups and recognition are falling by the wayside, it’s time to consider adding a client experience person to your team … and empowering them with the tools they need to seamlessly upgrade the client experience.
Now let’s address the biggest mistakes gym owners make when hiring gym staff. You’ll want to avoid these mistakes at all costs, or watch them send your business spiraling into a tailspin it will be difficult to pull out of.
- Don’t just “hand them the keys and walk away.” Most studio owners have made this mistake and learned the hard way. You’re so relieved that you found someone to take on those 5 a.m. sessions that you simply hand them the keys, show them where the bathroom is, and head back home to catch another hour of sleep. Don’t make this mistake when hiring gym staff. You must have a process in place with a checklist for what’s expected during each session; clear direction on how you want the session to run; criteria for touchpoints with each client; and what details about the session should be shared with you and other team members. These could be physical things like PRs and injuries, but they could also be personal accomplishments that a client mentioned during the session. In that case, make sure your client experience team is made aware so they can recognize the client. Naamly is a powerful yet simple software that makes it easy for client notes to be updated and shared with your entire team … or, with a specific team member who’s responsible for that client and the follow-up tasks.
- Don’t let them “build the plane while flying it.” When hiring gym staff, remember that you are hiring them to do the job the way you want it done … not any way that they figure out on their own. It’s your business, after all! There should be a step-by-step process for each task you want a new team member to take on. For example, if you’re looking to delegate the scheduling of email newsletters and social media posts, document the process as you’re doing it so you can provide the team member with the exact steps and how you want the job done. You’ll also have a better appreciation of how long the task should take, which will help you set realistic productivity goals and expectations for the team member.
- Don’t avoid communication. Small lapses in communication can lead to big problems when hiring gym staff. Let’s say you noticed that a new team member didn’t cue or teach an exercise progression according to your movement standards … or failed to upload client achievements or other notes into Naamly after the session. Now, in the grand scheme of what you’re dealing with on any given day in your business (not to mention your family and personal life), these may seem like small things. They’re not. Over time, clients will notice that you’re teaching exercises one way while your new trainer has other ideas … and they’ll want to know why. And if opportunities to prevent injuries or shout out client achievements are being missed, then clients are not going to feel heard, understood, cared for and recognized. Don’t let fatigue or a desire to avoid confrontation get in the way. Address even the smallest lapses or deviations before small oversights become bigger problems.
Finally, let’s go over the best strategies and tools you can use to set your team members up for success.
- Document everything. Every position in your organization should have clearly defined tasks, responsibilities, expectations and benchmarks for success. When hiring gym staff, remember that your next team member isn’t that different from your next client. Would you sign up a client and not tell them anything about the schedule, how to book their sessions, where to find their meal plan or how to do the exercises properly? Of course not! So don’t do that to your next team member. An easy, time-saving way to share roles, responsibilities and instructions on how you want tasks completed is to record a screen-share video of yourself performing and/or explaining the task. Once you record it once, it’ll be done for your current team member and the next one who comes through your pipeline for hiring gym staff.
- Leverage technology. You can try to track client needs and team communication with emails, text messages, Facebook Messenger and spreadsheets. But if you’ve ever felt like pulling your hair out when you can’t remember what form of communication you used to inform a team member of critical information about an upcoming task or client they’re responsible for, you should consider simplifying your operation – and your life – with a robust communication software like Naamly. Otherwise, you’re leaving your business and personal income to chance (not to mention your clients’ success).
- Regular meetings and performance reviews. Communication is key. You can’t afford to have weeks, or even months go by without a team meeting to check in and make sure everyone is on the same page. These meetings don’t have to be in-person; leverage your time with technology and meet on Zoom or Google Meet. Chances are, your team members have questions, and maybe even complaints. If they go unaddressed, it could lead to poor morale, frustration and the dreaded “two weeks notice” email. Here’s a tip from Doug Spurling, owner of Spurling Fitness in Kennebunk, Maine. “Have an agenda and a specific purpose for the meeting,” he said. “Your team members don’t want to waste their time because you’re unfocused or too lazy to take a few minutes to plan out the meeting. Lead by example.” Frequency of performance reviews is up to you, but Spurling recommends quarterly reviews so team members are clear on how success is defined. If business is good, you might even be able to create a budget to reward employees for exemplary performance. It doesn’t have to break the bank; something as simple as a $10 Starbucks gift card can go a long way toward increasing team morale.
If you want to learn how to broaden your network and find the best talent available, discover where to look for your next rock star and find them faster than you think, download Naamly’s FREE guide: “12 Places To Hire Your Next Star Trainer.” It’s loaded with pro tips you can start implementing today to create your dream team, watch them flourish and see your bank account and happiness multiply.