Investing in Your Team
As a former club owner this topic speaks to me. Our team is the most valuable commodity within our club and can connect with our members both IRL and virtually. Research has shown that the average gym goer will maintain their membership longer and refer new members more than others because of their favorite instructor - much more than their favorite treadmill or piece of equipment.
The industry has shifted, and true quality leadership is more valuable now more than ever. What if we began investing in our team as a retention tool for longevity?
If you are lucky enough to have built a rock-solid team of players, then we must be willing to go the extra mile and value our talent. The industry has taken a big shift, and it’s time to adjust our sails and not only stay the course but to hold on tight and take our MVP’s along with us for the ride.
According to the research of “Love Languages” everyone feels valued differently. While one person may feel valued by getting a monetary bonus, another may feel valued by simply getting praise for a job well done. Knowing your team is the key to success and the beginning stage of the investment process.
A few things to consider:
Are you paying competitively?
Do you offer benefits/ vacation time to your full time employees?
Do you offer incentives, monetary and non-monetary based?
Are you investing in education/certifications to further enhance the company’s needs?
We all know right now the world is struggling to return where it once was. Buying a Starbucks coffee everyday adds up to quite a bit of money. Finance 101 says, if I invest that money, I’d be a lot richer by the end of the year. The same goes into investing in your team. The cost of a new treadmill is equivalent to a 10th of your instructor team's certifications cost for one year.
A huge money grab in group exercise is the monthly cost of “licensing fees”. This expense is a thing of the past, and is a no-brainer to alleviate when reputable companies are providing quality programming for FREE!! Wouldn’t it be great to work smarter, not harder, and invest in our team instead?
To quote Maya Angelou; “People will forget what you say, but they will never forget the way you make them feel”. If investing in your team means making them “feel” valued, and appreciated, then it’s time to start looking at business and our industry with a more holistic human approach. Let’s invest, and make a big comeback, but most of all, let’s make our team “feel” valued and start investing in the right places. Our teams are the ones who are by our sides rebuilding our industry, believing in us, our companies, our members, our communities and our mission to health and fitness. Dollars and cents are great, but personally I’d much rather invest in the goodness of a human being.
Lori Carril
Director of Training and Development at SoulBody Fitness