Growth
Internal functions of your gym are just as (or more) important than the external functions of your business. Identifying the right fit, and properly training your employees will provide a better experience for your clients and allow you to focus on the bigger picture. So let’s break down the tried and true 5 step process we use to build an unshakable team.
The goal of your business should be to limit employee turnover as much as possible. Control what is in your power, but always be prepared to replace employees as they leave. A constant flow of new applications will ensure you always have a backup plan if an employee suddenly decides to leave.
A platform like Indeed is a great place to keep openings available for trainers, front desk associates, and any other core functions.
Just as with lead generation, it's important to continually nurture applications. This is the most overlooked step in the internal functioning process. It can be time consuming but it’s what will separate you from attracting average candidates from exceptional candidates. Great applicants will have multiple reach outs from other potential employers so it's important to separate yourself from the rest and grab their attention first and quickly get them on for an interview.
If you are receiving an overwhelming amount of responses to your openings it's worth using an automated process to filter out leads that don't fit your qualifications.
You'll notice that an interview and a sale are more or less the same thing. In both situations we
are seeing if it's a good fit. They are selling us as much as we are selling them. You just need to
know which questions to ask in what order to elicit the desired result.
Your job is to help a new hire integrate into their new job and the overall culture of your company. Do this right and you’ll save time and money on turnover. Make sure that you have a document handy that clearly defines the expectations and KPI’s of the role so that your employee isn't left guessing, and you receive the results you're after.
We like to use a “4 R Document” that outlines:
The Role: 40 Word summary of their position and how it fits within the business
Requirements: What skills/certifications must they have to be hired
Responsibilities: What you expect from them day to day
Results: What you want the outcome of their effort to be
Internal retention just means hanging on to your employees. Can you make sure you hire the
right people and keep them over the long term? To do that you need great processes,
management, and communication cycles.
Ascension in this case means where are they going to go in your business model? What’s the next career step for them? Are they going into management? Will they be a director someday? If you don’t provide an upward path for them, you’re probably going to lose them at some point in the future. Ascend the ones who show the most promise.
You may notice the internal functions of your business are very similar to external functions of your business. Just as leads should be nurtured, fulfilled, and retained, so do employees.
