Regardless of the age of your staff (some people believe that Gen Y don’t want to know) they want to know if they are doing a great job. If you believe your greatest asset in your business is your people, then you will conduct a fair and impartial appraisal of each of your Team every year – maybe even twice a year.
These tips will help make it a successful experience for everyone:
Don’t surprise your team by ‘springing’ the appraisal on them. Have them scheduled into your annual calendar.
Have agreed key performance indicators (KPIs)which mean there is an objective appraisal of performance.
Have your team self-evaluate their performance based on their job description and give them an opportunity to raise any issues about performing their role.
At the conclusion of the appraisal put a plan in place for personal development and lock in a time in 6 months to monitor progress on that development plan.
Do not link ongoing employment, termination, promotion of salary changes based on the result of the appraisal.
Now in its 33rd year, the 2014 IHRSA Profiles of Success was released last October and as usual provides exciting data and information that can shape your fitness business – if you study the publication!
Key data that you need to be aware of includes:
Median net membership growth of 4%
Median net revenue growth of 5%
Wages are a median of 41.7% of revenue
2% of total is re-invested into new equipment
Unfortunately, for the industry only 186 club responded but this does equate to 6819 facilities. Hopefully, more clubs respond and we get even better data in 2015.
The Industry Leaders Roundtable in Australia and REX in Europe and the USA are studying this document to see how the performance of it’s members compare to the profiles of success. We are hoping that more Roundtable clubs will participate in coming years, adding greater value to the survey and also the Roundtable.
If you are interested in joining a club owners or personal trainers roundtable, contact JT now.
You can get your copy of the Profiles of Success at ihrsastore.com.
Dr Paul Bedford is an industry guru when it comes to retention studies and then sharing information. In 2014 he did a series of articles for the UK magazine Health Club Management and I found these 7 findings from a study he conducted in the UK on why members stay at their particular club:
Staff took an interest in them as a person, not someone who had money to spend in their club;
The club was clean plus they could see the cleaning occurring;
The exercise environment was designed for easy use;
There was proper support available;
They could see re-investment into the club year on year;
The staff were happy in their job and with their working conditions; and
The price reflected the level of service they received.
Paul found that experienced exercisers are willing to pay more for what they want. In fact, they may even pay more for less choice, if they get more of what they want! Shown by the development of the niche and boutique studio growth.
Can I suggest that if you want to improve your retention then connect with Paul Bedford through:
The IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report is one of IHRSA’s premier publications as it provides a wealth of data and information on US industry growth, membership demographics, club usage, price points and other fitness business issues.
IHRSA interviewed Brent Darden, Rick Caro and Stephen Tharrett to see their insights and here is what they said:
More and more people now have multiple memberships. They attend classes at one facility and ‘gym’ at another. This is the emergence of ‘boutique’ or ‘niche’ clubs.
The health club industry is now regarded as mature as it is neither on steep growth or declining. Caro believes the industry is refining itself and working on ‘what does it want to be known for?’
The older your members the longer they stay members.
Personal training just isn’t hitting the majority of the gym population.
Equipment usage has dropped.
I really enjoyed Caro’s insight, “Clubs have the opportunity to ask themselves what are their points of differentiation? They need to discover their strengths, capitalise on them and really make their strengths stronger.”
Well said Rick!
You can get your copy of the 2014 IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report at ihrsastore.com.
There are a variety of statistics that are bandied around on how quickly we make the first impression on person we just meeting. Some say 7 seconds and others as long as 19 seconds but either way the window is small if you want to create a sale or gain a new client. Here are 5 ways that may just help:
Polish your look – research shows that your appearance significantly influences the perception of you. This means dress accordingly to the person you are meeting, eg if it is a conservative environment (eg a job interview) cover up those tattoos!
You talk less – not just letting the other person talk first but have them talk more will increase your ‘likeability’, warmth and trustworthiness.
Why are you meeting this person – be very clear on the purpose of this meeting. When you have focus and energy, you will attain your result.
Reveal your human – it is tempting to be perfect but by showing that you have flaws, make mistakes or are simply not perfect you will show you are more genuine and human.
Body language open – an oldie but a goodie! Keep your body language open with no crossed limbs, keep up your eye contact and most of all: flash those pearl whites with a big smile!
The 2014 IHRSA Profiles of Success has yet again provided invaluable information and benchmarks for health clubs around the world.
Bill McBride from Active Sports Clubs in the US, explained his surprise at two statitistics:
Overall membership is now weighted to females: 52% to 48%;
Decline in the number on members under 35.
Both these statistics have a large impact on your 2015 marketing strategy.
I found the reasons for leaving a health club particularly interesting as I saw a trend that many of them could be minimised with pro-active leadership from the club management team:
40% of respondents said their club was too expensive (I wonder if they joined another club?);
30% said they were not using their membership;
20% no longer a convenient location;
19% said they could exercise for free somewhere else (this is intriguing);
17% said the gym was over crowded;
11% had a medical reason for leaving;
9% felt out of place;
8% lost their job;
7% don’t like exercise (why did they join in the first place?);
5% didn’t get results;
4% were intimidated;
4% no guidance from staff;
4% didn’t know what to do;
2% left after reaching their goals; and
2% knew no-one at the gym.
The Club Owners Industry Leaders Roundtable and the Anytime Fitness Industry Leaders Roundtable will be studying the results of the study in their next meetings. This will allow comparison between KPI’s and examining US trends to see if there is any correlation in Australia.
If you would like to know more about the Industry Leaders Roundtable in Australia or REX in the US and Europe, then complete the form below!
In every sized business crisis management is important. The speed at which you handle the crisis often means it is just a blip on your business radar. Here are 3 tips:
Admit your mistakes – no matter how many you made or are making. A powerful phrase could be “I’m here telling you what we did was clearly wrong and doesn’t work for you.”
Walk the talk by directly addressing the complaints and or the crisis. Don’t hide by the ‘company policy’ make new policies in conjunction with your consumers.
Stay responsive by remaining vigilant to improving. Ensure there is a direct feedback loop to you to ensure minimum future crisis.
I believe no consumer expects you to be perfect 100% of the time but they do expect you to admit your mistakes 100% of the time and learn from them.
Ok I admit it, I was nervous going to a lunch put on by Business Chicks thinking Seth Godin and I would be the only men in the room! There was however a smattering of men who joined some of Sydney’s most entrepreneurial women to hear from a world guru in marketing and thinking.
Business Chicks Lunch in Sydney
Here are few of my thoughts and Seth’s quotes:
Game On: Seth Godin on stage.
“People like us do things like this” meaning to focus on the people/customer who do things like us. Forget the majority, just focus on the people you want to serve.
He talked about ways to compete and mentioned price. He said if you compete on price, it is a race to the bottom and the problem with that race you might just win! Forget competing on price.
Your goal in business should be creating a conversation piece or a story that people talk about. He used an example of Hallmark Christmas ornaments that are ‘limited edition’ and only available in July! Here’s the lesson:
Hallmark’s average shopper, buys 52 cards a year, not counting Christmas which Means July was slow for the 1500 plus Hallmark stores;
For the heavy shoppers of Hallmark they wander in in July and the sales person says, “Have you seen our limited edition, only available in July Christmas ornaments for only 10 bucks?”
The heavy user buys the ornament and then leaves behind their name and email, so that “You receive a personalised postcard to get next year’s limited edition ornament.”
When she brings it out at Christmas, people make comment on the beautiful ornament and she says “it is limited edition, only available in July at Hallmark.”
A conversation that Hallmark didn’t pay for!
Note – in 1999 Hallmark sold $100m worth of junkie ornaments thanks to the postcard reminders and conversations
The best time to launch a new product is 15 minutes ago. The next best time is tomorrow.
These days it is VERY easy to find you! The Internet makes it difficult to hide your business and what you do. The real question is ‘why would someone look for you?’ Do something or make something so that people WANT to find you! And generally, that ‘thing’ is your story!
His catch phrase and mantra came out loud and clear: “Remarkable means worth making a remark about!”
He gave a great comparison about what we are selling in business. He said we want to have a product people want to talk about. For example, if you get a great hair cut with an awesome experience, people notice the haircut, they comment and you can tell them about it. But if you get a massage, you may feel better, people don’t notice and you don’t want to walk around saying “I just got a great massage!” Interesting point: Do you want to be in a business that people/consumers talk about?
We are trained from a young age to hold a little back! Change your mindset so them no one can get ahead of you. Do your very best from the beginning.
He questioned how we teach our kids. He suggested that we should teach kids to solve problems, as opposed to learning the answers. This means they are learning about the solutions we already have rather than answers we don’t yet know.
We may not brain dump or brain storm as we are afraid – afraid of coming up with bad ideas. Don’t be afraid of bad ideas! When you get the bad ideas out, the good ideas will then come out. And the cool thing, you can come up with ideas anywhere in the world!
I found he made a profound statement that truly impacted me: the market will NEVER be ready for a new product. He said in the 1400’s when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press the majority of the world was illiterate. When Karl Benz invented the modern car in 1886, there weren’t petrol stations on every corner nor did anyone have a driver’s license! And we have seen that Apple more recently.
“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another. A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.”
“The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.”
Fear will not go away. Acknowledge it. Use it as a compass to ensure you are going in the right direction. So forget fear and embrace freedom!
My fav quote for the day: “Shun the non-believers! The people who criticise us are not who we do business with. Do business with people who want us.”
If you haven’t read any of Seth’s books, here are the ones I recommend: Click here.
Seth & I putting on our serious business faces!
You can see loads more from Seth Godin by going onto Twitter and searching #SethGodin. You’ll see great quotes and notes from awesome Tweeps:
OK . . . OK . . . I maybe biased as I attended the IHRSA Institute over a decade ago and now I am part of the Faculty BUT this professional development program is back and well worth your investment.
When I attended many moons ago, it was unreal!!! I learned lots and connected with many US industry people that I am still in contact with. However, I was a party animal and had to live up to the Aussie reputation of drinking beer! So I remember a bit but geez I wish I remembered more!
This year, was the return of the Institute after a 7 year hiatus – a casualty of the economic downturn. And I was so lucky/fortunate/privileged to be asked to be part of the Faculty – i.e. speak at the event! I think just the third Aussie after Grant Gamble & Paul Brown – I could be wrong.
So what is the Institute?
It is and was described by Joe Moore, the boss of IHRSA, as an “immersive education event.” You stay on a US college business management campus for 3 nights and for many hours of the day, you talk health club management: sales management, group fitness management, PT management and total club management.
There were people from 9 countries (including Kristen Green from Aquafit in Australia), from chain clubs, from independent clubs and every layer of management. Totally awesome and diverse.
You had a choice generally of two sessions to attend, which was shame as they were both awesome and it was SO difficult to decide! As part of the faculty, we were encouraged to attend sessions which means I could empathise with everyone on the challenge of which session to attend.
And why wouldn’t you be challenged with the following on the faculty from the industry:
Bill McBride, CEO Active Sports Clubs in the US
Mark Miller, VP of Merritt Athletic Clubs in the US
Alan Leach, Regional Manager West Wood Clubs in Ireland
Debra Siena, President Midtown Health in the US
Bonnie Patrick Mattalian, VP of MediFit in the US
Sandy Franco, Owner of Franco Athletic Clubs in the US
Brent Darden, former Chair of IHRSA and Owner of Telos Fitness Centre in the US
Rick Caro, President Management Vision in the US
Bryan O’Rourke, CEO Integerus in the US
Tim Keightley, President of Keightley Enterprises in the US
Plus me!
Then from IHRSA:
Melissa Rodriguez, the Senior Research Manager
Thomas Richards, Senior Legislative Counsel
Helen Durkin, Executive VP of Global Public Policy
Amy Bantham, VP of Government Relations & Health Promotion
And from The University of North Carolina:
Alison Fragale, Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour
Chris Bingham, Fellow of Strategy & Entrepreneurship
An enormous choice! Each session was outstanding with powerful insights.
Here are my top 3 ideas (I have hundreds more!):
1. You as the leader of your organisation may not be the BEST source of inspiration. Greater inspiration may come from the beneficiaries of your services with others meeting those beneficiaries or hearing/reading their story.
2. A great business strategy forces us to have the discipline to say “no” to other ideas. Which means, be great at 1 to 3 strategic initiatives rather than mediocre at 4 to 6.
3. ‘What I say is NOT as important as what you hear!’
If you are reading this blog and attended the Institute, why don’t you share with the world your top 3 ideas too? Just jot them in the comments section below.
Just for fun Chris Bingham showed this video and asked ‘How many players wearing white pass the basketball?’
Did you get it right? hehehehehehehe
I am not 100% sure if IHRSA will run a 2015 Institute in the US. If they do I highly recommend you attend – wherever in the world you are!!
And fingers crossed I did a good enough job to be invited back on the Faculty – hint hint IHRSA! LOL
“A powerful and penetrating exploration of what separates great companies and great leaders from the rest.” -Polly LaBarre, coauthor of Mavericks at Work
Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty?
In studying the leaders who’ve had the greatest influence in the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way-and it’s the complete opposite of what everyone else does. People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers might have little in common, but they all started with why.
Drawing on a wide range of real-life stories, Sinek weaves together a clear vision of what it truly takes to lead and inspire.
Book Reviews are provided by Will Phillips from REX Roundtables, represented in Australia by JT. If you would like to join a Roundtable or know more, contact JT.
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