Active Management

Tag: fitness industry

  • The Talent Game – Designing the EMPLOYEE Experience Journey

    The Talent Game – Designing the EMPLOYEE Experience Journey

    By Brent Darden, REX Chair

    Gallup released a “Hands-On Guide” to the employee journey that identifies the critical components of a thoughtfully designed employee experience and it couldn’t have come at a better time, as the war on talent is very real and visible across virtually every industry.

    In addition to Gallup, the Harvard Business Review, Deloitte, and McKinsey all herald the importance of the employee life cycle more than ever.

    As if finding and hiring staff aren’t challenging enough, it’s estimated that the cost to replace an employee is 50 – 213% of an annual salary.

    As an industry, we have often extolled the virtues of analyzing and crafting the member journey. Countless webinars, articles, presentations, and podcasts (including my own versions) have been dedicated to enhancing the member experience.

    Regrettably, this same effort, intentional design, and attention to detail have not permeated the employee experience. The journey within your organization likely includes the following landmarks: Attracting / Hiring / Onboarding / Engaging / Performing / Developing / Departing.

    Sincerely evaluating each step along this path and curating a creative process can pay dividends related to becoming the “employer of choice” in your community.

    Let’s briefly touch on a few key considerations for each of these stages.

    • Attracting – The ability to recruit top talent is an absolute priority of leading organizations. Think about community outreach opportunities, internships, employee referral rewards, and developing a reputation as one of the “best places to work”.
    • Hiring – Selecting the “best” candidate can be painstaking. Consider training a dedicated group interview team, ensure prospects are a cultural “fit”, and celebrate every addition to the team.
    • Onboarding – It is during this part of the process that both sides are truly affirming their decision and research shows that how an employee begins their journey has a lot to do with their future performance and longevity. Roll out the “welcome wagon”, immerse them in the company values, uncover their personal profile / preferences, and provide constant feedback.
    • Engaging – Gallup states that nearly 87% of employees worldwide are not engaged. Make sure that team members understand the “why” of everyday work, are empowered to perform their roles, and receive ongoing appreciation / recognition.
    • Performing – Drive expectations through open book management, real time accountability, and an ongoing two-way feedback loop.
    • Developing – Coaching career growth remains a top desire for employees at every level, even as professional development took a backseat as clubs focused on survival during the pandemic. Investing in staff is a win-win and essential to groom future leaders.
    • Departing – It’s easy to neglect this final step which, if done well, can offer genuine feedback about the overall employee experience. Establish resignation expectations early, conduct an exit interview, and acknowledge team member contributions.

    Systematically appraising the employee journey should reveal ample opportunities for improvement. That said, the workplace culture, the work team, responsibilities, and of course the manager all play a significant role in employee satisfaction.

    Finally, perhaps the single greatest positive impact on the day-to-day experience of team members is realized by simply letting them know that you care about their well-being.

     

  • My Favourite Decision Making Filter

    My Favourite Decision Making Filter

    Super simple to say, harder to execute:

    1. What’s the upside if everything goes well?
    2. What’s the downside if everything goes poorly?
    3. Can I live with the downside? Really?

    Try this process in your 2023 leadership.

  • Activating the industry through increased advocacy

    Activating the industry through increased advocacy

    Words by AUSactive CEO Barrie Elvish

    As the peak association for the Australian health and fitness industry, representing members through advocacy with government, councils and other stakeholders is an important responsibility. 

    The importance of this function was put to the test during the pandemic when our industry was shut down for significant periods of time, challenged with inconsistent reopening protocols and frequently false information  that gyms were a ‘hotbed’ of virus transmission. The latter despite AUSactive providing evidence based contrary  data. 

    We’ve come a long way since then! 

    What the pandemic did teach us was engagement with State and Federal governments, local councils and other  regulatory departments cannot be a flash in the pan. It’s a concerted effort than must be engrained within an  organisation’s purpose. 

    Just over 12 months ago, we rebranded to AUSactive with a focus on activating every body, every way, every  day. To achieve this vision we continue to engage, communicate and collaborate with all stakeholders that are  associated with our industry and/or have the potential to make decisions or policy that impact our operations.  

    Our advocacy pillar has never been stronger, but we have only just scratched the surface in what we believe  AUSactive can achieve both for our industry and the broader Australian community when it comes to getting  active for our long-term physical and mental health. 

    I’m proud of what we have achieved in a short space of time, to establish a strong foundation for our ongoing  Advocacy. 

    A look at AUSactive’s Advocacy over the past 12 months: 

    We made a budget submission to the Federal Government for: 

    • Funding to establish an Expert Advisory Group to develop a national physical activity strategy that  will deliver the Government’s commitment to the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity to get 15%  more inactive Australians more active by 2030 
    • Funding for the “Movement for Movement” program to target younger and older Australians to  highlight the importance of physical activity in improving physical and mental health outcomes,  preventing chronic disease and encouraging community participation / social connectivity 
    • Funding for fee-free vocational education and training at TAFE that would attract enrolments and ultimately employment in the exercise and fitness industry to replenish our Covid depleted  workforce; and 
    • Funding to accelerate the AUSactive accreditation program, the only one that exists in the industry,  to build credibility and create career opportunities for newly qualified exercise professionals. 

    Following our Federal budget submission, we are in discussions with the office of the Federal Minister for Skills  and Training to find solutions to the significant skills shortage in the exercise, physical activity and fitness  industry and advocate for these shortages to be addressed in the Skills Agreements that the Federal government  is currently negotiating with the various State governments.  

    We have written to the Hon. Mark Butler, the Federal Minister for Health, asking that the House of  Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport hold an inquiry into the impact of physical  inactivity in Australia 

    We received Federal Government funding for the delivery of the nationwide All A.B.I.L.I.T.I.E.S. (Australia Brings  Inclusivity to Life, Through Innovation, Transformation In an Exercising Society) program, aiming to drive  organisational change in health and fitness businesses to enhance the lives of the broader community and safe  effective group exercise participation for people with disabilities. 

    We have been successfully recognised as the Peak Body for the fitness sector in WA. The WA Department of  Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) will work closely to support AUSactive to advocate,  lead and develop its membership and improve the health and wellbeing of Western Australians.  

    We received recognition of the exercise and fitness sector as an ‘Essential Service’ in Queensland.  

    AUSactive has made recommendations to NSW politicians ahead of the March 2023 NSW State Election  advocating for: 

    • Expanding the provision of activity vouchers for kids, for adult use, including in gyms, yoga and Pilates studios and for personal trainers offering supervised outdoor programs with a view to increasing physical activity as well as supporting businesses. 
    • Funding for a “Movement for Movement” program to get people active.
    • Creation of a specific Preventative Health Portfolio that connects the Health and Sport & Recreation ministries.
    • Implementation of a Fitness Code of Practice to instil consumer confidence, increase participation and set appropriate standards for the fitness industry.
    • Action to address the skills shortage in the exercise and physical activity sector and ensure that free TAFE and vocation education courses are allocated for upskilling the industry and increasing employment pathways for prospective students. 
    • Classification of exercise and fitness facilities as ‘Essential Services’ to help build the sector’s longevity.
    • Endorsement of peak body status for AUSactive to enable us to have greater involvement in increasing the physical activity of all communities.

    A Skip the Permit program was rolled-out in certain LGAs In Victoria, whereby personal trainer permits for  running sessions in outdoor areas are fast-tracked with no fees or licencing cost; a previously expensive process  that could take weeks for approval was streamlined to 20min licenses. 

    AUSactive has continued to meet with federal politicians to: 

    • Advocate for a national, public preventative health campaign encouraging physical activity; • Advocate for an increase in government investment in prevention (as a percentage of the federal preventative health budget); and
    • Advocate for the implementation of the World Health Organisation Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA) – despite in 2018 the Australian Government signed up to the GAPPA to have 15% of inactive Australians more active by 2030 there has been negligible progress to date.

    Other Federal, State and Local government engagement including: 

    • Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Ged Kearney in relation to a national public preventative health campaign encouraging physical activity, implementing the WHO’s Global Action 

    Plan on Physical Activity, reducing the impact of physical inactivity on the government’s health  budget, increasing interaction between the exercise sector and the Department of Health and  increasing government investment in preventative health measures. 

    • The Office of Assistant Treasurer, the Hon Stephen Jones, in relation to reducing the impact of  physical inactivity on the government’s health budget and addressing skills and labour shortage in  the fitness industry 
    • The Office of Minister for Skills and Training, the Hon Brendan O’Connor in relation to addressing  skills and labour shortage in the fitness industry 
    • Dr Mike Freelander MP, in relation to a national public preventative health campaign encouraging  physical activity, implementing the WHO’s Global Action Plan on Physical Activity and reducing the  impact of physical inactivity on the government’s health budget 
    • Maria Vamvakinou MP, in relation to a national public preventative health campaign encouraging  physical activity, reducing the impact of physical inactivity on the government’s health budget and  addressing skills and labour shortage in the fitness industry 
    • Premier Dominic Perrottet and Minister Brad Hazzard (NSW state) in relation to COVID regulations • The Office of NSW Minister for Sport and Minister for Skills and Training, the Hon Alister Henskens  SC in relation to physical activity vouchers, Fitness Code of Practice legislation, addressing skills  shortages in the fitness industry and recognition as a Peak Body in NSW. 
    • Alex Greenwich MP (NSW) in relation to physical activity vouchers, Fitness Code of Practice  legislation and addressing skills shortages in the fitness industry 
    • The Office of Minister Tara Cheyne (ACT) in relation to fitness activity vouchers and legislation  changes to 24 hour trade 
    • Fair Trading & Compliance, Access Canberra (ACT) in relation to updates to the Fitness Code of  Practice legislation and committee engagement under the Code 
    • The Offices of the Hon Martin Pakula, Hon Jaala Pulford and Hon Ros Spence (VIC) in relation to COVID regulations, fitness activity vouchers and landlord protections 
    • Communities, Sport and Recreation (TAS) in relation to post COVID job opportunities
    • The Office of the Hon Andrea Michaels (SA) in relation to updates to the Fitness Code of Practice  legislation and addressing skills shortages in the fitness Industry 
    • The Department of Recreation, Sport and Racing (SA) in relation to fitness activity vouchers and  increasing physical activity levels 
    • Consumer Protection (WA) in relation to updates to the Fitness Code of Practice legislation. 

    An exhaustive year that has generated some immediate positive outcomes and more importantly laid the  groundwork for ongoing productive dialogue with government at all levels. 

    FURTHER INFORMATION 

    For media enquiries and interview opportunities, please contact:
    AUSactive media team
    [email protected]
    Barrie Elvish, AUSactive CEO
    0403 466 629 | [email protected]

  • 2023 Sales KPI’s To Love In Your Fitness Business

    2023 Sales KPI’s To Love In Your Fitness Business

    By Mary Laudati CEO of Mary Laudati Consulting and REX Roundtable Chair

    Identifying and knowing the right marketing, membership, and PT sales KPI’s allow you to set achievable goals and track your team’s work production and productivity – PERIOD!

    Key performance indicators, or KPIs are quantifiable benchmarks that indicate success and achieving a goal.  KPIs vary based on your intended audience therefore executive KPIs will look very different then KPIs for your team members at the club level.

    If KPI reporting is new to your club team, think in general terms with data that is readily attainable from your CRM.

    This first step is to work with your CRM support team to design the reports your need! It is your business and you know what your need, so ensure your software delivers on those needs.

    Behind the scenes, ensure you train your entire team to enter their qualified leads (live or work in the area) with complete information.

    When it comes to KPIs, less is more, and therefore it’s vital to identify and track only the right marketing and sales KPIs and metrics for your club.  Keep it simple and informative!

    The REX Roundtables are a great source of learning from industry peers with proven results based on reporting and sharing KPI’s monthly.  Reporting the right KPIs provides you with unique insights into your team’s performance, and help you identify training opportunities, pipeline issues, maximize profit, optimize your sales process, and daily sales tactics.

    Here are some of the most popular REX Sales Leadership Roundtable KPIs:

    • Number of New memberships sold
    • Percentage of memberships sold to sales goal
    • Percentage of net joins to goal (new joins – cancels = net joins)
    • Percentage of monthly EFT revenue to goal
    • Number of unique (new) leads by lead source
    • Number of qualified new leads (opportunities) by lead source
    • Percentage of qualified new leads (opportunities) that have completed a club visit, by lead source
    • Closing percentage of new qualified leads (opportunities) by lead source
    • Cost per lead and cost per member acquisition by lead source
    • Number of sales generated from previous months leads
    • Number of Alumni joins
    • Number of member referral leads & the number of joins (for ex: 60 leads / 30 joins)
    • Number of outbound sales calls (record calls for quality assurance and training)
    • Number of inbound sales calls (record calls for quality assurance and training)
    • New Member PT Sessions booked
    • New Member PT Session Completed
    • New Members converted to PT Clients
    • Percentage of your membership on freeze

    Establishing healthy KPIs will help you allocate a smart marketing spend and predict your future by archiving your past performances.

    Evaluate your current marketing and sales reports and ask yourself if your team is prepared to understand how growth evolves and what it takes to succeed?

    There is no better time to evaluate the WHY of your organization’s growth.

    There is help…

    Expedite your results by joining REX Roundtables and learn from industry peers in a non-competitive environment!  REX Roundtables is available to club owners, club leaders and most recently industry suppliers.  Learn and take away invaluable lessons on Leadership, Operations, Technology, Marketing, Sales, Retention plus so much more.

  • The 2023 Fitness Trends are here!

    The 2023 Fitness Trends are here!

    Fitness Programs for Older Adults climbs to top spot

    The latest fitness trends for 2023 have been ranked by AUSactive following a national survey of industry  professionals and businesses, with Fitness Programs for Older Adults taking the top spot for the first time. 

    The AUSactive survey found the industry continues to return to pre-pandemic levels with Body Weight  Training and Home Exercise falling in popularity as people return to group exercise and facility-based  exercise. 

    AUSactive CEO Barrie Elvish said it was great to see Fitness Programs for Older Adults climb to the top spot  after regularly featured very highly in previous years both in Australia and internationally.  

    “I speak from personal experience that It’s fantastic to see older Australians taking up regular exercise  programs. We’ve found since the pandemic, many people in our communities are more focused on their  overall health and the benefits exercise has on our mind and body,” Mr Elvish said. 

    “With an ageing population that continues to grow in size, it’s important for our businesses and registered  exercise professionals to develop quality programs designed to improve the health and quality of life of the  older adult population.” 

    Australia’s 2023 Top 10 Fitness Trends 

    1. Fitness Programs for Older Adults
    2. Functional Fitness Training
    3. Strength Training with Free Weights
    4. Group Exercise Training
    5. Employing Registered Exercise Professionals
    6. Wearable Technology
    7. Pilates
    8. Outdoor Activities
    9. Personal Training
    10. Body Weight Training

    Linda Clark, a Group Fitness Instructor from Castle Hill Fitness and Aquatic Centre where their timetable  now has five dedicated seniors’ classes each week, said older adults were now more aware of preventative  health than ever before.

    “The seniors who attend these classes are looking at exercise as a way of increasing their longevity and  quality of life, while lessening the risk of diseases associated with ageing,” Ms Clark said.

    “It’s actually inspiring to see. They love coming to class! Their social network increases and many leave class  to have a coffee together. Not only do we have group fitness classes, but we also offer Seniors’ gymnastics  and Seniors’ yoga programs.

    “Just over 10 years ago we only had one class a week so it’s fantastic to see the demand from this  demographic growing.”

    Mr Elvish said the survey also found the number of Australian group fitness businesses, including Pilates, continues to rise, representing the demand for a social and affordable way to exercise.

    “This change reinforces the desire of Australians to return to health and fitness facilities – not only for  exercise but for the sense of community and social nature of exercising with other people,” Mr Elvish said.

    “For the first time, Pilates has entered the top 10 too, ranking at 7, and in Australia features the highest  compared to other regions around the world.

    “There is little surprise in that result, as there has been a surge in interest in mind-body modalities,  including Yoga, as many people are looking to take a holistic approach to their health.”

    FURTHER INFORMATION 

    For media enquiries and interview opportunities, please contact:
    AUSactive media team
    [email protected]
    Barrie Elvish, AUSactive CEO
    0403 466 629 | [email protected]

  • Decision Making Means Making A Decision

    Decision Making Means Making A Decision

    It may be a gruesome metaphor war as we are generally talking about life and death of humans and very few business decisions leads to humans living or dying.

    Nevertheless, not making a decision in business can lead to the death of a business.

    When we walked the fields at Gettysburg with REX Roundtables, we analysed the decisions that Generals made and didn’t make. When they didn’t make a decision, it generally cost lives. Fortunately, in business when we don’t make decisions it doesn’t cost lives but still no decision in business is a decision.

    The beauty of REX Roundtables is your peers help in that decision making process. You have a trusted group to bounce ideas off, to hear different perspectives and develop your clarity.

    REX Roundtables is so different to business coaching program that it’s in a different category altogether.

     

  • The Value Proposition For Pledging Physical Activity

    The Value Proposition For Pledging Physical Activity

    Join Sarah Pellegrino as she speaks with Graham Melstrand, President of the Physical Activity Alliance (PAA), about our country’s inactivity crisis. Learn about the PAA’s call to action, The CEO Pledge for Physical Activity, that aims to help people leaders create a culture of physical fitness.

  • Abby Marks Beale: Speed Reading Skills 101

    Abby Marks Beale: Speed Reading Skills 101

    Abby Marks Beale is a speed reading expert, consummate educator, author and professional speaker who enjoys teaching busy people how to read smarter, faster and just plain better. Abby is also the creator of the Rev It Up Reading Online Course.

    For the past 30+ years, she has taught thousands to build reading confidence and competence through the knowledge of simple yet powerful active reading strategies. She is the author of 10 Days to Faster Reading, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Speed Reading and Speed Reading: A Little-Known Time-Saving Superpower.

  • 2023 A Year Of Climbing – Just Not Alone!

    2023 A Year Of Climbing – Just Not Alone!

    As leaders in our business, you know the toughest climbs are not Kilimanjaro, Denali, or Mount Everest.  It is the journey of a leader.  Every day we have all kinds of challenges and opportunities, setbacks, and advances.

    2020, 2021 and even 2022 showed us that the climb of our lifetime is not over yet..

    As we embark on this journey in 2023 we must continue to evolve and adapt.

    We all face a changing the narrative of how health clubs are viewed becoming part essential and critical aspect of the care healthcare continuum or simply evolving our model to serve a new and emerging demographic that now understands the importance of health and wellness more.

    You must become omni channel and provide services that not only elevate results within individuals but provide services that enhance individual’s health and well-being as well as their mental strength ones that fit into the new emerging lifestyles.

    The good news is none of us are going it alone.

    We have experienced guides and team members who know the lay of the land and elite team of peers that have each other’s backs.

    REX Roundtables provide these guides for us.

    Together we embrace this new frontier.

    The focus in 2023 is to let our egos down, our bias to be removed, and open our hearts to what maybe.  We need to look at resources within each other to navigate the changing environments and uncertain conditions that lay ahead.

    We must work together versus against.

    If we stop the parking lot conversations, the stinking thinking, the petty little things and focus on the root issue then we will not wonder if we can climb, we will imagine how high can we climb.

    Here is the key to scaling great heights on a mountain, you can never do it alone!  You always scale with a group or a team.  And that is where your REX Roundtable supports you.

  • Successfully Onboarding New Instructors

    Successfully Onboarding New Instructors

    If you search for onboarding practices online, there are over 22 million hits that come up. However, a majority of these articles and strategies focus on onboarding in an office setting. While we can take some of these practices and strategies, the physical implementation of these into the fitness industry can be challenging and confusing. We are going to give you some simple steps to follow to ensure a much more smooth onboarding process. 

    One of the most challenging aspects to onboarding is to ascertain what level of communication, consultation and learning your hire will need. There are two important factors that we must remember when onboarding instructors. Their ability to teach and their ability to learn processes, procedures and business structures may be (and usually are) completely separate. So we must onboard aspect one: business/brand values, acumen and processes, as well as aspect two: ability to teach classes successfully within your business/brand. Today we will delve into the vocabulary of ‘teach-backs’, class shadows and team teaching. 

    Following on from our previous articles, you may have just completed an audition, or at the very least, been able to view their teaching ability. (So if you haven’t, there is a good step one!) The first question is are they ‘stage ready’? Would you be comfortable putting them straight in front of your members to teach without any training? There are some instructors that may fall into this category. However, putting an instructor in without any development, or team teaching can set a bad precedent for the culture of your facility. We highly recommend at least a few of the following developmental training sessions with all members of your team, regardless of how much instructing experience they have had.

    Let’s begin with the easiest to implement; class shadowing. As the name states you would set the instructor up with an experienced member of your team and get them ‘on stage’ with them. I would only give them minor duties if it was more a floor coaching program; and if it was a stage coaching class, allow the experienced instructor to do all the cueing and coaching. Class shadows are a great way for new instructors to see what is currently being done in class from a unique perspective. It is low pressure and a great way to introduce them to your current membership base to see how they interact. 

    Next is team teaching. This is a similar set-up to a class shadow except now the new instructor is expected to teach a portion or half the class. It is the natural progression of a class shadow, but an experienced instructor may be comfortable starting here if given some time to prepare. This one can be a little more challenging if the instructors have never met. So make sure both instructors have some time to interact, talk before the class and really understand the expectations of who teaches what. The guidelines for a new instructor here must be precise and accurate so they have a good understanding of what is expected of them, but still have a chance to make mistakes without any major consequences. 

    Pairing instructors here may also be a little challenging, however you want the ‘champion’ instructor of your business who lives and breathes your facility and values to be a part of these. Not only then can they impart their knowledge about your facility and the class, but also give the new instructor relevant feedback directly after the class. You must trust the team-teaching instructor to deliver the message and values of your facility as if you were delivering them yourself. 

    Lastly we move to a teach-back. This is where you would assemble your staff (as many as you could, or long term members) and have the new instructor solo-teach either a portion, or a whole class to the staff to allow for feedback. This can be a little intimidating for brand new instructors but is great for development. Feedback for instructors is key to continued success. A successful teach back is useful not only for onboarding new instructors but for; continued team culture (to be explored next month), trialling new programs or class concepts, and ongoing training and development of all instructors employed. Being able to teach in a safe environment without the pressures of members is a great way for less experienced instructors to begin teaching in your facility. 

    We believe that all three options should be used when onboarding new instructors. You could utilise all three for very new instructors who haven’t taught much at all before, or you may only use one for a more seasoned veteran. However it means that you are able to view them teaching in your facility, to your members or team before you send them out. This also shows that as a facility you stick to your brand standards and live up to them. 

    The question you need to ask yourself as a facility is do you have that person who you can rely on for class shadows and team teaching? When was the last time you set foot into one of the classes inside your facility? If you cannot find the answers to these questions it may be time to reach out and ask for help. Your instructors and your classes are the tangible representation of your brand and values. It’s hard to do this alone, so we created a space to ask questions, take it at your own pace and begin to understand the Retention journey.

    Exercise to Experience provides self-paced learning within a supportive online community. 

    We take you step by step on where to begin looking in your facility to increase Retention. With a downloadable manual and videos to refer back to, this guide continues to give golden nuggets of information as well as practical steps for implementation.