Team meetings are an important part of keeping your team informed about your business, they help you team get to know each other and they are a time to share ideas. If your fitness business is anything like ours….your staff is always coming and going and never on the same schedule. That means that many of our staff will not see each other throughout the month and we are certainly never all together at one time. That is why monthly team meetings are critical for our success.
I know that many fitness businesses struggle to get their staff to attend meetings.
Read more on Team Meetings: Schedule Them Now!…
When I was awarded an industry award like IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year or CanFitPro presenter of the year, it was a highlight to my career. It was like the Oscars of the fitness industry.
To be recognized for your contributions provides such a strong sense of accomplishment.
Unfortunately, only one person wins these types of awards every year amongst the hundreds of thousands of trainers out there.
So in our business, at our annual Holiday party, we recognize our team with our own in-house award system that the whole team votes on. In addition, I consider client feedback too. So the votes are now in for our business…
Read more on Recognition Goes a Long Way…
Here we are at week three of my 4 week series on Leadership in the Fitness Industry.
I have explained the reason why it is important to make the transition from being a trainer to being a leader so that you can take charge of your business and grow! You also now know why successful businesses require leaders who devote a majority of their time to leading their team to greatness.
Read more on A Leader They Will Follow…
As part of our yearly marketing plan we schedule monthly staff accountability tasks. Some examples might be sending client shoppers in to see how our trainers do with an initial assessment, or a manager picks random client files to audit to make sure client files are being taken care of correctly or having trainers conduct peer reviews. Our staff is given the full marketing plan at the beginning of each year so they know which of these accountability tasks will happen each month. However, they don’t know when during that month it will happen. You have to keep them on their toes, but be fair about it too. Having an accountability task each month keeps us on our toes as a business as well. It forces us to review important processes at least once a year….if not more often than that.
Read more on Peer Reviews: Why & How…
We recently had our mandatory monthly team meeting and I wanted to try something new.
Here is what I needed:
- New ideas on how to cut costs
- New ideas on how to increase revenue
Read more on Team Meeting: Shark Tank Style…
Last week we discussed the importance of planning ahead when it comes to time off for your personal trainers. Here at Northwest Personal Training we offer paid time off. That is a major perk that not all personal trainers have. There is a reason for that. Paying a personal trainer when he/she isn’t bringing in money for your business can be tough on your bottom line. So how do we do it?
Our Paid Time Off Benefit:
Northwest Personal Training supports a balance between an employee’s personal and work life. Therefore, we believe that employees should enjoy time away from work for relaxation and enjoyment, in addition to time off for illness, appointments, emergencies or other needs without loss of pay.
Read more on Paid Time Off For Personal Trainers…
We recently reminded our trainers to send in their vacation requests. We typically ask for this information at the beginning of the year, but we understand that things come up. As we approach summer….we are starting to get more requests for time off. We would like to have all vacation requests well in advance. This is to ensure that we don’t have too many trainers gone at the same time and so that we can prepare for the absence of trainers. Our general rule is to not allow more than 2 trainers to be absent at the same time. This will differ depending on how many clients you have and how many trainers you have.
Read more on Trainers On Vacation? Keep Clients Happy…
Do you classify your staff as employees or independent contractors? Either way, you should know the law!
I just returned from IHRSA where I attended a session by an attorney who talked about the IRS crackdown on Fitness Clubs and Studios categorizing Trainers as Independent Contractors when they should be classified as Employees. All it takes is one disgruntled trainer or competitor to file a claim or report and the financial consequences, penalties and fees can be HUGE and into the 7-figures causing most businesses to file bankruptcy. Do it right from the beginning or it could spell trouble at your next audit. Here’s a couple slides from the presentation. California has created an A/B/C test and most clubs and studios would fail the test if they are trying to classify trainers as independent contractors.
A worker is an employee under the Wage Orders unless the hiring entity establishes that the worker:
A) Is free from control and direction
B) Performs work outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business AND
c) Is customarily engaged in independently established trade, occupation or business
So…should you have Independent Contractors or Employees?
Here is my answer….
Reviewing the history of the personal training industry, pretty much all of us started as independent contractors operating our personal training businesses within existing health and fitness clubs. Slowly over the years, many of these facilities decided to bring the training department in-house and make all their trainers employees. Why would they do this?
Read more on Employee or Independent Contractor? You NEED to Get This Right!…
It is the unfortunate truth that many small businesses fail and so many times before they have even had a chance to start!
Our industry is no exception. Throughout my years of consulting….I have found that a lack of leadership can be one of the main reasons that fitness businesses struggle.
Whether or not you take the time to be a strong, organized and encouraging leader can really make or break your business. Many fitness business owners tell me “but I can’t find the time to lead. There is so much to do!” This is where great systems come into play. If you have great systems in place then you will have more time to lead! So get your systems in order and then start leading your team and start taking your business to the next level (check out the side bar on my blog or click HERE to learn how you can make our systems your systems!)
Read more on Sherri’s Tips For Leadership Success…
