Opportunity: The fitness staff is the front line of any facility’s effort to serve its customers. The impact of having instructors that do their job well is significant in meeting nearly any goal – from mission achievement to economic outcomes such as member retention. But service levels tend to vary from instructor to instructor, often even more dramatically than management might realize. In one study, a site with a retention rate between 60-70%, overall, found its individual instructors were achieving retention rates that ranged from below 50% to nearly 90% with members assigned to them. The site’s management was also very surprised to find that the top instructor was not whom they expected, but rather someone who was quietly dedicated to helping members succeed. If sites can accurately measure staff performance, rewarding top performers and managing poorer performance, service and success can be managed as well.

Challenge: Unfortunately, in spite of the importance of good staff-member interaction, it is very difficult to track and reward. As a result, most sites end up having to review instructors on their personalities and anecdotal feedback from a few vocal members, rather than rating them on the true quality of their day-to-day member service.

Solution: FitLinxx has a number of tools to help staff do their job well. In addition, the system has tools to allow management to see how well instructors are using these tools and positively impacting their members in these ways:

• First, by tracking the frequency and consistency of each staff member’s interaction and follow-up with members, the system gives measurements of the staff’s quantity of follow-up.
  
  
• Second, by keeping an online record of the content of messages sent and notes about verbal interactions, management can easily spot-check the quality of interaction with members.
  
  
• And finally, by tracking and comparing the adherence and retention performance of each instructor’s members, management can quantify and compare the outcomes each instructor is achieving.

Outcomes: FitLinxx’s tools collectively allow management to measure staff directly on the quality of their performance. Many facilities use these metrics as part of their staff development and performance review process. Motivated, professional staff members truly appreciate being recognized for the positive impact they have on members, while poorer performers can be more effectively managed for success going forward. Some facilities use the staff performance information as part of a pay-for-performance program, believing that if the sales team on the front-end of the membership process is paid on commissions, the staff on the backend, who are responsible for service and retention, should benefit in proportion to the quality of their results as well? The bottom line is that information empowers management to better manage staff, and that results in better service to the members.