Staff Management Articles

People | By Marci Clark and Peggy Gregor When Islands Collide Use a fun, clever team-building exercise to bring together group fitness instructors and personal fitness trainers. A re your group exercise and personal training departments two distant islands with little knowledge of the other island's culture? Does an employee who wears both hats feel like he might be "voted off " if his allian...

TRICKS OF THE TRADE "How do you handle the situation if one of your trainers isn't meeting your expectations?" Many times managers don't clearly convey their expectations to trainers. Most peo- ple want to do what is expected of them and excel. A one-time new-trainer orientation is overwhelming for new employees; most likely they will not grasp everything you want them to. Although we conduct...

group exercise Manage to Lead OVERALL SUCCESS DEPENDS ON YOUR ABILITY TO BRING OUT EACH PERSON'S BEST. By Maureen Hagan, PT contributions, time and effort. Commend him on his latest performance initiative. If you are consistent with this approach and it comes from your heart, you will unleash the power for first-rate performance every time. Set a Standard of Excellence Managers and employees w...

Group Exercise Recruit and Retain Top Talent DON'T LET THE GOOD ONES PASS YOU BY. By Maureen Hagan, PT T he fitness industry appears desperate to find ways to resolve the high attrition rate of its membership. Not one industry publication passes my desk these days without a focus on membership retention. Each new year, countless numbers of men and women make resolutions to lose weight or get in...

people Staffing Levels A SNAPSHOT OF HUMAN RESOURCES FROM THE IDEA FITNESS INDUSTRY SALARY SURVEY 2004. By Patricia Ryan, MS H ow many staff positions do fitness businesses need to operate successfully? Among those surveyed in the IDEA Fitness Industry Salary Survey 2004, the emphasis is on teaching staff. Personal trainers (78%) and Pilates or yoga teachers (64%) are the job titles respondents...

people When Good Employees Go Bad LEARN HOW TO HANDLE STAFF WHO ACT UNETHICALLY AND HOW TO PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS FROM THEIR BAD BEHAVIOR. By Debra Atkinson, MS employee and to your business. As a fitness facility owner or manager, you can't police morality. You can, however, arm yourself with an awareness of the temptation and potential harm caused by greed and the desire for success, easy satis...

Personal Training The Management School of Hard Knocks MANAGING THE ALPHA EGO. lpha-ego" personal fitness trainers (PFTs) present fitness managers with quite a dilemma. The very things that make alpha trainers stand out and excel are also the things that can make them challenging to manage. Alpha trainers have an inner monolog that pushes them to lead the pack. The fact is, if you're like most ma...

Internetworking Made Easy USE E-MAIL TO CONNECT WITH STAFF. By Peggy Gregor I 'll never forget my first meeting as fitness director at our club. I had put together an outstanding agenda chockfull of club news, upcoming events and inspiring workshops. I arrived 20 minutes early armed with copies of a great fitness article and an interactive teambuilding exercise. I even brought cupcakes to celebr...

Training for Growth By Sherri McMillan, MSc, and Alex McMillan Invest in Your People With your staff, as with all investments, you have to put something in if you want something back. No matter what industry you're in, the most important asset your business has is your people. This is especially true in the personal training industry. The strength of your organization--or your department--is dire...

Director By Erica K. Perkins, MS Take steps to encourage a healthy body image among staff. Reinvent the Role Model Many fitness facility members look to group fitness instructors for cues on how to exercise and live a healthy lifestyle. However, these role models may have--or be at an increased risk for--eating disorders, body dissatisfaction and compulsive exercise. According to a study publish...