Hiring Gym Staff Successfully: Everything You Need to Know

Hiring the best staff for your fitness business is so important as they will reflect the face and value of your business enterprise. If you select the best staff, more and more people will be confident about the fitness services which you offer. As we saw in The Glofox Ultimate Guide to Opening a Gym, hiring the best team you can is essential as better the quality of your team, the more the clients you will get. Click on a section you would like to read in the table of contents below. 

Duties of Gym Staff

First must come up with a job description. The best way for you to create a proper job description is to ascertain the various roles you need to fill.

First and foremost, the staff’s basic duty is to communicate with both existing and potential gym patrons. They should be able to give them valid information about the gym; including membership rates, the facilities at the gym and, how to check in and check out.

Moreover, they should always strive to maintain, service and, ensure the proper usage of the gym’s equipment and facilities. Furthermore, they should be skilled in the keeping of records such as membership registers, invoices and, schedules for classes. It’s important they work towards the enforcement of the gym’s policies to enhance a safe working out the environment and, to prevent possible accidents.

Top Traits to Look for in a Candidate

To select the best staff, you must know which traits you should look out for. There are four essential traits which you should consider. As a general rule, the ideal candidate should have a combination of at least three of these traits.

Strong Passion and Dedication to Fitness

Your staff must have a strong passion for and dedication to fitness. You must discern whether the prospective candidate loves to stay fit and whether the aspiring staff member is always on the lookout for ways to keep fit. The general rule here is that they must be fit. Never make the mistake of hiring someone who is neither fit nor has a strong passion and dedication for fitness. 

Knowledge and Technical Know-How

Of course, a good education may not make a good doctor; but the education is essential in itself. For you to hire the right person you must check whether they are academically certified or not. You will definitely find the best talent if you seek out for individuals who have the requisite academic qualifications.

An effective staff must demonstrate a knack for continuous learning. When people learn continuously, they grow. Don’t make a mistake of hiring those who don’t have a habit of continuous learning. They may end up applying old, degenerated and, useless fitness techniques to your gym patrons.

Good Communication Skills

As ascertained earlier, the most basic duty of your staff members is to communicate regularly with both your current and prospective gym patrons. Therefore, a candidate should have excellent communication skills. Apart from knowing how to communicate well, they should also possess proper listening skills.

Your team will always interact with your gym patrons daily. Some of these patrons may confide in your staff the challenges they are facing in their journey to better health, wellness and, fitness. This is where proper listening skills come in.

Compassion and Empathy

As discussed earlier, your staff should have a strong passion for and dedication to fitness. However, this passion should be balanced with compassion and empathy.

Each member of your team should relate well with the struggles that, overweight and, unfit people face in their journey to fitness. By connecting to their efforts, they will be able to exercise compassion and empathy towards them. This will increase their productivity, and your patrons will feel comfortable and welcomed.

The Interview Process

To select the right gym staff, you must have an efficient process of interviewing the prospective staff members. Here are some of the steps which you should take before, during and, after the interview;

Before Interviewing

Before interviewing, there are two significant steps which you should consider. These steps include creating a perfect job description and, selecting only the most promising candidates.

To create a perfect job description, you must highlight all the requirements that you need for a specific job type. Make sure that you set out the relevant academic, experience and, professional qualifications. You should also specify the key objectives which the prospective candidate has to fulfill in the job description.

You should select only the most promising candidates. As a general rule, the best candidates will fit all the requirements of the job description. One way of choosing the most promising candidates is by analyzing their track records. You can examine their track records by evaluating their previous job performances.

During the Interview

During the interview, you should take measures to evaluate further the abilities if the potential staff member. You can do this by noticing the potential green and red flags of a prospective staff member. An example of a green flag is when a candidate gives precise details of the failures and successes of his or her previous jobs. On the other hand, an example of a red flag is when a candidate gives vague information about himself or herself and tells unverified stories.

There are specific questions which you should ask during the interview. Some examples of these questions are:

• What certifications do you hold that are relevant to this job?
• How can you affect a successful fitness training session?
• What will you do to enhance the clientele?
• What will you do to increase the membership levels of this gym?
• How will you create a significant relationship between yourself and the clients of this gym?prompted

After Interviewing

There are two actions which you should take after interviewing a prospective candidate. These actions include consulting their references and, verifying the information which they gave you before and during the interview. If you don’t implement these two actions, you may hire the wrong candidate.

Career Opportunities

It can be a daunting task to hire the right people. However, once you understand the different positions which are required in a gym; then your hiring process will be much easier. Here are the key areas to fill on your team: 

Management

Sales Manager: A sales manager will sell your membership plans, therefore increasing your membership levels and your income altogether. One of the critical traits of a sales manager is that he or she must be compassionate. If your sales manager has this trait, he will see the prospective gym members as humans and not as mere dollar signs.

Marketing Manager: The main role of a marketing manager is to advertise your gym through promotions and campaigns. Therefore, you should select a marketing manager who is creative and enthusiastic; and who can mobilize the growth of your gym’s membership levels.

Operations Manager: If you have a great operations manager, then your gym will most likely succeed. An operations manager is responsible for managing your entire staff and, maintaining your facilities and equipment. Furthermore, he should be able to handle any issues that may arise amicably. An effective operations manager should have excellent leadership skills.

Gym Floor

Group Fitness Instructor: You should hire a group fitness instructor who is enthusiastic and, has a strong passion and dedication to fitness. Group fitness instructors are very much in demand due to the rise in popularity in classed based boutique fitness.

Personal Trainer: A personal trainer trains an individual one on one and usually has a roster of clients that will book in with them throughout the day. Personal trainers are still very popular among those who value close instruction when they exercise.

Front Desk Staff: These are the people who your prospective gym members and patrons will interact with before accessing your facilities. You should hire front desk staff who are generally friendly, pleasant and, knowledgeable. Moreover, your front desk staff should have excellent customer care service skills.

Gym Maintenance

Service Technician: A service technician will save the day when one of your gym equipment breaks down. You should hire a service technician who can demonstrate his or her mechanical and electrical skills. Furthermore, a competent service technician should know your gym equipment inside out. Also, he or she should have a knack of referring to the manual in case any problem arises.

Maintenance Personnel: You should hire maintenance personnel who will always ensure that your facilities are clean and, in the proper condition. This personnel will be in charge of all cleaning and polishing work at your gym, as well as fixing minor repairs.

Gym Staff Median Monthly and Annual Wages

You should strive to offer your staff competitive rates to retain them for the longest time possible. Furthermore, your salary rates should be within the range of what is offered by other gyms in similar positions. Here is a tabled analysis of gym staff median monthly and annual wages in the U.S.A;

Source: payscale.com

The amount of salary you pay your staff should go hand in hand with the size and value of your facilities You should pay due regard to the existing labor laws and regulations; to avoid getting on the wrong arm of the law. Some labor laws may require you to provide an itemized pay statement, while others may obligate you to disburse certain allowances and benefits such as medical insurance to your staff.

Bottom Line

All in all, opening a new gym is quite a big deal. Apart from considering certain factors such as the niche, your financial ability and, the location; you should learn how to hire the right staff. The makeup of your team could potentially determine whether your enterprise will succeed or fail. Therefore, you should strive to select the best candidates; since they will serve as the face of your fitness enterprise.