Have you ever followed a workout that was just thrown together on the fly each and every workout, without taking into account critical elements you would need to reach a particular goal?
NO!
Same with staffing and leadership. You must be intentional.
These components are at the top of my list when it comes to staffing a business and providing you with the best possible opportunity to maximize your leadership.
Moreover, they provide a practical framework that holds the team together over a long period of time, reducing turnover and increasing team success.
1. PLAN FOR PROFIT
I strongly believe that most fitness business owners jump at hiring staff because they *need* warm bodies to keep up with the growth their business experiences.
They do so without ever giving thought to margins, their own personal character flaws, their own personal strengths, their vision for who will be a good fit, or why they want staff other than they’re busy.
You have to understand exactly what you are able to pay based on the packaging and pricing of your services, as well as the overall “nut” that is required for you to keep your business operational.
Using the margin and gross profit calculator I developed is a good place to start and it’s so simple it removes all guess work.
(I give you the Margin and Gross Profit Calculator in F3 Academy)
The individuals on your team must meet rigorous standards that you develop based on your vision for what you want your team to look like and the purpose they will serve in your business.
But most importantly is the self-awareness you must have, and assessing any work that needs to be done in this area before you ever hire a single candidate.
2. ASSESS APPLICANTS
One of the biggest mistakes I made when I first started hiring staff was ONLY having them complete a phone screening and one-on-one interview.
Nothing will cause greater turn over than hiring the wrong type of person to be on your team.
Some of the work that you do in the planning component will actually help you have a clearer picture of what your ideal candidate will look like, act like, etc.
But your assessment should go way beyond just a few interviews.
Background checks are a must. If you don’t do them now, start.
Having the candidate complete case studies and possibly even conduct a shadowing with you followed by a brief “what did you see?” conversation.
There should also be a behavioral/personality/occupational assessment that helps you see the candidate for who they really are, and not the facade most put up to “land the job.”
My favorite is The Birkman Method because it goes more in depth than say the Myers-Briggs or DISC personality assessments do.
The Birkman provides you with seen and unseen behaviors that an individual will exhibit when certain needs are met or go unmet.
It will literally show you exactly how to lead that particular individual and help to make them more successful.
3.️ SKILL DEVELOPMENT
The assumption that all personal trainers and all personal trainer candidates know everything they will need to know to work with the general public is a dangerous assumption.
Working with your team and providing them with the kind of ongoing development that will make them and your business successful is essential.
Plus, it will give you a slight edge of control over what and how the trainers deliver service to your customers.
This can be done by developing a training manual or having ongoing continuing education provided by you or an expert that you bring in.
But ultimately you want to leverage technology where your system can be taught and duplicated over and over again.
Creating your very own mini course and housing on password protected pages on your website is a great way to deliver said content and be improving on it as you grow.
4.️ EMPOWERMENT
Let’s face it… nobody enjoys being micromanaged to the point that their literally just a programmed robot that regurgitates everything you give them.
But at the same time you have to be able to track and measure success in order to make course corrections and improvements as needed.
So when you’re developing those metrics that need to be monitored and discussed on a weekly basis, what’s the best way to come up with what you want to measure?
Give it over to your staff!
Let them determine what their measurement of success will be and allow them to set the standard for what successful means to them.
Nothing will give your team more of a charge than when they verbally name and quantify what they feel is success to them.
They’ll actually strive harder to achieve it, and will ultimately be more receptive to your mentorship as a result of you giving them the freedom to pursue success on their terms.
You’ll still need to have a system in place for tracking, measuring, and adjusting the metrics they decide.
But if you just hammer them with what YOU want and don’t give them some autonomy and freedom to develop their own process, you’ll drive them away faster than you can attract others to replace them.
Ultimately, you get sucked back into the operations of your business and lose the freedom you’ve worked so hard to obtain.
5.️ ONGOING COACHING
This is your sweet spot.
You are first and foremost a coach. Your skills as a coach will just need to shift their focus from the gym floor to the board room (so to speak).
Leading is coaching. Coaching is leading.
Challenging, valuing, trusting, and appreciating your team both as a unit and as individual team members will take your business further than any other business related component out there.
When your team feels connected to you and that they matter, or bear significance to the success of the business, the result is a well run machine that maximizes client relationships and results into more and more clients.
Coach your team to improve and cheer them on to success!
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I recently launched my new training program that I’ve been developing to help fitness business owners lead, manage, and scale a team for more profit and more freedom.
I’m looking for individuals that are looking to grow a team to maximize their profitability and increase the amount of time they want to spend doing more of what they want to do (family, vacation, etc.)
Fit Pros… If you are interested and would like to get an invite to learn about this signature Leadership and Management program, simply click on the button below to learn all about F3 Academy and how it can help you grow your profit and gain massive amounts of personal freedom!
