FitPro Business Q2 2012 by FitPro

Apr/May/Jun 2012

Raise your game How to ace service levels Technology: Increasing your web and social media presence INDUSTRY: Doing more for less with community sports programmeS FitPro Convention 2012: Q&A with management expert and presenter Nic Jarvis

EDITORIAL

ADVERTISING AND SALES

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ommentary Time to broaden our horizons ne piece of good news (in the US at least) according to IHRSA’s Health Club Consumer Report is that there is growth in the number of people using health clubs. One of the reasons that memberships are up is that monthly dues are down (by an average of around 13%). In other words, US clubs are hoping that added volume will make up for the consequent shortfall in revenue. Not surprisingly, IHRSA isn’t overly excited by the downward trend in dues. Budget clubs may be structured to operate a high-volume low-fee model but the cost base for regular clubs (in the US and the UK) is way too high for them to play the same game with any conviction. In order to make up the inevitable revenue shortfall IHRSA suggests that clubs create additional value by adding new equipment (the top performers invest between 1.3% and 2.3% of total revenue per annum in new facilities) and charging more for services such as personal training. Overall, IHRSA believes that the future of the industry is bright. One can only hope they’re right. The thing that really depresses me about this document is that it appears to suggest that – even as the economic storm clouds gather – if we carry on doing more of the same (group exercise, sectorspecific classes, social activities, flexible memberships, mother and baby groups, etc.), only better, we’ll be just fine. Here’s what I think: Sure the obesity (and subsequent diabetes) tsunami headed our way may save our bacon to some degree, but I wouldn’t count on it. Medication and gentle activity is likely to be first choice, followed by ballet, fishing, stock car racing, mud wrestling – anything but sitting on an exercise bike or lifting weights in our gyms.

So what’s to be done? Well, first off, let’s get our heads out of the sand, take a long hard look at why our market penetration is so low and see what we can learn from other sectors that have re-engineered themselves. Market penetration is low because our thinking is constrained by the past and we have failed to develop a product that appeals to more than one in 10 people. That will not change until we start thinking laterally, which is exactly what the motor industry (smaller fuel-efficient cars), publishing (Amazon, Kindle, etc.), music (MP3s), computers (iPads), television (programming on demand), banking (online) – the list goes on – are doing. And why has all this happened? Because, in almost every case, consumers have voted with their feet and demanded it. And they’ll do the same to us. Here’s three simple things we can do relatively quickly: 1. Start thinking outside the four walls of our clubs in terms of delivering our services (see page 21). There’s a whole range of technology that can help us with that one. 2. Attack the (huge) weight-loss market properly – is there any reason why we can’t learn from the systems used by Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, etc.? 3. Begin to add psychological wellbeing to our bag of tricks. There’s masses of information out there around the key factors surrounding happiness (Seligman, Lyubomirsky et al). Shouldn’t we be opening our minds, learning what they are and educating our members about their role in the health and well-being equation?

Tim Webster

Editorial consultant Apr May Jun | 2012

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Trends

what’s I N what’s O UT

Calling all operators

Fitness operators’ performance in answering phones has been rated at its worst ever according to a survey by Leisure-net Solutions. The National call-Focus Survey evaluated more than 70 sites in the private, trust and local authority sectors during September and October 2011, on criteria such as speed of answering calls and the phone operator asking the potential client their goals. The findings showed that the average overall score had declined by 8% (to 66% compared to 74% in 2010) in the worst score in the resulting survey’s five-year history. Scores for answering the phone promptly were down significantly, with only 60% answering within five rings or fewer, compared to over 70% the year before. However, the private sector answered calls significantly quicker, and on a regular basis, compared to leisure trusts. Despite questions about becoming a member being answered ‘confidently and knowledgably’ in 94% of cases, the adviser only asked the researchers about their goals or the services they were interested in during 36% of calls. Over half of the operators gave out prices before discussing individual requirements, despite most operators having a policy of not giving membership prices over the phone too easily. Mike Hill, Leisure-net managing director, said, “Learning what we’re doing right and wrong in the telephone element of our service and how we can do it better is crucial to business success. “This year’s survey results are certainly disappointing, and as sample sizes and mixes were very comparable to previous surveys, it’s reasonable to assume we’ve actually got worse as an industry in answering membership enquiries by phone.”

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Contents 06

Psychology

You must be choking

Comment

Think different

Retention

Incentivising instructors

FitPro Convention 2012

Q&A with Nic Jarvis

Service

Service: Getting it right

Meeting expectations

Measuring success on the gym floor

What they said

Service on set

Education

The future is global

Industry

A bright future?

Technology

How to improve your web presence

Industry

Doing more for less

Personal training

Say no to pay as you go?

Management

Strengths-based recruitment

Comment

Bringing sexy back

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Editor’s letter

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08 © iStockphoto.com/EdStock

ustomer service is still an area the fitness industry is yet to master. So, what can the sector do before it can truly begin to call itself customer-centric, on the scale of companies such as Apple or John Lewis? Management expert Nic Jarvis believes the customer-centric approach will be the next trend in fitness management, and gives an insight into why on page 12, ahead of his programme at this year’s leading industry event, FitPro Convention (13-14 April). This issue not only looks to highlight those who are succeeding in delivering great customer service, but also what your customers are saying about you (page 20). Tim Webster kicks off with a look at those industries who are getting it right (pages 14-16), while author Kris Tynan gives us practical examples of what teams should be doing at the heart of the health club (pages 18-19). As the internet also provides the best opportunity to connect and communicate with members outside of the gym, web designer Laverne Pereira explains how to develop your site and improve your online presence (pages 28-30). With the threat of a further recession three years on, Sport England’s property director Charles Johnston assesses the danger to community sports programmes (pages 32-33). How can they escape the budget cuts for what will be a vitally important year in the Olympic legacy stakes? And, with the Olympic Games fast approaching, sports psychologist Renzie Hanham reflects on how we can all learn to perform under pressure (pages 6-7), whether it be in business or in sport. I look forward to seeing you all in Loughborough, which will be packed with world-class business speakers, for what is shaping up to be another exciting FitPro Convention for 2012.

Ashley Newman

Editor 5

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Psychology

You must be

choking ›› With the Olympic Games only a few months away, sports psychologist Renzie Hanham gives his view of performance under pressure. xpectation, scrutiny and the perceived consequences are a product of pressure, and they also create pressure. They can raise our performance to new heights or they can inhibit us to such an extent that we shut down, ‘freeze’ and can’t perform. This happens as much in business as it does in sport. These three aspects are related to outcomes, as the more significant the outcome (an Olympic medal is pretty significant), the more pressure there is. And when the pressure is perceived as being severe enough, our brain and body react accordingly. Each situation we experience triggers an emotional and physiological response and prepares the body for action. After this, the information is transmitted to our brain, which analyses the detail and sends a message that prepares the body and considers whether the threat is real or not. The problem is that, once an emotion is turned on, it is difficult to turn it off. This can lead to ‘freezing’ and then panic. The brain in effect talks to itself. Choking could be seen as a milder form of ‘freeze’. The individual can still perform but not to the same level because parts of their brain are shutting down. As a result, decision-making becomes difficult and the individual’s attention starts to fixate. In essence, they misrepresent what is happening and lose the ability to adapt and adjust. It becomes difficult to think clearly and maintain an overview of what is happening; they become overwhelmed by the situation.

How to respond People respond to pressure in three ways: they become aggressive, they become passive (so withdraw) or they escape.

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Psychology

Each of these responses is normal but – depending on the situation – they may not be helpful. One of the things that defines resilience is the individual’s ability to adapt to a new reality. It’s human nature to want to stick with the familiar because that’s what makes us feel comfortable. The new situation we find ourselves in may be distinctly uncomfortable. And the more we resist it, the more power it develops over us and the more powerless we become. Often, we become passive and adopt a victim mentality. We cease to become proactive and just become reactive. Doing anything that helps us to feel we have some control over something is helpful. Maintaining our connections is also very important because when we shut down we also disconnect.

How to eliminate choking

It’s when we feel we can’t see the opportunity or any alternatives that we choke

The first thing we can do is to accept that we can’t change the situation or the environment in which an event is happening. We can change our perception of that event, however, and therefore our responses to that perception. And we can train our brain to respond differently. We do this by being clear about what we have control over in a given situation and then by practising controlling it. Knowing what you can control and being able to control it are two different things, however. You can practise different forms of mindfulness, which leads to increased awareness. In this way, you become more aware of your own processes and the signals that allow you to know that the pressure is starting to overwhelm you. You can condition yourself to manage increasingly severe pressure in much the same way you condition yourself physically. You can change the way you attend to things. But, most importantly, you can take the antidote to the fear which underpins choking – that is joy or enjoyment. When joy is present, you embrace what lies before you. When fear is present, there is a sense of foreboding or dread. Fear stifles the individual until they become incapacitated by their response to the situation. When you’re enjoying a situation, you are in control or give up the need to control. When fear is present, you feel you have no control, the situation is bigger than you and you feel powerless. Then, if you reach your threshold, you start to shut down.

I have observed this frequently when working with athletes and in myself. Once fear takes hold, it paralyses. It inhibits and strangles the life and joy out of the situation. There is no enjoyment, just a feeling of impending disaster. Of course, fear of failure can be a driver but, if it’s accompanied by being thoroughly engaged in a meaningful process, and if the process becomes the main focus of attention, then it becomes enjoyable.

How to find opportunity Most situations have within them opportunity. It’s when we feel we can’t see the opportunity or any alternatives that we choke. Choking is also caused by getting caught up in outcomes. Outcomes are what happen at the end of a chain of events, they are not the event itself. Of course we need to know what the outcome is that we want but, having established this, we must then focus on the process. The outcome is totally dependent on the quality of the process. In a team environment, it’s important to embrace the shadow of previous disappointments and use them to move you forward. The shadow then becomes your ally and not something to be feared, avoided or resisted. Not doing this means risking the possibility that the emotions surrounding an event will manifest at a time when you least need them (i.e., when you are under pressure). Having said that, the emotions around the disappointments need to be attended to; they should not become the main focus. It’s useful to keep the learning effect but let the emotions go. Resistance and avoidance are what get us stuck. The old saying, ‘What we resist persists’, holds true. So, when you have the first inkling of anxiety, it’s important to accept it as part of the body’s mechanism for preparing you for action. It’s critical not to interpret it in a way that gives it more meaning than it has. When you train yourself to actually enjoy these feelings, then you’re on your way to becoming a deliverer as opposed to a choker. fpb

Renzie Hanham is a director at Gazing Performance Systems (www.gazing.com) and worked with the All Blacks prior to the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Contact renzieh@clear.net.nz

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Comment

Think different ›› Derek Barton looks at what the fitness industry can learn from the late, great Apple innovator Steve Jobs. ere’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. “They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify them or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them, because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. “Maybe they have to be crazy. How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and

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hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels? “We make tools for these kinds of people. While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” That was the original ad copy from Apple’s famous 1997 ‘Think Different’ campaign. One of the people who worked on that campaign gave me a framed copy of it, which proudly hangs on my office wall. Is it any wonder that those words reflect Apple’s leader, Steve Jobs? And, even more importantly, is it any wonder that

they reflect the feelings of Apple’s loyal customers, like me? I’m one of those crazy ones, a misfit and a rebel. I am definitely not fond of rules. How many times does a company’s staff respond to our complaints with that old line, “Sorry, those are the rules.” And I answer every time with, “I make the rules at my company and allow my staff to break them when appropriate to satisfy my customers.” I see things differently too and have no respect for the status quo. Visionaries and innovators like Steve Jobs have taught me to ‘Think Different’, which has helped me tremendously in my marketing career. Upon Steve’s return to Apple in 1997,

Comment

The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do Apple when the company was in trouble, he said to his team, “Our goal is not just to make money, but to make great products.” Who in the health club industry shares that goal? Certainly not the majority, which may be one of the big reasons why a large percentage of us don’t set foot inside fitness centres. Unfortunately, the health club industry has not figured out how to deal with the fact that most people don’t want its memberships. Even when people do join, many don’t come back after 30 days. Surveys have revealed that the health club industry (in the US) is the third worst business for retention. That’s sad considering there is nothing more important on earth than people’s health and fitness. In response, gym owners have created cheaper memberships and no contracts to get people to join. We continue to find new and old ways to make money. We don’t make the fitness experience better, just cheaper – and that still isn’t winning over that majority. Time to ask: What would Steve Jobs do? For starters, he would build incredible gyms to help people better understand their bodies and how to get the most out of exercise and nutrition. Steve’s gyms would have a sense of play, energy, and the design would be second to none. The pieces of equipment would be designed like his Apple products, cool, elegant and easy to use. It would be the ultimate showroom where people would be eager to try out each new machine every time they visited. And can you imagine the advertising? He would use marketing to move and inspire people to want to work out in his gyms, and never copy the low-cost model. Are there any such gyms out there in the world today? Not exactly, but I have seen some impressive health clubs from the following companies: Gold’s Gym, Gainesville Health & Fitness, Equinox, UFC Gym, Lifetime Fitness, Crunch, LA Fitness and Virgin Active. From Apple’s beginning, Steve Jobs set out to make products that would help us become more productive and more creative. With every release of an Apple product, he managed to make an emotional connection and create excitement for the consumer. When was the last time you saw a line around the block waiting for a new health club to open, like Apple sees outside its new stores? And this was without market research, without surveys, without focus groups. He often said, “People really don’t know what they want until we show it to them.” All of that comes at a price however, but at a price Mac fans gladly pay because they too want something better. People who are overweight and obese are also looking for a better lifestyle, but they are not knocking down our gym doors. We have taken the passion and excitement out of our health clubs and reduced it to a commodity. People would rather take diet pills or drink magic potions or have their stomach stapled than come into a fitness centre and lose weight the right way. If we don’t change our mindset, one day we may all become irrelevant and wonder what happened. Yes, we do have our own visionaries and innovators, but we need more. It’s time to ‘Think Different’. fpb

Derek Barton is an author and speaker, and former vice president of marketing for Gold’s Gym from 1985 to 2005. He now consults to some of the world’s leading fitness operators. Contact him at Derek@bartonproductions.com

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Retention

Incentivising instructors ›› Retaining members – and instructors – is high on the list of importance for any club, but how do you incentivise your staff effectively? Guy Griffiths explains how. o, you want to incentivise your instructors to provide better customer service and improve retention. What metrics do you want to use and what is going to incentivise your instructors?

KPIs It can be difficult for the individual instructor to see how they can have an effect on raising your club’s 12-month member retention from 50% to 60%. Additionally, asking instructors to reduce attrition or increase average length of membership can be a bridge too far. Instead, you can achieve better results by looking at daily or weekly actions that will provide a short-term effect that builds up over the month or year. Giving each instructor a group of members to manage is a common practice. It provides straightforward key performance indicators (KPIs) on which to base targets and rewards. For example, aim to keep a certain percentage of your members: ■ Active (visiting in last two weeks) ■ On a current exercise programme ■ Under 50% risk of drop-out

People often jump to the conclusion that an incentive or reward is financial. However, research shows money does not create long-term happiness or job satisfaction. We work in a vocational industry; any fitness instructor who is in it for the money is in the wrong career. Seeing a member achieve their goal – or simply visit more often – will be the best kind of incentive for many instructors. Success breeds success and results generate results. If members get results, they stay longer. Likewise, if instructors see members get results, they stay longer too, creating a virtuous circle.

Research shows money does not create long-term happiness or job satisfaction

Incentives A contact management system can trigger and measure contacts. Some provide an effectiveness score for each instructor, showing how many more times a member visited following a recorded contact. The competitive nature of instructors means individual incentives can both help and hinder retention. Staff shift patterns and regularity of members’ visits can sometimes make competition counterproductive for the member and club. In these cases, you need to incentivise the team as a whole. This could be in conjunction with, or separate from, individual incentives, depending on your team dynamics. The level of competition will also be defined by what the incentives are.

Other non-financial incentives could be time off, a points scheme whereby points can be exchanged for vouchers or tickets to FitPro Convention or the FIA Flame Awards, for example. These types of event generate more motivation through inspiring them to develop their careers or win an award for the club. The last and most important part of any incentive scheme is for management to get involved and support the instructors. The gym manager will no doubt do this, but the whole management team needs to champion the successes and also help address the shortfalls. Communication between management and staff helps maximise effectiveness. If you can also share the results with members, it closes

the loop and the instructors get another pat on the back from the people who really matter. Being seen as top dog among peers is also a big bonus to the competitive instructor. So, when thinking about how to incentivise your instructors, the incentives themselves should come last. The most important points are being clear on measurement and constantly communicating through your club. Keep it simple for success: the most effective KPIs and rewards are the simple ones. fpb

Recent research from The Retention People has found that by talking to members and encouraging repeat visits, fitness staff can extend average membership life by up to 23.3 months and generate up to 600% more income per member. Given this positive impact on both retention and the bottom line, it can easily be argued that introducing some form of incentive or reward to motivate fitness teams to interact with members and ‘sell’ repeat club visits would be beneficial. Investing in systems which enable clubs to manage their staff effectively and to accurately measure performance is key to this, and will allow clubs to introduce motivational incentives for staff while at the same time improving their own financial performance. Mike Hills, retention director, The Retention People

Guy Griffiths works for GG Fit, an independent consultancy that helps clubs to focus on member retention by working with staff, systems and processes. www.ggfit.com or @ggfit on Twitter.

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FitPro Convention 2012

Q&A

with Nic Jarvis

›› The fitness industry’s flagship PT education event returns in April. We caught up with Nic Jarvis, industry consultant and a presenter at FitPro Convention 2012. What sessions will you be presenting this year? Managing large groups of PTs to hit their income targets and Delivering weight loss on a large scale. Why this particular focus? Few PTs are managed effectively; most are left to get on with their own thing. If a manager adopts standard management practices they can achieve far superior results from their teams. Weight loss offers a huge opportunity, but we need to offer it on a greater scale in order to make a real impact on the membership of clubs. To do this takes a different set of skills than doing 1-2-1 – how most PTs currently deliver it. Why should managers attend the business sessions? If managers attend these sessions they will (often for the first time) receive some formal training on how to get the best from their people and in doing so achieve their own goals. It’s about releasing the potential of people so that they take responsibility for their goals and use their initiative to solve problems. This,

achieve an end result and gain motivation. I’d summarise this by saying we know there are three ways to bring about change: 1. To see the benefits gained, so instructors will see opportunity; 2. To compare themselves to others, which will cause dissatisfaction in current practice; and 3. To give them the belief that they can do it. Many managers also take their team as a reward for the hard work they have achieved throughout the year.

in turn, will free up the manager to focus on developing their business models as opposed to continually chasing people up. What can they take away from the event as a whole? New, innovative ways of doing things that have been proven to work. Managers can also gain a greater understanding of how to influence people to bring about change and by doing so meet the needs of all the stakeholders of the business. How does FitPro Convention help fitness teams? Staff are enthused to help people achieve success and become fulfilled in their goals when they see others achieve their desired results. They will see high achievers who use good models and tools – we see a lot of PTs get trapped into doing particular things, so at FitPro Convention they will see multiple ways to

What do you see as the future business trends in fitness and how can managers capitalise on these? The industry will come to understand the importance of leadership in delivering business results. The development of cultures will be the core focus of leaders. Cultures drive values and reflect the behaviour of leaders, so when they want to change these cultures they recognise that, on the front line, they have to teach the skills needed to treat people in a particular way. The business will be customer centric and develop systems that are fanatical about achieving desired outcomes. At the moment, many health clubs don’t have the desire to help, they provide the facilities that they think will help. When they analyse their KPIs and change their programming, then they will have a customer-centric approach. fpb

For more information on the business seminars available at FitPro Convention (13-14 April), visit www.fitpro.com/convention or for corporate group booking discounts contact busdev@fitpro.com

For education and business building sign your trainers up to Pro-PT, a career and community hub for PTs, at www.facebook.com/proPTonline

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Service

Service:

Getting it right

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Service

›› Tim Webster takes a look at some businesses he believes are getting it right and what the fitness industry can learn from them. ccording to business consultants ACA Group, customer service is “the ability of an organisation to constantly and consistently give the customer what they want and need.” Intelligentdialogue.com then defines excellent customer service as, “the ability of an organisation to constantly and consistently exceed customers’ expectations.” They go on to say: “The reality of good customer service is what your customers expect from you at every contact they have with you. Understanding and segmenting your customers so you can be clear what needs they have from you will help you to exceed their expectations.” Managing each point of contact with your customers will also help you to manage the brand, which Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezoz then defines as “what your customers say about you when you’re not in the room”. Here are eight key factors I believe are important for those seeking to deliver excellent service.

1. Engaging staff Tom Peters says, “The magic formula that successful businesses have discovered is to treat customers like guests and employees like people.” Organisations like Ritz-Carlton Hotels bring that thinking to life. The Ritz-Carlton company credo pledges that, “The Ritz-Carlton experience enlivens the senses, instills well-being, and fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests.” Its Three Steps of Service’ call for giving the guest a warm and sincere greeting (using the guest’s name when possible), anticipating and complying with guests’ needs and saying a fond farewell, again using the guest’s name. If we could just get numbers one and three right in our clubs, it would be a massive step in the right direction.

There are 20 basic rules and one of them is covered in every morning line-up – like Rule 10: “Each employee is empowered. For example, when a guest has a problem or needs something special, you should break away from your regular duties, address and resolve the issue.” Some companies take the whole concept of employee engagement one step further, ensuring that staff share in the company’s success. This creates a sense of pride and ownership, which is reflected in the way they treat their customers.

The only thing worse than training your employees and losing them is not training your employees and keeping them

much information on our websites and what is there is largely out of date and not very interesting.

3. Training Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar said, “The only thing worse than training your employees and losing them is not training your employees and keeping them.” Kwik-Fit has received more than 50 business and customer awards and has been voted ‘best fast fit’ company for 13 years running. One of the reasons for this is the quality of its training, which is rated as second to none in its sector. When Kwik-Fit realised that some of its trainees were dyslexic, here’s what they did: “When we really looked into why 20% of our short-course learners weren’t passing, we realised that it wasn’t that they were failing to cope with the subject, they were just failing to cope with the tests. This took us on a journey that started with solving a dyslexia problem but ended with a Who Wants to be a Millionaire type approach to assessment. Staff took to our new voting-button system straight away.” If you don’t continually invest in meaningful training for your staff (even if you pay to train someone and then they move on) you will get what you deserve (i.e., low skilled, poorly motivated job seekers).

4. Innovation and creativity

Zig Ziglar 2. Creating community The internet offers most businesses a fantastic online vehicle for creating a sense of community and, therefore, belonging. Some companies, like innocent drinks, have grabbed that opportunity with both hands. Apart from the quality of its products, what makes innocent special is the fact that it builds a community both online and offline (much like Harley Davidson, Starbucks, etc.). Take a look at the innocent website (www.innocentdrinks.co.uk) and you’ll find games, competitions, recipes, gossip, a library and a blog – all designed to engage and inspire its customers. We have a golden opportunity to build community (and thus loyalty) in our clubs and centres both online and in person – but we struggle to do either. We are supposed to be the experts in lifestyle and fitness, so why aren’t people logging on to our websites, blogs and Facebook pages to find out how to improve their health and well-being? Answer: Because there isn’t

Zappos is an online shoe retailer with a difference. Here’s what the Harvard Business Review had to say about them: “Zappos is legendary for its employee culture and customer service. Offering customers free shipping both ways and giving them a year to make returns; and hiring 24/7 phone reps who are as courteous, kind and upbeat as Four Seasons concierges are all part of the Zappos formula.” Zappos was sold to Amazon in 2009 and is now worth in excess of US$1 billion (£654 million). Why is it so successful? An unrelenting focus on service excellence and a unique company culture in that it is not afraid to be quirky – Zappos offers every employee $2,000 (£1,300) to quit at the end of their first week and bases some of its hiring process on how lucky candidates feel they are, as their experience tells them that people who feel they are lucky consistently outperform those who don’t. In fact, CEO Tony Hsieh believes that Zappos is in the customer service business and it just happens to have started with shoes (customers have ›

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SERVICE

actually written to him asking Zappos to start an airline). We too should see ourselves in the service business first and the fitness business second. Having a ‘quirky’ approach is also a point of differentiation that is rarely exploited in our industry.

5. Having fun One of the most profitable airlines in the US, Southwest, is a low-cost operator that focuses on a number of key differentiators including point-to-point flying and delivering service with fun. Most airlines fly from a ‘spoke’ to a ‘hub’ and then out to another spoke, which takes time and energy. Southwest will fly you directly from one spoke to another without having to go through the hub. And they do this with cabin humour that has become legendary. Some people don’t like the humorous approach, which means they fly with other airlines, but enough people do like the Southwest approach to have kept them in the black for 35 years. We should be able to provide tailored solutions that get the results our customers are looking for and have some fun along the way – but how many gyms do you know that treat each member as an individual or are fun to work out in?

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6. Building trust Despite the carnage wrought by the banking sector over the past few years and the subsequent fallout, there are some companies that have maintained a good reputation with their customers. First Direct is the financial service company that British consumers trust the most, largely because First Direct “invests as much time and energy in keeping their existing customers happy as they do in attracting new customers,” says the editor of Moneywise magazine. Of course, the key word here is trust. Over the years, our industry in general has lost the trust of the communities we serve – largely because we over-promise and under-deliver way too often. The good news is that operators who reverse this trend will be successful. That’s why budget clubs work; they have a simple, honest proposition, which they mostly deliver on.

7. Keeping score Enterprise Rent-a-Car builds its reputation for service on a customer satisfaction survey called ESQi (Enterprise Service Quality index), which asks just two questions: 1. How would you rate your last Enterprise experience? 2. Would you rent from Enterprise again? Shades of NPS (Net Promoter Score) but, nevertheless, ESQi literally drives the Enterprise business – so much so that ESQi scores are the basis for determining promotion. This really gets people's attention because Enterprise only promotes from within, so a person’s career will only develop if they consistently deliver high service scores.

Forget the discussion around customer satisfaction versus customer loyalty for a minute. When a business consistently measures the happiness levels of its customers and then meaningfully incentivises staff behaviours that foster that happiness, things start to happen.

8. Walking the talk Here’s a company you might not have been expecting, but Portakabin is another company that wins numerous awards for its service levels. Portakabin, much like the health and fitness industry, operates in a largely commoditised marketplace where repeat business can make or break a company, so it sees legendary service as a point of differentiation. Portakabin knows that if customers receive good service “this time, next time, every time” then they are more likely to return. It is different in that it lives this charter every day. Fred Reichheld, author and inventor of NPS, says, “If you wonder what getting and keeping the right employees has to do with getting and keeping the right customers, the answer is everything.” fpb

Service

Meeting expectations ›› Fitpro Business reviews current thoughts on the consumer experience and how we have entered the age of the social customer. Customer experience

Interaction

Systems

Opportunity to enhance service

Processes Brand image/values

Expectations ustomer service expert Shaun Smith says, “As markets mature and customers become ever more sophisticated, the availability of suitable products and services is taken for granted. Meeting consumer expectations is a pre-requisite for doing business; the price of entry, not the way to win.” Similarly, Paul Greenberg, the author of The Speed of Light: Essential Customer Strategies for the 21st Century, identifies that there is a new consumer dynamic. He asserts, “They know that they live in the customer ecosystem and that they have peer access easily so that they can take advantage of the vast knowledge base of other customers who have similar interests and ideas and they can create buzz – positively or negatively – in a heartbeat. “The social customers know their leverage and power … they have both knowledge of and a choice about any given company they want to make a decision on. “For a company to survive in the era of the social customer, it not only has to recognise that its current business logic is most likely broken, but that new business models are necessary to reach out and work with that customer.” What does that mean for us? “The social customer is here to stay. The only issue is if your business stays with them,” says Greenberg.

21st century customer As many companies have found to their cost, the internet can be a destructive tool when it comes to reputation management

Moments of truth

Products

Positive customer impact

but it can also be constructive in customer experience management (CEM) terms. Strategy adviser Paul Ward explains, “The customer experience is an interaction. If you don’t manage customer experiences this way, you’re stuck in the information age at the very least – and perhaps in the industrial age at worst – where marketing and public relations were all broadcast from the top down. “Customer experiences are the most visible part of your corporate capabilities – you can rise and fall on them. But your company’s value is not measured merely by a customer’s latest experience. If that latest experience is terrible or fantastic, the customer will assess it within the context of his or her past experiences.”

Negative customer impact

2. Carry out strategic customer relationship management (CRM) research to establish the determinants of good relationships, how customers currently feel about the experience and what they expect and value. 3. Using a combination of touchpoint analysis, customer lifecycle interaction processes, mapping and known relationship determinants, map out the moments of truth (MOTs) in customer interactions (i.e., where does the experience make the most positive and negative impact on customers?). 4. Establish the gap between desired and actual customer experience at the MOTs.

Customer experience maps Harvard graduate Ro King says, “To better understand the customer experience, many companies now map out how customers interact with their systems, processes, people and products. These customer experience maps can be used to examine real and ideal states in customer interactions. The ideal state may be simply getting the little things right in every interaction at every point of the interaction.” Here is how to design the customer experience according to Jennifer Kirkby, managing director of Mutual Marketing. 1. Confirm by research that the company’s brand values and image are valued by customers and perceived as different to the competition.

5. Establish the employee experience at each MOT and compare to the customer experience. 6. Design and pilot new customer and employee experiences. 7. Recruit, train, coach and provide incentives to staff to support the customer experience. 8. In the CRM strategy, build the required experience for each segment into the customer value proposition. 9. Put in place feedback mechanisms for continuous improvements. fpb

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Service

Measuring success on the gym floor â&#x20AC;şâ&#x20AC;ş In simple terms, there are two ways of measuring success: by measuring outcomes or by measuring processes, writes Kris Tynan. fpb

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Service

Measuring outcomes The ultimate outcome of having a more interactive culture on the gym floor is twofold: 1. Your customers are happier, they stay with you longer and they refer others to your facility, and 2. Your instructors feel more valued and fulfilled in their work. Analysing retention statistics, the average lifespan of your members, referral statistics, customer satisfaction ratings and surveys, staff turnover, appraisal information and the like will provide you with valuable feedback. However, this tends to be more ‘big picture’ and often doesn’t have direct relevance to your instructors. After all, it could be argued that the retention rate at your organisation may have gone down because the crèche reduced its hours or the monthly fee went up, not because of any interaction your staff had or didn’t have on the gym floor with customers.

Measuring processes Failing to measure the processes that facilitate the outcomes you want is where organisations often fall down in trying to achieve a more interactive culture. The big advantage of measuring processes is that instructors have direct responsibility for their actions, which puts them in the driver’s seat in terms of managing their own performance.

Measurement tools The following floor appraisal is quick and simple; it’s designed to be a snapshot of what is going on in the gym at any given time. This visual assessment of the instructor’s performance is conducted over approximately 10 to 15 minutes. The assessor can use his discretion, however, in that if a situation demands the instructor’s full attention and they are not able to work the floor properly, the time can be extended. The letters A–F remind the assessor of the areas being evaluated. This means that they can do an assessment while working out themselves, for example, without the need to refer to the appraisal sheet. The instructor being assessed would need to be free of appointments during this time and be in charge of working the floor. By using the criteria below, a trainer can be given useful feedback on the key elements of their performance. It is preferable that this feedback be given to the trainer as soon after the actual assessment as possible, and it is especially important to reinforce and recognise the

elements that are being well executed, as well as raising awareness of any areas that could be improved.

How the scoring works In each of the first five areas (A-E), the instructor is given a rating between zero and three, with three being the best. In the sixth area (F) there is only one point to be scored. A. Awareness and positioning ■ Does the instructor seem aware of what is happening in the gym? ■ Are they positioned to see as much of the gym as possible? ■ Are they scanning the gym and reacting to any ‘flags’ flown by customers? If the answers are all ‘yes’, they should score a three; if there is room for improvement, they should be scored accordingly. B. Body language, badge, uniform, friendly facial expression Start with a three and then deduct marks if the instructor adopts inappropriate body language for more than a few minutes, e.g., crossed arms, hands hidden in sleeves, hands on hips, slouching, hands in pockets, chewing. Do the same for uniform, badge and grooming. If an element is lacking, deduct a mark and explain why in the comments section. C. Contact with members (plural) The aim is to see contact being made with three different members during the assessment period. This can include general conversation and professional interaction. If the instructor makes contact with only two members, they would score two marks. The idea of this element of the appraisal is to ensure that contact is not restricted to just one person within the 10-15-minute period. D. Demonstrating professional interaction The aim here is to observe at least three professional interactions in the evaluation period. Things like WOW!AM (Work Out With A Member), corrections, coaching, intensity checks and explanations of machines are all classified as professional interactions.

Failing to measure the processes that facilitate the outcomes you want is where organisations often fall down

E. Entrance and exit The assessor is watching to see if the instructor adopts the principle of the ‘greeting zone’. This means the instructor says hello and goodbye to customers when they are both in the zone near the entrance/exit. Start with giving three points and deduct one point each time this does not happen when it could have. If the instructor is not in the greeting zone at any time during the appraisal, rate them a three. F. Friendly introductions If the assessor sees the trainer giving their name, finding out the customer’s name or shaking hands with anyone, that would rate a point. Have new trainers do ‘snapshot moments’ on experienced trainers and then discuss the results together. This allows new trainers to understand exactly what they need to be doing on the gym floor, and gives experienced trainers the opportunity to share their knowledge. fpb

Kris Tynan is the author of The Interactive Instructor and has launched a fitness-specific e-learning course on communication and interactive skills. See www.interactiveskillstraining.com Three course places are available for free. To win a place for your instructor email ashley.n@fitpro.com

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Service

What they said

›› So what do customers think of their gym service? Fitpro Business looks at the views of the customer, instructor and manager. Customer view I have recently joined a new gym which specialises in affordable personal training. I’ve joined many gyms in the past, but what I like about this club is the one-on-one attention they give to your fitness and nutrition. I have been there just over a month but I have seen big results, and I’m more motivated than when I went to normal gyms without the one-to-one attention.

I used a gym at our office for years where there was someone on hand all the time. They would actively come around to each of us offering advice and encouragement which was really supportive. In contrast, my most recent visit to our local gym resulted in me tripping on a treadmill and being deposited in an undignified heap on the floor. Fortunately there were no lasting injuries, but there was no staff to be seen in the gym who could show me what to do (or pick me up) with the result that I never went back and the gym lost a member.

Kelly Johnson (via email)

Sally Bull (via email)

Customer service is terrible; it’s frustrating as there’s no communication. No control over who is coming into classes, instructors turning up late or not at all. The classes themselves are good, but there is no consistency with teachers – they need to tell you if your class has been cancelled, otherwise you’re just standing there getting so demotivated. And the prices continue to go up despite the fact the service has become worse.

It’s excellent. Instructors aren’t intrusive but are always on hand to help you and to make sure the gym is meeting your requirements. They are friendly and also very well educated in the industry across a number of specialist areas. It’s only a small gym but they have the best instructors and staff you can get; then again, it is a premium club so it’s expensive and customers expect to get the best – so that’s what they get.

Sharan B (via email)

Richard North (via email)

Manager’s view

Instructor/PT view Need more ‘real people’ teaching in gyms that the average person in the street can relate to and not be intimidated by all the fancy kit …. fromclothinguk (www.twitter.com/fitpro_online)

Quite bad really, they need to think about customers more … and market classes (the benefits they can give) a little better.

There are definitely some clubs out there that stop caring about the customers’ views once they are tied into a 12-month contract. One gym that I work at definitely has visible signs of customer care by routinely setting up electronic feedback stations to survey the different areas (e.g., gym, classes, Costa). Cassie Mabilangan (www.facebook/fitproltd)

LouiseEmmons (www.twitter.com/fitpro_online)

Andy Bourne, managing director of Xpect health (via email)

Editor’s view

needing to raise service levels. They need to make sure they are delivering value for money and staff who are engaged with their members. fpb

While customer service reviews tend to be pretty mixed, it seems premium clubs are coming out on top. Budget clubs still have a level of expectation to uphold, despite proposing reduced customer service – so, it’s the middle of the road clubs that are

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I have been in numerous gyms where the equipment, changing rooms and facilities have been shabby and the gym staff spend most of their time out of the gym talking to the receptionist. However, as a former FIA Flame Award Assessor, I visited many well-run clubs, with motivated teams and high retention rates. There are examples of good and poor service across the industry but one interesting emerging fact appears to be that, although customers are happy to pay a low price to use a budget club, they still have high expectations of good service and can be quite demanding.

Service

Service on set ›› We all know that getting particular clients into the gym can be a struggle, so why not take it out on the road? Celebrity trainer Ramona Braganza explains her Mobile Physique concept and how you can adapt your business.

obile Physique is a stateof-the-art mobile fitness trailer that my business partner and I designed to bring the gym to the actor. Production companies will hire the trailer and usually us, the trainers, to keep their actors in shape while filming on location. Back in 2003 when I was hired to train Hugh Jackman for his role in X-Men 2 as the muscle-bound character ‘Wolverine’, a mobile gym was brought to the set for him to train in. It was dark, unattractive and didn’t have much equipment or space for floor work – it was dismal and uninspiring to say the least. That was where the idea to transform it into a luxurious mobile gym occurred to me. When my business partner and I were hired for the third X-Men franchise, we took out loans and within six months rolled out Mobile Physique on set. The trailer comes complete with a weight bench and dumbbells (5lbs to 100lbs), a functional trainer, squat rack/pull-up bar/chest press, heavy bag, Pilates reformer, and cardio equipment including a treadmill, spin bike and elliptical trainer. There is also ample floor space for training with ViPR™, BOSU and stability and medicine balls. When deciding on costs necessary to build the trailer, we factored in $16,000 (£10,000) for the empty trailer shell and $25,000 (£16,000) for the training equipment. There were additional costs for items such as floor to ceiling mirrors, hardwood flooring, air conditioning, etc.,

which meant that our final costs came to $100,000 (£65,000). There are, of course, times when the trailer lies dormant and will need a storage location, with yearly costs then amounting to $5,000 (£3,000). However, with our first trailer rental paying us back $30,000 (£19,000), we were able to pay back our loans within four years. For clubs or trainers looking to develop a similar concept and have a mobile facility, this can be done on a smaller scale, using trucks that can easily be converted to accommodate one-on-one training. It’s not necessary to have the truck full of equipment; instead I usually opt to have more floor space to do functional training. However, I do recommend that you invest in a lat pull-down or rowing machine for your clients, and spend money on a mirrored wall to make the space seem larger. The thing to remember is: begin conservatively as you can always add on. It’s also worth investing in the design of a logo and have it displayed on the truck along with a website address. We have been contacted for jobs via the website, so my advice would be to get this set up before completing construction on the facility. The high-end design of Mobile Physique has also attracted much media attention enabling us to grow the business, so we have since been able to work on other big-budget movies such as The Fantastic Four and The A-Team. The gym has now managed to pay for itself and is a luxury service that is growing more popular not

only in the film industry, but any industry that wants to offer its employees ways of keeping fit at their jobs. Providing a fitness facility for employees to use at lunchtime, or before and after work, can be as easy as buying an empty trailer. It’s how we got started, before kitting it out with upgraded equipment as the business grew. fpb

Ramona Braganza is a professional trainer for celebrity clients based in Los Angeles. For more information, visit www.mobilephysique.com

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Education

The future is global ›› Comprising 25 of the leading educators and presenters known to fitness, PTA Global is the only worldwide collaborative certification. CEO Kevin Laferriere gives an insight into how the concept came to life.

ersonal Training Academy Global (PTA Global) grew from a collective desire to enhance the fitness industry. Following its conception on a restaurant napkin, Richard Boyd recruited fellow industry leaders to discuss the possibilities of pioneering this cause. Within months, the five co-founders Bobby Cappuccio, Rodney Corn, Michol Dalcourt, Ian O’Dwyer and Scott Hopson were charged with weaving together one ambitious project – the amalgamation of 25 of the world’s leading educators into one certification course. And so the likes of Paul Chek, Gary Gray, Gray Cook, Annette Lang, Greg Roskopf, Chuck Wolf, John Berardi, Tom Purvis, Douglas Brooks, Peter Twist and Mark Verstegen all willingly volunteered their time and effort to make it happen. From its earliest concepts through to fruition, PTA Global has been based on shared community and delivering professional fitness development, becoming the first performance-driven education

To see PTA Global’s leaders in action at FitPro Convention 2012, visit www.fitpro.com/convention

company to be formed from proven operators, for operators. With the industry still experiencing high first year attrition levels among trainers (recent stats from a national commercial club chain operating 55 facilities around the US were in excess of 79%), it’s clear we had to rethink the standard approach to developing trainers. Despite all the existing education and certification companies in business today, the turnover rates for our trainers industry-wide hasn’t improved significantly. Therefore, our company ethos was formed from the need to create sustainable, careeroriented trainers. Gone are the days of just producing a great science-based curriculum. This new trainer prodigy is one that understands the human being, as well as human movement. Furthermore, this new breed of trainer would need to be as suited to managing business design as they are to programme design. In order to have sustainable careers, trainers will need to reduce the time it takes to create value for their clients, company and themselves, along with extending their contribution over time. All of which stems from an integrated science, service and sales approach. Vendors, retail fitness and the academic community have also partnered in helping PTA Global create this vision. Polar, ViPR,

PowerPlate and Technogym have been just some of the vendors to get involved and, on the retail side, powerhouse brands such as David Lloyd, Aspria, Equinox GFTI, XSport Fitness, Pure Fitness and Lifetime have also come on board. Clubs using PTA Global’s products and services have quickly realised the difference in approach and how it justifies the investment. It’s this constant awareness of return on investment that has granted the trust of many of the major brands. Universities such as Globe, Allied Health Care Professionals and the University of Florida have also embraced the systems, science and tools that help deliver industry-leading content and experiences at PTA Global. The growth of the company’s global footprint has now exceeded all of the early expectations, with faculty residing in Hong Kong, Australia, Europe, the US and Canada. With a proud leadership presence, PTA Global looks set to continue to support the evolution of the professional fitness community. fpb

Kevin Laferriere was previously president of Lifestyle Family Fitness, ranked as a top 10 health club chain by IHRSA, and co-owner of several Gold’s gyms. He is now CEO at PTA Global (www.ptaglobal.com).

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ADVERTORIAL

Equipment solutions

Wattbike erious athletes and coaches know that training is less about sweat and more about power. Increasingly your members are becoming better informed about effective training programmes and demand more accurate personal performance information to tune their training and sustain their regular sessions. The challenge for gym managers therefore, is how to turn this desire into a larger, more loyal membership. We know that indoor cycling classes often fail to deliver the maximum benefit to participants. A lack of accurate, individual performance data prevents the use of modern training techniques used by elite athletes and an absence of feedback leads to apathy and disenchantment among participants. In response to this, a new style of indoor cycle training has been launched. Power Cycling solves the problem of having a range of varying levels of fitness and cycling abilities in a single class, and provides instructors and members with the ability to accurately track and monitor fitness gains. But more than just delivering a better approach to indoor cycling, Power Cycling offers gyms a potential new membership base among the thousands of people who have taken up the challenge of training for sportives, triathlon and other endurance challenges. The Wattbike is an integral part of the Power Cycling experience; as the only

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indoor bike ever to be endorsed by British Cycling, it provides the user with real-time, accurate performance data and the feel of riding a real bike. Power Cycling is also backed by British Cycling and provides clubs with the key to unlock the London 2012 legacy opportunities, by providing members with an association with the most successful British Olympic sport in recent times. The Wattbike also features the unique Polar View, a pedal technique analysis that helps members to focus on improving technique and performance. Individuals train using their own heart rate and power training zones, ensuring they get the most from each and every session, all in a group environment. Being able to deliver instant performance feedback to members in an indoor group cycling session is more than something to be desired – it’s a necessity and a great motivator. The Power Cycling software enables each participant’s live data, including power, heart rate, cadence and speed, to be shown on a large screen and, when the instructor wants to provide some motivation, they simply focus on a single individual’s data.

The software also records participants’ performance data, offering a fantastic opportunity for instructors to illustrate real fitness improvements to a member. There is nothing better for member retention than being able to show that their efforts are producing the required results. And, as members increase their fitness levels, they adjust their training zones to continue on the path to success.

Indoor group cycling has been a mainstay in clubs for many years but the time is right to offer something genuinely new to members. Combine the individual performance gains, the technique improvements, the ability to train in a group but at a member’s own fitness level on the best indoor training bike in the business, and you quickly see why Power Cycling is billed as ‘The Evolution of Indoor Cycling’.

To find out more about how Power Cycling can revolutionise your member experience, call 0115 945 5454 or visit http://wattbike.com/uk/gyms_and_schools

Industry

A bright future? ›› Mike Hill, managing director of Leisure-net, presents the headline findings from a survey on the state of the industry and its future. elegates attending Sibec 2011 completed an online survey about the state of the industry and how optimistic the sector is about future opportunities. Survey respondents were split evenly between suppliers and operators, with 57% coming from the private sector and 43% from the public sector – representing a good cross-section of the sector as a whole. Here’s what we found.

47% thought that it will get worse, with only 18% believing it will improve. When asked the same question about our sector, only 19% felt it would get worse, with 23% saying it would improve. Again, delegates are more positive about the future of our sector than the economy as a whole. Delegates were also optimistic about the prospects for growth, with 37% stating they thought their company would grow by more than 12% over the next 12 months.

Economy

Challenges

Many Sporta members have told us that much of their time is currently taken up with delivering significant savings to their council clients. Councils are looking at year-on-year cuts up to the end of this Government at least and, although they are focusing on cutting overheads rather than services, at sharing costs and at increasing income, nobody is confident that there won’t be any closures. Many private sector operators also believe that any improvement in the economy is years away. When asked if they felt more or less confident about the overall economic situation compared to 12 months ago, 51% of delegates said they felt less confident or much less confident, with only 13% feeling more confident. In comparison, when asked the same question about the health and fitness sector, 27% answered negatively, with 29% answering positively. Obviously, many of those operating within the sector feel more confident about our situation than they do about the economy as a whole.

Finally, delegates were asked about the most challenging issues facing the leisure, health and fitness industry. Not surprisingly, the three main issues were: 1. A downturn in consumer spending 2. A lack of funding/investment 3. The macro economic situation in Europe The following three issues, however, were intrinsic to our sector: 1. Competition from inside the sector 2. Lack of Government support 3. Lack of engagement with the health sector This appears to represent the ongoing frustration at the lack of joined-up thinking by the Government and health professionals when considering the role that we can play in addressing the nation’s health. Are we being unreasonably optimistic about the sector’s ability to continue to perform in the face of concerns about the wider economic situation? Only time will tell. Sibec and Leisure-net intend to run a follow-up survey in six to 12 months’ time, to determine whether industry confidence and challenges change over the economically difficult years to come. fpb

Future The delegates were then asked about the future of the economy and whether they believe that it will have improved in 12 months’ time or will get worse. In terms of the general economic situation,

Which of the following issues do you think are the most challenging facing the leisure, health and fitness industry? 23%

The downturn in consumer spending

22%

Lack of funding/investment

20%

The macro economic situation in Europe 11%

Competition from inside the sector

10%

Lack of engagement with the health sector

10%

Lack of Government support Lack of skilled workforce

Lack of innovative thinking within our sector

Poor pay within the sector

6% 4%

Poor management within the sector 3%

Competition from outside the sector Any other

1% 0%

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10%

15%

20%

25%

Industry

Industry views Malcolm McPhail of Life Leisure says: “Health and fitness in the recent past has demonstrated that it can be fairly robust in a recession. We are adaptable and capable of quite complex market segmentation initiatives that allow us to go where the customers are (e.g., budget gyms). “As an industry, I feel we are more ‘glass half full’ and opportunistic than some of our counterparts. Perhaps it’s in our genes to have this approach because we are, relatively speaking, very young, motivated and still growing. “A note of concern, however; I think that we are beginning to feel the effect of the Euro disaster that is unfolding and there is little understanding of just how devastating this could be to the British economy.”

Rob Beale, head of sports, health and fitness, David Lloyd Leisure says: “In any economic downturn, there are industries that still manage to grow and thrive due to changing customer needs and market forces, so it makes sense to me that Sibec attendees feel optimistic about our industry’s future. However, what this confidence is based on is less clear, given that we have the same percentage of the population as health club members now as we did over 15 years ago.”

Phil Collins, chief executive, Hertsmere Leisure says: “The leisure and fitness industry has faced many challenges over the years and the latest economic situation is yet another of these. However, the profession has always demonstrated a stoical and resolute approach to meeting adversity head on and I cannot imagine we won’t come up with innovative and appealing solutions to the present trading conditions.”

Quest update Centres that have achieved an excellent rating through Quest can now apply for an advanced scheme, Stretch. Quest Stretch consists of two modules including Measuring Impact and Outcomes, as well as one of the following: Working with National Governing Bodies, Legacy, Skills Development or Contribution to Health and Well-being. Stretch Accreditation is renewed every two years, with a mystery visit, an unannounced assessment against core modules and a pre-assessment conversation and validation day. Quest Stretch will be awarded to centres that prove to be outstanding. Quest’s operations director Caroline Constantine said: “We have chosen our first group of Stretch validators for their extensive senior management experience and their in-depth knowledge of Quest. With this team, we expect that we can encourage further experienced validators to join us for what will be an exciting and rewarding time as we find centres that are truly exceptional and have the ‘wow factor’.” Validators for the scheme include: Phil Collins, Hertsmere Leisure chief executive; Jon Oxley, Active Nation managing director; Jon Argent, Halo Leisure chief executive; management consultants Martyn Allison, Anita Cacchioli and Jean Rae.

For more information, contact mikehill@leisure-net.org

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Technology

How to improve your

web presence

›› You may be keeping up to date with the latest trends in your field but are you keeping up with the latest trends online? Laverne Pereira explains how your website can better represent your business in 2012. any a company – and health club – fail to create a significant web presence, as they only view their website as a representation of their brand and not as a tool to communicate and inform their visitors about the business. So, with all the competition around, how can you stand out from the rest? Keeping up with the trends and making a few simple changes through your web team can help you stay ahead. Smart phones have rapidly become one of the most popular methods of accessing the web over the past year. Therefore, your site should be mobile friendly and, if it’s not, it needs to be. According to The Mobile Movement Study (Google/Ipsos, April 2011), of website visits, 81% are smart phone originated and so by this time next year most sites will have mobile-friendly versions. Web standards should also be adhered to when considering and updating your site – is your site meeting the requirements needed for accessibility, mobile web and privacy? (See www.w3.org/standards/webdesign)

Responsive design Although desktop sites will still be popular, responsive design should be your main focus to get your mobile site created and functional on most devices: tablets, smart phones and even TV screens. The layout of a site will need to adapt to the size and orientation for different devices. It could be useful to hire a web designer for this (if you don’t already have one), to tailor a new cascading style sheet (CCS – the coding which determines the look and style of the site) files for the key devices out there. Content appearing on a desktop will need to be downsized for a mobile site version however, as the user will only want

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short snippets of information rather than scrolling through streams of content for the information they need. It is also a good idea to add bigger call to action buttons – no visitor wants to squint to try and read a banner or try to zoom into a button to click it. Sites are navigated less by using point and click devices but more with our fingers, so we need to be able to touch a button without touching any other content. Layout, navigation, call to actions, content and photography need to be considered for a more mobile-friendly site. You should incorporate brand guidelines into your design – a colour scheme and fonts that represent your company. Use these consistently throughout your site and use up-to-date fonts (Google web fonts allow you to update your site easily and for free). Keep your image files small, as optimising your images will minimise the loading time for your site, as well as keeping your site mobile friendly.

Interactivity With new web technologies and programming languages such as HTML5 and CSS3, it is easier for designers to create sites which offer a richer, interactive experience. Animated transitions or effects created using CSS3 can enrich a visitor’s experience and will encourage them to visit the site again and again, as well as sharing it with their friends or clients.

Photography Are your images tailored specifically to your business and do they really portray what you want your business to be seen as? Are they recent? Or have you just used stock photography that could be outdated, dull and used in sites all over the web? You don’t have to spend thousands on a photoshoot to obtain captivating and original photography. Get your

camera out and start taking some real and natural shots of your visitors, clients and premises and add them to your site. If you’re not a great photographer, you will be surprised at who in your business may have a keen interest or, if all else fails, hire a photographer. Your web designer can then add filters and styles to the image to suit your website. Update your site regularly to give a fresh feel; once every quarter will give your visitors a sense of change and moving forward within your site.

Banners Remember to use banners on your site to serve a purpose – could a link or a smaller image button work instead of a banner? Many sites are cluttered with banners and images on their homepage, which instantly overwhelms the visitor. If you need to grab their attention, use ‘slider’ images or content within your banner instead. It will take up less space, add movement to your site and still serve the same purpose. This could also be implemented with your advertising banners – having a smooth fade in, fade out transition could be an effective way to introduce advertisements on your website. If you want to steer away from flash banners so your advertising can reach all devices, try using gif files instead, which can be easily created in Photoshop using its animation toolkit.

Technology

Video Use YouTube as much as possible – it is owned by Google, so everything you do on there will automatically show up on Google searches and increase awareness of your business through search engine optimisation (SEO). The fitness industry has a variety of filming opportunities, whether that be filming a class, a client’s opinion on a class, a personal trainer giving some advice or capturing what is going on in your facility. It’s free to use and it’s an easy way to bring multimedia onto your site. Having a video section will engage your visitors and keep

them there for a longer period of time. Updating your videos will also entice them to keep coming back.

Social media While you may use social media, blogging is a consistent way to inform others about what is currently happening to your business via your website. Provide tags within these that are tailored to each post, so you are more likely to heighten your SEO. Also make sure to include images and video when possible. Most importantly, however, make sure you have ‘share’ buttons on your blog:

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and email. Also include a rich site summary (RSS) feed option, so people can subscribe to your posts. Remember that you want to keep your visitors on your website, so embed social media applications so people don’t have to leave, or be sure you refer to your site for further information on your social media pages.

Footers Footer links at the bottom of your site add a helpful and simple solution for your visitors; if they can’t find ›

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Technology

something, they will be able to search for it there. Including the top links for each page of your site would be useful to link to individual sections. This feature has been a popular trend with word press sites over the past two years (see www.viprfit.com or www.britishswimming.org) and can keep visitors on sites for longer when they are successful in finding the subject they want to navigate to.

Navigation How many menu buttons do you have on your site? If it’s more than six, you should decide whether you really need them. Visitors can be easily put off if they are given too many options. Instead, incorporate sections within the navigation menu into a ‘mega menu’, so visitors can then see other sections by hovering the icon over it. User interaction within navigation can often be missed, which is a large part of the journey visitors take to go from section to section on a site. Using subtle hover colours and transitions could heighten your visitors’ user experience. HTML5 and CSS3 have more options for such effects than previous versions, which could aid in improving the interactivity of your navigation bar.

VM AD

Communication Content is key when updating your site: are you promoting your business in a way that informs and excites your visitors? If the copy on your site has been there a few years, I would recommend getting a copywriter to update it for you. Having new and inviting copy on your homepage will act as an invitation to the rest of your site and motivate your visitor to check out what else you have to offer.

Analytics Measuring how well your site is doing is essential for knowing what works well with your visitors and what doesn’t. Simply adding tracking to your web pages with such sites as Google Analytics will allow you to gather details such as time spent on a specific page, page visits, location of visits and what time of day, as well as what device is being used to look at your site. With such data, you can then analyse the information you deliver and monitor where you can improve in the future. Web technologies are introduced to us at a growing rate. The fitness industry has the opportunity to research, implement and analyse such technologies that could work to build a successful web presence, which could not only build on sales but help to develop a loyal client base, which will be a priceless asset to your business. fpb

Top 5 fitness sites with a good web presence:

1. www.virginactive.co.uk 2. www.gymbox.com 3. www.sohogyms.com 4. www.escapefitness.com 5. www.thecitypointclub.co.uk

Laverne Pereira is a web designer for FitPro Ltd. www.fitpro.com

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Smart phones have rapidly become one of the most popular methods of accessing the web. Therefore, your site should be mobile friendly and, if it’s not, it needs to be

INDUSTRY

Doing more for less ›› With council budgets coming under increasing pressure, Sport England’s property director Charles Johnston explains how community sports programmes need not suffer as a result. ith the current economic climate placing pressure on budgets, and this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games driving up interest in sport, ensuring councils are making savings in the right places without reducing key services can be a difficult balancing act to achieve. Sport England has been leading seminars around the country with the following case studies, to prove that leisure facility provision can save up to 30% from revenue and capital costs without compromising services. Sport is critical to building the happy and healthy communities that local councils want to see. A response to budget pressures is finding solutions that provide attractive alternatives and ensure greater efficiency without the need to cut local sports provision. One such example is Elmbridge Borough Council, which is saving £6 million from its revenue budget over the next 15 years thanks to its decision to replace two ageing leisure facilities with a new, state-of-the-art wet and dry leisure centre. Faced with three ageing facilities that were becoming increasingly expensive and inefficient to operate, Elmbridge Borough

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Council took the decision in 2003 to close Walton Swimming Pool and Elmbridge Leisure Centre and provide a new facility on the existing Elmbridge Leisure Centre site. They ruled out doing refurbishment work on the two oldest sites in the borough as they saw it as a costly solution without any long-term benefits. To achieve the most efficient and costeffective outcome, the council decided to create a Public Private Partnership to build and run the new facility. This allowed them to transfer the cost and project delivery risks to a private leisure contractor. Following a tender process, DC Leisure was awarded the contract. After opening in 2006, the Xcel Centre came in under budget at approximately £12.8 million. As a result, the council’s annual revenue costs have reduced from £600,000 to £187,000 per annum. By placing responsibility with the operator to maintain the facility as part of the contract,

the council also ensures that the facility receives the investment required year on year. Another benefit has been the huge increase in the number of local people playing sport at the facility. In 2009/10, the total number of visits was 851,896 compared to 294,410 before the new facility was built. Steve Philpott, CEO of DC Leisure which managed the building of the Xcel Centre in Elmbridge, says: “The five years since the completion of the centre have given us hard evidence to show that replacing a number of small, ageing facilities with fewer larger ones, providing an up-to-date active leisure experience, can actually save money in the long term as well as getting the whole community more active.”

INDUSTRY

Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council also had a similar experience. Together with Rochdale Boroughwide Cultural Trust, they spent £10.3 million replacing the worn out facilities at Heywood Sports Village. Opened in October 2010, the upgraded facility now has a four-court sports hall, six-lane 25m swimming pool, two exercise and dance studios, a 90-station fitness suite, floodlit artificial and grass pitches, and indoor and outdoor changing facilities. Again, the improvements have led to a huge increase in users, with visitor numbers increasing from 157,470 for the old centre to 521,274 in the new one. Facilities within the village have also seen a marked increase, with users of the fitness suite dramatically increasing from 510 to 3,950. Swimming pool use has also increased to 70,600 users compared to 25,300. Heywood Sports Village has also seen a net expenditure improvement of £760,000 from 2009/10 to 2011/12 and will make an efficiency contribution of £3.4 million over the next 15 years.

New facilities rendered

674%

*increase in gym users

231%

*increase in visitor numbers

189%

**increase in visitors playing sport

179%

Elmbridge Council is saving £6m from its revenue budget over the next 15 years thanks to its decision to replace two ageing facilities

Managing director of Rochdale Boroughwide Cultural Trust Craig McAteer said: “By using the improved commercial performance of the new centre, it has allowed us to invest in programmes that successfully target local and hard-toreach communities. The benefits include a significant reduction in youth nuisance and improvements in health and well-being.” However, it’s not just the knowledge and experience of previous leisure operators and local authorities that Sport England is using to show how councils and operators can deliver value for money.

*increase in pool users

Pool strategies

69%

Together with the ASA, Sport England has developed Affordable 25m Community Pools, a guide to low-cost capital and operational solutions for swimming pools. Aimed at the early briefing and design stages, the guide sets out a seven-step process for swimming pool projects and aims to give better understanding between:

**decrease in annual revenue costs *Figures taken from Heywood Sports Village **Figures taken from Xcel Centre

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Design Specification and sustainability Capital funding Programmes of use Operating budgets Need for subsidies

This guide was designed as a support for swimming pool development, both new and old. While it isn’t a one-sizefits-all document and is not intended to replace the services of an architect or other support consultants, it does provide

practical information on how to achieve affordable and sustainable swimming pool facilities. Although focusing on the pool facility, the guidance does not advocate stand-alone pools, and the benefit of developing additional facilities alongside are recognised. Local site issues will of course play a part in the overall capital cost of the project but the document helps to focus the approach on affordable solutions rather than high-cost designs that may never see the light of day. Equally, operating costs will increase if there are local initiatives that impact on pool programming and pricing. Comprising a set of reference tools, it gives a better understanding of the implications of developing swimming pools and highlights the opportunities that exist to make the process as low risk as possible. It is based on a range of indicative designs that are tightly planned, functionally efficient and accommodated within an economical building structure that can be quickly constructed. They also allow the flexibility for adjustment to individual site situations and at the same time create elegantly designed swimming environments to promote high levels of customer appeal.

Affordable 25m Community Pools guidelines can help you with: ■

Construction costs of between £2.1 million and £4 million ■ An operating budget that can potentially break even ■ A new swimming pool that could be opened within 24 months from the decision to proceed

For a copy of the guidelines visit www.sportengland.org

This low-cost approach to building swimming pools will make a fundamental difference to capital investment decisions when considered as part of a rationalisation programme. Furthermore, by focusing on the real needs of community sport, investing wisely and promoting best practice, a lasting sports legacy will be delivered beyond London 2012. fpb

Charles Johnston is property director for Sport England.

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Personal training

Say no to pay as you go? ›› Personal trainers who charge on a pay-as-you-go basis are losing clients and money, according to Graeme Marsh and Lucy Johnson. eople love to buy tried and tested solutions to their problems. They like to be guided as to what they need to do to solve their fitness-related ‘problem’. This ranges from wanting to lose weight, learning how to dance, or losing their middle-age mid-section. As personal trainers go, most believe the opposite. Giving clients the flexibility of how many sessions they come to and paying as they go is giving them what they want – greater choice. But this isn’t the case. People seek out personal training not because they want flexibility, but because they want their problem solved. If someone wants to lose 10 pounds before their daughter’s wedding and they begin to train whenever they like and pay for sessions as they go, then what’s likely to happen? They won’t complete as many sessions as they should because life gets in the way and thus won’t achieve their weight-loss goal. Because of this, they may well become an ex-client or member. The answer is to package up personal training into fixed-term or monthly recurring programmes with a set number of sessions per month. Explain to clients this is exactly what they need to solve their ‘problem’. There are lots of benefits for the client: they get results, they don’t have to worry about remembering to pay you as the payment has either already been taken up front or comes out on autopilot monthly, and they don’t have to make any decisions about when to see you or how many times they need to come.

Changing times One of the reasons so many trainers are struggling financially is due to taking clients on a pay-as-you-go basis. Hourly rates and pay-as-you-go blocks are a false economy.

Shifting the mindset from charging per hour and sessions per week to monthly rates and sessions per month allows for a regular, fixed monthly income that is significantly higher. This will also attract clients who are prepared to make themselves accountable and see it as a long-term investment. Clients will respect their trainer and their time as a professional running a business and so the trainer will need fewer clients to ensure a fully booked diary. Cancellations on this system are substantially reduced, giving more flexibility. Operating in this way means trainers develop a sustainable business that enables them to project income for the months ahead. fpb

This article was previously published in the December/January 2012 issue of Fitpro Network magazine, a publication for personal trainers. To subscribe call +44 (0)20 8586 0101 or contact info@fitpro.com

Lucy Johnson is a Fully Booked Formula (www.fullybookedformula.com) expert and coach. Graeme Marsh is a personal trainer, author, speaker and director of two fitness businesses (www.graememarsh.com).

What the trainers think … Dominic Burns, director, Feel Good Personal Training I have a mixture of clients paying me in block bookings and some pay as they go; it’s about 50/50. I haven’t found it to be a problem. I have found pay as you go works well, but it can be worrying when you’re trying to manage your cash flow. All of my pay-as-you-go clients usually pay for a session in hand, but normally clients tend to have a few sessions as pay as you go and then make a block booking. Paul Mumford, owner, Paul Mumford Phys. Ed. I have had some pay-as-you-go clients since I started (others pay me for 12 sessions at a time) and this has proved a nightmare. So much so that I’ve recently decided to stop doing it and from next month all of my casual clients will have to pay via standing order every four weeks. Fingers crossed it will make my life easier in many ways.

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MANAGEMENT

Strengths-based recruitment

›› Hire on strengths if you want to get the best out of your staff, writes performance coach Ali Herdman.

espite the huge amount of effort organisations make to hire the right people, there is a surprising number that don’t. How many times have you been into a store and been served by someone who just isn’t that interested? Contrast that experience with being served by someone who is hugely engaged and clearly loves what they do. It makes a huge difference, doesn’t it? So, how do organisations find and keep employees who are in their element doing their job? The simple answer is to hire people on the basis of their strengths (what they are really good at and love to do) as well as just competencies (what they can do). Most companies hire on competencies alone. The problem with this is that just because someone can do something, it doesn’t mean they really want to do it. So, hiring on competencies never produces consistently high performance. When people love what they do, they perform better, have more energy for their work, are more engaged and stay longer. The financial sector is probably ahead of the game. Standard Chartered Bank, Aviva and Norwich Union have all been using strengths-based approaches to recruitment for several years. McDonald’s has embraced the strengths-based approach and so they test what candidates do naturally, such as whether they have a natural preference for working with customers. Starbucks makes a clear link between employees who love their jobs and customer satisfaction. We have been working with them to identify the strengths and motivators of their best baristas – the goal being to understand the ‘formula’ so that they can recruit more of the best. Hiring people on their strengths as well as their competencies doesn’t mean throwing out your current approach – it simply means adding an extra stage in the process. It doesn’t mean it will cost more either. In fact, there is some evidence that

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How to recruit on strengths Identify the strengths you want in a team member and then develop questions, scenarios and examples you want to see during the interview process that exhibit those strengths. Many applicants are trained and rehearsed for interviews. So, if as an employer you follow traditional interview methods, you will achieve the rehearsed answers. The key to identifying outstanding-quality team members is to have them relax so you can see the ‘real’ person. For this reason I recommend a series of interviews: ■ A group interview with applicants to observe body language when others are answering. You are looking to see if they are engaged with the group and actively listening. ■ A group interview with two or three staff, where one staff member asks questions about their skill set, one about their attitude and the other about them, which also means that current staff have buy-in as to who gets employed. ■ A trial shift with a series of challenges to show their skill level and ability to communicate. There is also a range of tests you can use to identify particular skills, such as emotional intelligence assessments, to measure the ability of your applicant to identify, assess and control their emotions, those of others, and of groups – all of which are important for working within the fitness industry.

Justin Tamsett, Active Management For more information visit www.facebook.com/ActiveManagement

it reduces the cost per hire because there is less time wasted at each stage of the process. And, of course, the other major benefit is that relatively few organisations use strengths-based recruitment yet, which means that those who do have a real edge over their competitors. fpb

Ali Herdman is a consultant and executive coach specialising in organisation, leadership and team development, and performance coaching. For more information, contact Sally Bibb on 07721 000095 or email her at sallybibb@talentsmoothie.com