Keeping your gym clean is a topic that I like to return to occasionally. I do so because it’s one of the keys to success in gym management. It’s vitally important to your business success. This is a review and a reminder about this topic and I’m sure that I’ll come back to it again in the future.

This time I’m going to relate cleaning to the core values of your team. "Values" is one of those topics that sound like business school buzzwords (because it is). But it’s a buzzword because there’s a lot of truth to it and it fits into the bigger picture of how to get the best results in business.

The Source of Values For Your Gym

What do we value? Customers! What do customers value? Above all, they value a clean facility! They aren’t overly concerned that you have the latest machines or flat screen TVs, what they want is an environment that makes them feel like they are safe and increasing their health. This is something on which they will vote with their feet and go elsewhere if they aren’t absolutely comfortable in the environment that you offer.

This is critical in both gaining new members and retaining the ones you already have. It really cannot be overstated how important cleanliness is to the operation and customer satisfaction at a fitness center. This is my opinion from experience, backed up by documented research by the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA).

What the research has shown, and I’ve seen with my own eyes, is that members are very sensitive to how clean your fitness center is, or isn’t. As I have written before, there’s likely to be a correlation between how clean your gym is and how well your business is doing. A successful business is a clean business. It’s that way because the customers value it that way. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t other factors to consider in success but if your gym is dirty you will have money problems.

So, what do you do? The solution is pretty straightforward and will help to improve all of your business practices. Cleaning has to be a priority and a fundamental part of your company policy. Once you have implemented this in practice it should become a habit that takes hold in your company culture.

I use checklists for many things in the operation of my gym and cleaning was one of the first checklists I created. I detailed my cleaning checklist in one of my earliest posts. When you have a list of every item and place that needs cleaning it gives a standard for operations. When your staff know what needs to be done they will be much more effective. Without it employees might have the best of intentions (they usually do) but something will get missed. Gym members will be very quick to notice.

Only As Good As You Make It

If employees have this sort of written standard to conform to they are much more likely to do what needs to be done. I think they’ll be a little happier too. Nobody likes to work in a place where the rules are unclear, anymore than they want to work in a facility that’s unclean.

Well-defined and disciplined routines for staff cleanup and inspection become one of the core values of the team. This is so important because values are the core of any organization, whether it’s a small business with a few workers, a multinational corporation, a non-profit working to provide for some community need, or a military unit.

Employees will be more at ease when they know what is expected and can do what needs to get done out of habit. They will also feel a little more proud of their workplace and that high moral will be transmitted to the membership. Customers may not consciously notice that your gym is spotless but they will relax and focus on their workouts. This will encourage them to keep coming back and that is the gym owner’s priority at the end of the day.

Over to you…

What is your cleaning policy and how do you implement it?