Health club owners still need — and want — employees. These friendly faces greet guests, handle minor emergencies, and keep the business running smoothly. It’s the human dimension that adds the zip to the brand. The tough part is keeping these employees busy and on track. Often, as we wrote in our “We Call It ‘The Money Catcher'” blog, the only time an employee may start working is when you show up. How can you fix this problem and gain employee buy-in at the same time?
As simple as it sounds, it may all come down to making a list. Gym Insight’s Task List feature gives control back to owners and engages employees in the mission and vision of your club.
Why should you manage employees through a task list?
According to online business magazine Quartz, huge corporations are slinging “productivity scores” at their employees, calculating their production versus inactivity and using the data to hold their people accountable. Sounds pretty big brother to us. That’s definitely why we’ve always preferred the gym business – health and fitness take time, attention, and some downtime.
Unfortunately, gyms’ unstructured nature runs up against the silliness of modern society: It’s much easier to scan online stories than check bathrooms. Simpler to play a game than call delinquent accounts. There’s always something else to do in today’s smartphone world.
Harnessing employees requires pulling them back to reality and handing them a task list – “Here’s what you’re doing today.” With the right gym management software, it’s incorporated into their daily routine when they log onto the computer.
Gym owners can assign calls for:
- Delinquent accounts
- Birthday congratulations
- Expiring credit card
- Send accounts to creditors
Three reasons to assign employee task lists
- Provides solid data for employee performance reviews, making it easier to adjust compensation based on real-time feedback.
- Creates opportunities for 1:1 feedback. Many gym employees are young. A solid system creates a structure to better guide and coach your people.
- Assures important duties are being recognized, scheduled, and accomplished.
Why your staff will love the task feature
- Documents workload. They don’t have to worry about “proving” their worth. Instead, it’s all there in the notes section of that day’s list.
- Keeps the job interesting. In entry-level clerical positions, boredom is the enemy of productivity – it’s so easy to just roll with the sleepiness. But phone calls, customer discussions, and resolving credit issues all create energy that translates into job satisfaction.
- Removes the challenge of organizing their own day. Although a proactive attitude is a requirement for most jobs, many employers don’t want entry-level employees hunting through databases or file cabinets. This offers a clean route to productivity.
Now, engage your employees in the mission!
A task list is not just a honey-do list. These duties govern your gyms survival.
Business productivity research shows employees feel more connected and productive when they experience “organizational awareness.” This means they understand the what and why of the company. By connecting the dots for employees, owners can seize chance to discuss the mission and value of their company with these frontline employees.
Communicated correctly, a sense of ownership emerges, as employees understand the big picture: Dirty bathrooms lead to unhappy members. Delinquent accounts result in a drop in membership. Unengaged customers are not as loyal.
Ultimately, engaged and well-managed employees lead to a lean, yet productive staff. Just the combination every owner needs to survive and thrive in today’s competitive gym world.
Gym Insight
Thank you for reading our blog today. For more information on the task list feature of our gym management software, go to our site’s help center and click on “tasks.” We are an industry leader in gym management software. With software designed by gym owners and flat monthly rates, our product is one of the most intuitive, easy-to-use, and affordable products on the market. Call us today at 1-855-FOR-GYMS and ask for Anthony, our lead sales guy.