www.healthclubmanagement.co.uk news and jobs updated daily on


edited by tom walker. email: tomwalker@leisuremedia.com


PEOPLE PROFILE kris tynan


New Zealander Kris Tynan has worked in and around the UK health and fi tness industry since the late 80s. She’s just published a book entitled The Interactive Instructor


What changes have you seen in the UK industry over the years? Since I started working in a converted squash court in the late 80s in Birmingham, facilities have proliferated – they’re bigger and better and full of hi- tech equipment. That’s all a huge positive, but generally the level of meaningful interaction with our members and customers has not improved a jot. In fact, in most cases it has gone backwards.


Why can’t we seem to master member interaction as an industry? There are many reasons I think. A key reason is the fact that our customers have low expectations of us. When members stop going to the gym, they don’t immediately think it’s because the health club or leisure centre didn’t engage with or motivate them – they’ll blame work or family commitments or their own lack of discipline. We’re not ‘pushed’ by the customer.


But of course, the short answer to why we haven’t cracked member interaction is that we don’t want to commit the necessary resources to training, coaching and rewarding instructors for doing so.


Where do you see the industry going in the next fi ve years?? We’re seeing the new budget clubs coming through now. They should do well as long as they’re kept clean and


operational. Let’s face it – consumers will be fi ne with paying less money to use a facility where they don’t get any contact, because they weren’t getting any attention at their old, higher priced club anyway. This may force the more conventional clubs to up their game on the customer service front and differentiate themselves. We’re not making much of an in-road into market penetration: it seems to hover around 10–15 per cent wherever you are in the world and hasn’t moved much over the last decade. However, there are some really exciting possibilities for us to move into other areas of improving people’s lives beyond just their physical capabilities. We’re a bit fi xated on our members wanting to lose weight and look good, but there’s a lot of scope in the areas of helping people feel happier and more grounded, for example, as well as feeling content beyond being a size eight and having a six-pack.


Without wanting to sound too left-fi eld,


there’s so much we can learn from Eastern religions to enhance the way we feel – meditation, visualisation techniques and so on – that we could teach our members. This would give them far more for their membership than they get right now.


Any further plans for The Interactive Instructor material? I’m going to create a website that will become a community of like-minded people who can share ideas, best practice and resources. Being interactive with members is not for everyone, but I’d like to draw together those who do believe that being more interactive can make a difference and offer them support.


Do members expect interaction? january 2011 © cybertrek 2011


HCM has six copies of The Interactive Instructor to give away. Copies will go to the first six emails received: healthclub@leisuremedia.com


19


IS YOUR space working AS HARD AS YOUR MEMBERS?


folow us on folow us on facebook facebook


IS YOUR space working AS HARD AS YOUR MEMBERS?


earn more with a functional space Today! go to: www.escapefitness.com/functional call free 0800 294 2803


earn more with a functional space Today! go to: www.escapefitness.com/functional call free 0800 294 2803


www.escapefitness.com/functional www.escapefitness.com/functional www.escapefitness.com/functional


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84