TALKBACK everyone’s talking about . . .


pay structures I


t’s an area that’s remained relatively unchallenged up to now, but is it time to think outside the box when it comes


to commission structures? Sales staff currently receive the


same commission regardless of how long the new member keeps up their membership. Should this be changed so they only receive a percentage of their commission once the member has stayed for a pre-determined length of time? Meanwhile it’s left to the operational


staff – generally on a set salary – to motivate members to stay. These employees are key to the club’s success, so should we be rewarding


them with commission for good performance too? We know it’s cheaper to keep an existing client than it is to fi nd a new one, so it’s vital that we keep clients happy. However, it seems we often forget this. Changing the commission structure might help to tip the balance, so the company culture becomes as focused on retention as it is on selling. It’s been proven that staff


interacting with members improves the longevity of the membership, so how about paying staff for extending a membership beyond the average member lifespan? Each employee could be given a number of members to look


dr paul bedford customer retention consultant


“I


’ve used commission for gym floor staff at two different clubs


and found it to be very effective. The owners considered it a good investment and the staff received a sizeable uplift in their wages for just doing their job well. For the system to work, the club needs a good understanding of how long members stay on average, and then


reward staff for each month they stay beyond this. At the first club I worked with, it was introduced collectively,


where the whole operations team received commission if members stayed beyond the average length of their membership. We found that some tried really hard and others didn’t, so the next time I worked with a club it was introduced on an individual basis. New members were allocated to instructors, who then received £1 for each month a member stayed after the first six months. Since they were handling between 250 and 400 members each, this could really stack up. We found that fitness instructors would introduce themselves while the sales staff were doing the initial tour, there was much more interaction with members, retention improved and the owners were happy: for every £1 spent, they received £36.


”


kath hudson • journalist • health club management


Is it time to give our commission structure an overhaul so operational staff are rewarded for retaining members, rather than just rewarding the sales person who closed the initial sale?


after and receive a small commission per member each month. This should lead to members


feeling more valued and therefore more motivated to come to the gym and keep up their membership. Receiving commission would also bump up instructors’ wages, which might attract higher calibre candidates to the industry. On the other hand, should staff


be doing this anyway? Would such a system prove costly and complicated to implement? Would it mean some members getting better service than others? Would the service provided seem less genuine? We ask the experts.


SHOULD WE PAY COMMISSION ON MEMBER RETENTION? EMAIL US: HEALTHCLUB@LEISUREMEDIA.COM


darrell boxall xn leisure systems • managing director


“T


here’s only so much innovation available through supplier and


facility design, so customer service must play a key part in retaining a healthy membership base. Service is delivered across all teams, so the rewards should be received by all employees. If the operational and service delivery teams were included in a rewards


scheme, customer service levels would inevitably rise. Plus, if a member of staff knew every membership cancellation would impact them financially, then they would buy into the importance of member interaction. Ultimately this would benefit the clubs, with higher member yields and job security. With an abundance of data available through club systems,


a monetary rewards scheme linked directly to a sliding scale of percentage attrition against monthly dues or income could be implemented to incentivise staff. If the sales staff receive a reward just for signing up a member, why should they care if that member leaves? Receiving rewards on joining, and then at six, 12 and 18 months’ retention of a single member – weighted towards the latter end – surely must be a better way to incentivise member communication and build membership longevity.


” 30 Read Health Club Management online healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital january 2011© cybertrek 2010


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