If employees were incentivised to retain members, customer service and interaction levels would inevitably rise


mike hills the retention people • retention director


“H


ealth clubs need to look at where they place their focus.


By employing sales staff on commission, the message is that they value new sales more than retaining members. This is a flawed strategy for two main reasons. First, the commission currently paid


to sales people doesn’t reflect the value of the sale. Whether a member stays


for four months or 14 months, the commission earned is typically the same. It’s possible to predict at the point of sale which members will stay and pay for longer, and therefore clubs could pay incentives based on this. Secondly, club staff intervening with members dramatically


increases the longevity of a membership – potentially generating more revenue than the initial sale. But just offering a financial incentive is no guarantee of a better service. Instead, clubs should recruit and train people to deliver a fantastic service, creating a culture where the operational staff effectively become sales staff, with a clear focus to ‘sell’ every member their the next visit. The focus does need to shift, and I think financial incentives can play a part, but only in a supporting role to effective recruitment, training and management.


” january 2011 © cybertrek 2010


phillip mills les mills • ceo


“T


here’s no doubt that incentivising operational staff is just as


important as incentivising sales staff. And nowhere is this more evident than in group fitness – arguably a club’s most important service experience in terms of ongoing member satisfaction. Today, group fitness instructors generally earn no more than they did


in the early 80s, when they tended to be paid on a per head basis. Comparatively, gym floor staff have gone from being paid minimum wage to becoming well-paid personal trainers, which has attracted a whole new wave of talent to the industry. However, in our New Zealand clubs, top group fitness


instructors can earn over NZ$100 (£48) per class. These are group fitness ‘rockstars’ who draw between 150 and 250 members to each session. One way of incentivising and rewarding this excellence is simply to increase top performing instructors’ wages using a six- to 12-monthly review system. However, I believe the best option is to pay instructors on a per head basis (with an adjustment for peak and off-peak classes) – the choice between paying instructors NZ$20 (£9.60) for a class of 10 people or NZ$40 (£19) for 80 people just makes sense.


” Read Health Club Management online healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 31


PICTURE: ISTOCKPHOTO.COM


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