NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 LETTERS C WRITE TO REPLY
November/ December
2013
Wearable technology for staff will boost retention
Your recent feature on wearable technology (see HCM Sept 13, p68) highlighted the benefits in terms of DIY healthcare for consumers, but didn’t mention the potential for staff to use the technology to improve customer service and retention. At this year’s Gladstone Summit,
several popular workshops on portable technology showed the main desire for leisure operators is to remove the traditional barriers at reception and get staff interacting more personally with members. This is starting to evolve with tablets, but to take that a stage further in the future using something like Google Glass would have huge potential for the way leisure operators work. Being able to move around the
Budget clubs might be better off recruiting a smaller team of motivated PTs
Budget clubs must focus on PT churn to address member churn
I was very interested to read the three- part retention series by Guy Griffiths this summer. I completely agree with his thoughts on review sessions, gym floor contact and absent member calls. However, something our sector doesn’t seem to be addressing is how we deliver this within a budget club staffing model. Many budget gyms have a huge team
of PTs who are often expected to undertake all member liaison. But for them all to make enough money to stay motivated, upwards of 20 per cent of members would need to pay for PT, and that’s just not realistic in most cases. This leads to high levels of churn among PTs. I believe clubs would be far better
off recruiting a smaller, higher quality, motivated PT team: 1. Work out how many gym floor
hours you need, not want. Make sure your class timetable, inductions and gym floor walking are all accounted for. 2. Work out what your expected total
number of PT clients is. Take an average of 4 per cent of your total membership. 3. Divide the total number of PT clients by about 18 (the number of
8
clients needed by each PT to keep them with you long term). 4. Point 3 should give you the number
of PTs your club can hold. Point 1 will give you the number of hours you need to service your club. Divide the number of hours by the number of PTs and you have your offering to PTs – the hours they need to work for the club in exchange for operating as a PT there. This should be no more than 15 hours a week. If it is, go back to point 1 and think about members’ expectations of the club. Do you need 50 group ex classes a week or would 30 suffice? Does everyone need a one-to- one induction or could small groups work and promote member engagement? Most budget clubs already have
intelligent IT systems in place, allowing any staff in the club to spend more time out of the back office. However, combining that with a highly motivated PT team that has time on the gym floor to effectively interact with members can help stem attrition rates in the budget sector.
Jack Malin MD, Your Lifestyle
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
Google Glass could help staff ‘read’ members as they interact
November/December 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
facility would lead to a higher number of interactions and improve customer service – and ultimately retention, as recently highlighted by Dr Melvyn Hillsdon, who said interacting once a month increases the likelihood of attendance by 70 per cent. Wearable technology could flag
up ‘at risk’ members in your facility, with accompanying images of them right in front of you. Imagine being able to then expertly interact with those members, with their membership details in your sight – letting them know how many spaces are available in their favourite class and booking them in there and then, for example – all through the power of wearable technology.
Leon Houseman Marketing manager, Gladstone Health & Leisure
PHOTO:
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/ANDREW BASSETT
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