Knowledge is THe Competitive edge
ClubCorp Cooper Fitness Center
Dallas, Texas Dallas and McKinney, Texas
Facilities: 160 properties, 57 with fitness services Facilities: 2
Number of employees: 16,000 Number of trainers: 41
Members: 200,000; 60,000 with fitness center privileges Members: approximately 6,500
Annual training expenditure: N/A Annual training expenditure:
$20,000 to $25,000 per year
“A well-educated staff makes a critical contribution
to our members’ experience,” posits Sean Laney, “At the Cooper Fitness Center, we value education
the senior vice president of the company’s business and consider it one of the pillars of our long-term suc-
and sports clubs. “ClubCorp has an expectation that cess,” says Wilkins. “Our educational system is
our fitness staff will have the appropriate education dynamic in nature and unique to our specific needs.
and certification for their specific roles and respon- We’ve designed it to enhance our capabilities and
sibilities, along with the skills required to provide increase our value to consumers, with the Center and
professional hospitality.” its employees working together as a team. The club
and the trainers both benefit greatly, with respect to
their perceived value, due to the unity of purpose
that’s created by this team approach to education.”
“
It’s our responsibility, as a
Internal: At the Cooper Fitness
company, to be proactive in Center, all new trainers take part
the development of our people
in an extensive, in-depth,
80-120-hour classroom and
to enhance our brand and practical training program
overall value
designed to familiarize them
Internal: ClubCorp’s
”
.
with the Center’s training philos-
ophy—before they ever work
with a client.
internal educational efforts The Center is especially
emphasize the essential elements of professional
Brad Wilkins
strong in the area of personal-
hospitality. Its training program, titled 3-Steps of training (PT) education, appro-
Service, focuses on providing Warm Welcomes, priate given the fact that it conducts more than 50,000
Magic Moments, and Fond Farewells. PT sessions each year. “The old team adage, ‘You’re
External: “We have an expectation that our trainers
only as strong as your weakest link,’ is true even in
will be certified by an organization accredited by the
the world of personal training,” observes Wilkins.
National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA),”
“In 2007, we revamped our educational system to
says Laney. “But we consider certification and con-
focus on specific goals and objectives that, we
tinuing education to basically be the responsibility of
believed, would strengthen our team by standard-
the employee. Because most of our fitness positions
izing our training methodology. The results have been
involve commissions, we feel the employee is best
fantastic: from 2007 through 2008, we experienced a
equipped to determine what further education might
28% increase in the average per-session rate, from
be most useful in helping them to differentiate and
$78 in ’07 to $100 by the end of ’08.”
market their products and services.” External: While the Center regards its in-house
system as its primary educational resource, it also
provides all of its fitness trainers with an annual
stipend to pursue outside continuing-ed opportuni-
ties. “This gives employees a chance to acquire
special knowledge or unique skills, allowing them to
explore areas where they have specific interests or
talents,” explains Wilkins. “Our staff doesn’t have to
worry about CEUs because our internal system
generally covers their CEU requirement. We’ve also
introduced a pay-scale system that rewards both
education—degrees, certifications, seminars, and/or
workshops—and years of experience. This makes it
possible for staff to accelerate their earning potential
by furthering their education.”
48
Club Business International | SePTeMBer 2009 | www.ihrsa.org
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  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102