Occasionally the fitness industry can be a risky business. Even when you wish you could just cruise along, you have to be continually aware of what is going on in your club.
That’s where risk awareness comes in. “Risk awareness is not just risk associated with the employees and members, but also the facility,” said Robyn Klawitter, the vice president of operations for Mountainside Fitness in Arizona. “It’s important because there are a lot of areas that a business can be open for responsibility, so you need to be very careful and make sure to cover all of your bases. I kind of feel like not being aware of the risk is like traveling without a map.”
At Mountainside, Klawitter said the club does a lot of its risk awareness with employees at the time of hiring and during onboard training. “We make sure that all of our employees are very aware of the policies that we put in place to make sure that everyone is aware of all of the risks, not only to themselves, but to the members, equipment, things like that,” she said. “Every time we have a staff meeting, which is at least monthly, we go over polices, review the most important ones and then sometimes we have to re-review ones that seem like people aren’t paying as much attention to as they should.”
Klawitter said Moutainside outsources its human resource department. Annually, a risk manager visits the club, giving Mountainside an extra set of eyes to see where it is most open to risk.
It’s obvious when policies are not being adhered to and thus increasing risk, said Klawitter. At Mountainside, there are daily walk-throughs of the club to look for areas where risk is prominent. If the general managers find something, like the childcare bathroom door is not locked from the outside when unoccupied, it will be addressed immediately and at the next meeting.
According to Klawitter, risk awareness needs to be in a business from the start. “It’s not something you should pay attention to ‘later’ or when ‘we aren’t so busy.’ It should be right up there on your to-do list when you design and open a facility,” she said. “You have to be constantly aware of it. Do daily walkthroughs and look for things that could cause an accident. Inspect your equipment weekly at the least. Inspect your dryers and [air conditioning] units every six months.”
Ultimately, being aware of risk can benefit your business. “Number one would be the safety of everybody in the building, whether it’s an employee or a member,” said Klawitter. “Number two is member retention. If they feel safe and comfortable and they know that the staff is taking care of things … they’re more likely to stay longer. Then, number three is just overall business costs being lower, because of your awareness and handling issues before they become larger.”
With planning, insight and awareness, your club business doesn’t have to be risky. It’s up to you.
By Heather Hartmann
