As the chief creative officer of STEELE Fitness, a personal training company owned by Lift Brands, Steele Smiley knows what to look for when hiring a personal training director. He took some time to share what qualities he looks for in a director and what red flags to watch out for.
CS: What qualities should clubs look for in a personal training director?
SS: Obviously, personal training encompasses a lot. It encompasses ultimately being able to sell the product and being able to understand the details of personal training. Some clubs have a membership component as well. And ultimately, it is a customer service position. You’ve got to be able to have the innate ability to satisfy people and make sure they are happy with what you’re providing.
Most personal training directors are really good at one or two of those things. Very few are good at all of those. And so it is really a challenge to find the right type of person to fill these roles. They’re challenging roles to hire for. At STEELE, we just interview and continue to vet out the right person and ultimately find the best person for the job. You want to make sure you’re continually hiring and looking because the skill sets needed are extremely vast for this role.
CS: What’s the interview process for personal training directors like at STEELE?
SS: I think that in the interview process, regardless of whether it’s personal training or whether it’s hiring for any other job, you look for stable individuals. Especially in the fitness business, you aim for people to have a great expertise in their particular knowledge area. Also, you want people who are great ambassadors of your brand. I think the challenge is ultimately you just want to find great people. You want to find great, great people that are as passionate about your brand as they are about themselves.
CS: What are some signs you have the wrong person in the personal training director position?
SS: The biggest red flag is if that person is more self-promoting than they are brand promoting. Then, you have the wrong person. There are a lot [of red flags], but that’s probably the biggest one.
CS: What else would you like our readers to know?
SS: [Directors] have to be the beacon for all fitness knowledge. They’re really in charge of making sure that their team is teaching the right stuff. So if they’re not active on their personal fitness, than you have a problem.
To find great people in the fitness space, you need to find people that are passionate about your product, not just themselves. And that is ultimately what made STEELE Fitness successful. We hired people that were as passionate about the brand as they were about “Steve.”
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
