Clean Your Way to Improved Retention

Cleanliness is a valuable, often overlooked way to help keep your members working out in your facility. We rack our brain trying to devise ways to boost retention numbers, but sometimes something so simple can have a major impact. Here are a few tips you can implement when creating a cleaning schedule.

1. Get the staff involved. No one person is above keeping his or her work environment clean. By getting your staff involved it will create more pride and ownership in the facility. You have to lead by example in this scenario.

2. Create a schedule and stick to it — no excuses. Be sure to post it where the staff will see it daily. Otherwise, out of sight is out of mind.

3. Use a fresh set of eyes. Take yourself out of the equation and try to see your gym through the eyes of a prospective member. Walk through the gym and look at everything. Is there dust on picture frames, desks, shelves, window frames, tops or behind equipment? Are dust balls in the corners, or pieces of paper towel on the floor right next to the trash? To a prospective member these are all things that can make or break your facility.

4. Straighten up equipment after shifts to keep the gym looking organized and neat. Every item should have a place and be returned there after being used. If needed install hooks or shelving to store items. We recently installed hooks on the wall to hang our battle ropes and it makes a world of difference.

5. Be seen. Members appreciate actually seeing the gym being cleaned. It makes them feel good about working out in your facility. While cleaning one day a member stopped me and said that in two years at her other gym she never saw anybody clean anything, so she was very appreciative.

Remember, most people might not be so upfront with telling you the real reason they are quitting the gym. For prospective members a clean facility will create a higher perceived value and justify the cost. Don’t let something preventable like a dirty gym be a reason why they are walking out of your doors.

Don Suarez is the manager of The HitFit Gym. Email him at dons@thehitfitgym.com.