Whether your group fitness management position comes with 10 hours a week to do the job or 40, chances are your responsibilities are the same. You have the responsibility of programming, customer service, talent management and the actual business side of group fitness, which includes reporting, payroll, forecasting, budgeting and analyzing metrics. In today’s day and age it’s all about productivity hacks. Regardless of the hours you have, how can you get it all done?
Tip #1: Streamline Communication with Your Team
Establishing one — and one only — preferred method of communication with your team will help you. Set expectations with your team about how and where you will provide information to them and how you prefer to receive information. This will save you tons of time. Not to mention, the messages you send and receive will not get lost in the shuffle.
Tip #2: Batch Tasks
We live in a constant state of reacting to needs or distractions (e.g., email, phone calls, text messages, voicemail, meetings). By batching your tasks, you set aside an intentional time per week for a specific task. In other words, you set aside every day from 9 to 10 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. to answer your emails and you do not check your email anytime outside of those hours. Or, instead of processing applications as you receive them, set aside time each Friday at 11 a.m. to review and reach out for phone screens.
Add daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly to-dos to your calendar, then stick to it. Some additional tasks to batch and make time for include: reviewing sub requests, processing weekly numbers, consistent penetration reports, payroll, schedule review, instructor inventory.
Tip #3: Go Paperless
One huge time saver is going paperless and ensuring access to your most important documents in a communal, online location. Ditch the constant flow of attachments, printed paper, and hanging file folders. Whether it’s documents you need to run your business, or those your team needs to deliver a great customer experience, making the most up-to-date version available online will cut down on admin time. Dropbox, Google Drive or your club’s intranet are great options.
Tip #4: Turn It Off
Yes, you. Turn off your phone. If the thought of unplugging causes you work-related anxiety, then it’s time to set up a system that can continue to run even if you need to step away. Setting up a communal communication, schedule, calendar, sub, reference and contact location takes you out of the center of all instructor needs. Of course, there will always be emergencies, but the more you can provide streamlined resources for your team and empower them to source their own answers first, the longer you’ll be able to stay in your job.
Shannon Fable, 2013 IDEA and 2006 ACE Instructor of the Year, is the vice president of fitness programming for the FIT4MOM franchise. For more than two decades she has helped impressive brands such as Anytime Fitness, Schwinn, Power Systems and BOSU as a fitness business and programming consultant. Fable serves as vice chair of the ACE Board of Directors and is the founder and co-owner of GroupEx PRO, a cloud-based group fitness management tool. For more information visit groupexpro.com.
