In an industry that is ever changing, it is important that your teams are keeping up with continuing education opportunities and even exploring what new certifications are available. Continuous learning is a concept in which you are always working to enhance skills, develop professionally and to expand your knowledge. Not only is this a value to your employee’s career development but to your organization as well.
While it has been difficult to find staff in this market, what you offer someone in terms of continuing education opportunities could be the reason you can find and retain top talent. Over the past year, across different industries, organizations are putting money towards college education, etc. While fair pay is a contributing factor, stay focused on the other top reasons someone chooses and/or stays with a company: flexible schedule, opportunity to be challenged, including learning and development.
Over the past year, our industry has seen new trends emerge and we will continue to see this happen as we evolve our business into the medical health and wellness continuum. To increase these opportunities in the current market, identify what markets your clubs are interested in reaching and look at what certifications are available, consider:
- Mental Health
- Aging Populations (ACSM 2021 Trend)
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Recovery
As an organization, look to find ways in which you can provide continuing education while your employees are at work and that is of no cost to them. Consider collaborating with different organizations, such as IDEA Fit/Club Connect to provide free CECs to your employees. If financial constraints are limiting you, look at developing some in-house training to include:
- Train the Trainer. Coordinate getting your training team and group exercise department together to share best practices, new exercises and modalities for your members and/or share their specialty. If you have a variety of trainers with different specialties, you might be surprised at how much they can teach each other.
- Lead by Design. Encourage your managers and/or company leaders to create leadership training for new managers, team leads, etc. where they can work on developing key skills, share best practices and recommended books or resources.
- Mentorship Program. Connect to your greater team and foster relationship development and encourage peer-to-peer opportunities.
Additionally, look outside of the industry for other opportunities, there are incredible wellness-based companies that provide a wealth of free webinars on mental health, imposter syndrome, nutrition, leadership, and more. While these educational webinars might not contribute to a new certification, they do contribute value to your employees.
“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” – B.B. King
Stay ahead in the fitness industry with exclusive updates!
Kiley Mutschler is a regional manager with Active Wellness, overseeing corporate and multi-tenant fitness centers in Texas, Arizona and Canada. She has over 10 years of experience managing people at all levels; responsible for hiring, training and building strong teams within the organization. Kiley has held many roles within Active Wellness and was named an IHRSA Rising Star in 2019. She can be reached at kiley.mutschler@activewellness.com.
